Introduction To Configuration Devices - Omron NX-ECC201 User Manual

1 EtherCAT Networks
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Introduction to Configuration Devices

This section introduces the configuration devices.
EtherCAT Master
The EtherCAT master manages the network, monitors the status of the slaves, and exchanges I/O data
with the slaves.
EtherCAT Slaves
The EtherCAT slaves output the output data that is received from the EtherCAT master through the
EtherCAT network. They also send input data to the EtherCAT master through the EtherCAT network.
EtherCAT Slave Terminals
An EtherCAT Slave Terminal is a building-block slave that is created by mounting a group of NX Units to
an EtherCAT Coupler Unit.
 EtherCAT Coupler Units
An EtherCAT Coupler Unit is a Communications Coupler Unit that connects NX Units to an Ether-
CAT network.
 NX Units
The NX Units perform process data communications with the EtherCAT master through the Ether-
CAT Coupler Unit.
Refer to Section 2 Features and System Configuration for details on the features and system configura-
tion of an EtherCAT Slave Terminal.
EtherCAT Junction Slaves
A Junction Slave is used only to branch EtherCAT network wiring.
Sysmac Studio
The Sysmac Studio runs on a personal computer and it is used to configure EtherCAT networks and
slaves, and to perform programming, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
Communications Cables
Use double-shielded cables with aluminum tape and braiding of Ethernet category 5 (100BASE-TX) or
higher, and use straight wiring.
ESI (EtherCAT Slave Information) Files
The ESI files contain information that is unique to the EtherCAT slaves in XML format.
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NX-series EtherCAT Coupler Unit User's Manual (W519)