EC-Engineer Web V3.0: New Features

The new version of the EC-Engineer Web contains many new features which are described below.

New Features Version 3.0

New design with an intuitive user interface

EC-Engineer Web 3.0 features a redesigned user interface based on EC-Engineer Windows. The new welcome page makes it easier to get started when creating a configuration or performing diagnostics on an existing EtherCAT network or EtherCAT main devices. The expanded main menu provides quick and easy access to the numerous new features. In addition to the familiar “Expert View Mode,” the “Simulator View Mode” displays the options for the EC Simulator, and the “Motion View Mode” shows the settings for drives and motion control.

EC-Engineer Web Welcome Page

Simulation Mode

EC-Engineer Web can switch to diagnostic mode using the integrated EC-Master and EC-Simulator products without any actual EtherCAT SubDevices being connected. This allows you to test and demonstrate all of EC-Engineer Web’s online functions. In addition, special EC-Simulator functions can be used to easily reproduce various error scenarios, such as the disappearance of a SubDevice due to a power supply issue.
The EtherCAT Simulation functionality is available as an additional operating mode - and can be activated with only one single click in the toolbar. This enables fast and convenient switching between the all supported operation modes – Configuration, Diagnostics and Simulation – without the need of modifying anything within the project.

EtherCAT MainDevice Information (EMI) file for specifying MainDevice features

An EMI file is a controller-specific description file that tells EC-Engineer Web exactly what an EtherCAT MainDevice can and cannot do. It restricts options and dialogs to those features actually supported by the control system, such as available cycle times, DC synchronization, or MDP module scanning.

  • Granular visibility and lock control. Every setting follows a "default / show / lock" pattern. A system architect can set the default value, decide whether the setting is visible at all, and whether the user can change it. This creates precisely tailored interfaces — from full expert access to locked-down production views.
  • Comprehensive configuration scope. The EMI file covers all major MainDevice aspects: cycle times with configurable allowed values, maximum SubDevice count, Distributed Clocks behavior, protocol support, Hot Connect, cable and junction redundancy, remote access settings including TLS, etc.
  • Built-in templates. EC-Engineer includes two read-only default templates — one for a Class A MainDevice and one for Class B. These serve as starting points that can be copied and customized.
  • Prevents invalid configurations. The EMI file makes it impossible to create a network configuration that the specific MainDevice implementation doesn't support. Errors are caught at design time, not on the test bench or in production.
  • Simplifies the user experience. Fewer dialogs, fewer visible options, and fewer decision points translate directly into fewer potential errors, faster results, less training effort, and a shorter learning curve. Engineers see only what's relevant to their controller.
  • Easy sharing and standardization. An EMI file is a simple portable file that can be distributed across a company. Every engineer works with the same constraints, ensuring consistency across projects, teams, and sites regardless of individual experience levels.
  • Scales from simple to complex. The show/lock mechanism lets organizations create different EMI files for different audiences — a locked-down version for production technicians, a more open version for system integrators, and full access for the architect who maintains the file.
  • Supports multiple products. Companies with different controller platforms simply maintain one EMI file per platform. EC-Engineer Web adapts automatically when the user switches between them.
  • Reduces support burden. When the tool only offers valid options, engineers make fewer mistakes, which means fewer support tickets, fewer field issues, and less time spent troubleshooting configurations that were never going to work.
  • Version control friendly. When the MainDevice software gets updated with new capabilities, a new EMI file version can be created and distributed, keeping the tool in sync with the actual hardware and software capabilities across the organization.

Verification of physical layer and cabling with Self-test Scan

The Self‑Test Scan is one of the most important innovations in EC‑Engineer Web 3.0. It provides an automated check of your EtherCAT network. With the self-test scan, it is possible to detect communication errors in an EtherCAT network and locate the root cause. Communication error on EtherCAT manifest themselves that not all EtherCAT frames sent by the MainDevice are received again by the MainDevice. The frames are lost on their way through the EtherCAT network or are marked as corrupt by the error detection in the EtherCAT SubDevices. The Ethernet controller in the MainDevice also checks the correctness of the frame upon receipt using CRC calculation. If the check fails, the frame is discarded.

How the verification of EtherCAT networks is executed

When the EC-Engineer Web 3.0 is connected to the network to analyse - either directly or connected to a remote EC-Master MainDevice - and switched to diagnosis mode, the Self Test Scan can be executed directly from the Network application menu. The Self Test Scan does a fully automatic deep scan of the complete network.

EC-Engineer provides detailed information on possible issues

After the Self Test Scan the EC-Engineer provides detailed information on the possible root cause:

  1. 1. Messages in Log
  2. 2. Warning icon in network topology tree to easily identify a faulty or mis-configured SubDevice
  3. 3. Hardware diagnostics tab of the SubDevice provide details which ports of the SubDevice have erratic behaviour
  4. 4. Message Box with instructions how the issue can be fixed
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