EC-Inspector V3: New Features
Monitor read/write access to EtherCAT Slave Controller (ESC) registers
The latest release of EC-Inspector, version 3.8, offers advanced capabilities, including support for ESC Registers. This new version allows users to view the read and written ESC Register values on a separate tab, expanding its diagnostic capabilities. This feature enables the display of process data or FMMU configuration for comparison with ENI.
Troubleshoot and monitor networks operated by the EtherCAT master from the manufacturer koenig-pa (KPA)
Starting from version 3.8.5, EC-Inspector now supports the monitoring of EtherCAT networks operated by Koenig-PA EtherCAT Master. To make use of the powerful diagnosis features of EC-Inspector, you only need to provide the ENI file and a TAP. There's no need to make any changes to the master controller itself. In addition to the already supported masters from acontis (EC-Master), Beckhoff (TwinCAT), Codesys, and others, the KPA EtherCAT Master is now supported, enabling you to run comprehensive diagnostics of various EtherCAT networks with the same software tool.
Monitor the mailbox protocol File access over EtherCAT (FoE)
The latest version of EC-Inspector now allows you to analyze the File access over EtherCAT (FoE) mailbox protocol. You can edit the storage location of the FoE files through a dialog box. The transferred FoE files will be automatically saved in the specified folder. Additionally, you can view a couple of log messages in the Mailbox Protocol Messages view. These messages enable you to see all FoE transfers to each slave and when they occur. One of the use cases for this feature is to monitor a firmware update to a particular slave.
CAN application protocol over EtherCAT (CoE) monitoring
Starting with EC-Inspector V3.7.3 it is possible to monitor the CAN application protocol over EtherCAT (CoE) transfers from the EtherCAT network. Both CoE uploads and CoE downloads are recognized. In addition, EC-Inspector now also supports ESI files that make it possible to display the object descriptions of the transferred data. If the slave has the Object Dictionary embedded in the ESI file, then all known values are displayed on the CoE tab of the slave in the Device Editor window.
For slaves that do not have the Object Dictionary embedded in the ESI file, or for objects that are not contained within this offline Object Dictionary, all CoE transfers are also logged in EC-Inspector. This ensures that all written values are available to the user. The CoE Windows will only display the current value, but with the logging feature it is possible to see the complete history of values. This history can be useful, especially in the case of a drive, where every value for the Control Word (0x6040) and Status Word (0x6041) is logged enabling a fast diagnosis of possible problems.
EC-Inspector now also includes a single object view to read objects. This is especially useful for slaves without an offline Object Dictionary.