File Over Ethercat (Foe) - Control Techniques Nidec SI-EtherCAT User Manual

Although not recommended to change the default value unless necessary, the reasons for
adjusting from the default are:
• Avoid skew issues with parameter that are written by the SI-Applications modules and
read by EtherCAT. SI-Applications modules may be configured to write parameters in the
POS task which overlaps with the EtherCAT post and pre-critical tasks.
• If the master reads PDO data close to the point at which the copy takes place causes
data jitter issues. Although the shift offset should be adjusted in the first instance.
The default values have been carefully selected, so the advice is not to change the default values
unless necessary.
8.4

File over EtherCAT (FoE)

File over EtherCAT(FoE) is a simple protocol which allows the EtherCAT exchange files with an
EtherCAT slave device.
The following functions are supported with our FoE implementation:
• Drive and option module parameter file upload and download.
• EtherCAT firmware update
FoE requires the EtherCAT master support for it to work.
NOTE
For detailed FoE instructions, refer to the controller's user guide.
8.4.1 Upload and download drive or option module parameter file
Both drive parameters and option module parameters can be backed up (uploaded) and restored
(downloaded) using FoE.with the online file download and upload function provided by the
controller.
When upload or download a parameter file, a file path is required to locate the parameter file.
The file Path for accessing the drive and option module parameter files is as follows:
/x/par/diff
where "x" becomes the slot number;
/0/par/diff - Drive parameters
/1/par/diff - Option Slot 1 parameters
/2/par/diff - Option Slot 2 parameters
/3/par/diff - Option Slot 3 parameters
/4/par/diff - Option Slot 4 (only available on Unidrive M70x)
Drive parameters or option module parameters are stored in a binary format file type called
Parameter Difference File which is only readable by a Control Techniques drive or option module.
They can be uploaded and saved as they are without file extensions.
The Parameter difference file generated by the uploading process can be used to restore the drive
or option module of the same drive or another drive and option module of the same type.
Some controllers set the default file type to.efw file which is a firmware file type When
NOTE
saving the file, make sure to set the file type to 'All Files', so that the parameter file can
be saved as a binary file without file extension.
Similarly, when downloading the parameter file, the file type needs to be set to 'All files'
for the file to be visible.
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SI-EtherCAT User Guide