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EC-Win - Windows EtherCAT real-time platform

  • Open Win32 based Real Time platform for Windows
  • Integrated Class A EtherCAT Master Stack including timer synchronization and diagnosis

EC-Win provides a professional open real-time EtherCAT platform for Windows systems. Thus it is possible to create extremly fast, deterministic real-time solutions that are based on the more and more popular EtherCAT technology. Typical applications are motion controllers, PLC controllers or real-time measurement applications with cycle times up to 20 kHz. Core component of EC-Win ist the powerful EC-Master Stack which was specifically optimized to match with the proven and realiable acontis Windows Hypervisor and real-time technology, respectively.
Customers get a perfectly matching, powerful real-time EtherCAT programming environment; a one-stop, single-source solution with an attractive price.
Typically, multicore systems will be used as hardware platform. Windows then runs on separate CPU cores as the EtherCAT master and real-time application run. Fast and optimized drivers for Intel and Realtek network controllers ensure highest possible performance. Also integrated into the EC-Win hypervisor platform is the option to synchronize EtherCAT slaves with the real-time application; the local PC timer will run synchronously with the EtherCAT slaves that are using Distributed Clocks. EC-Win is complemented with the EC-Lyser diagnosis and monitoring tool.
Microsoft Visual Studio is used as integrated development and debug environment for both, the Windows part as well as the real-time/EtherCAT part of the application.
Using EC-Win customers get a means to avoid costly plug-in cards as well as separate hypervisors or Windows real-time extensions.

real-time platform

  • Integrated hypervisor: Windows and the real-time part (operating system) are safely separated. Protection against Windows system failure (blue screen).
  • Using the Win32 programming paradigma for the real-time part (preemptive multitasking, threads, events, semaphores, mutexes, ...).
  • Fast high resolution system timer (resolution below 10 nanoseconds). Interrupt frequencies up to 25 kHz can be achieved.
  • Using multiple CPU cores for both, Windows and/or the real-time part is possible (SMP: symmetric multiprocessing). This is especially important for quad core CPUs etc.
  • Virtual TCP/IP network between Windows and the real-time part. Thus the full functionality of the EtherCAT diagnosis features can be used.
  • Comfortable development and debugging environment using Microsoft Visual Studio. Remote debugging via Ethernet is possible.
  • Powerful graphical real-time analyzer tool.

EtherCAT Master Configuration

  • Support of the standard EtherCAT configurator ET9000.
  • Configuration files of the standardized ENI format (EtherCAT Network Information) are supported, all compatible configurators can be used.
  • Option: ET9000 plug-in for direct communication via TCP/IP with the EtherCAT master stack (e.g. to configure EtherCAT safety devices).

EtherCAT master runtime

  • EC-Master Stack SDK with Class A functionality.
  • Fast and optimized drivers for Intel and Realtek network controllers. These drivers don't require interrupts which on one side provides excellent real-time behavior and on the other side smoothly integrates into the Windows/real-time environment.
  • Standard mailbox protocols: CoE - CanOpen over EtherCAT, SoE - Servo Profile over EtherCAT, AoE - ADS over EtherCAT, VoE - Vendor over EtherCAT.
  • Distributed clocks with propagation delay measurement and compensation, synchronization of the local real-time timer and EtherCAT Distributed Clocks reference clock, continous drift compensation. This feature is important for many EtherCAT motion applications.
  • Slave to slave communication via master.
  • Bus scan with topology detection, analysis and verification.
  • EEPROM programming (read and write).
  • Comprehensive and proven diagnosis.
  • Integrated EC-Master feature pack "Remote Access Server". Using the virtual network connection a simple remote access to the EC-Master stack is provided.
  • Option: more EC-Master Stack Feature Packs are provided for an attractive price.

EtherCAT Master Diagnosis

  • EC-Lyser: Graphical application which was developed to analyse EtherCAT field bus systems that are controlled by the acontis EC-Master Stack. One development license is included into EC-Win.
  • Option: ET9000 plug-in for direct communication via TCP/IP with the EtherCAT master stack (ET9000 online functions can be used).