Electrical Installation; Ethercat Module Information; Cabling Considerations - Control Techniques Nidec SI-EtherCAT User Manual

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Electrical installation

4.1 SI-EtherCAT module information
4.1.1 Bus media
The SI-EtherCAT option module incorporates two 100 BASE-TX RJ45 interfaces.
4.1.2

Cabling considerations

To ensure long-term reliability it is recommended that any cables used to connect a system
together be tested using a suitable Ethernet cable tester, this is of particular importance when
cables are constructed on site.
4.1.3 Cable
Cables should be shielded and as a minimum, meet TIA Cat 5e requirements.
Cabling issues are the single biggest cause of network downtime. Ensure cabling is
NOTE
correctly routed, wiring is correct, connectors are correctly installed and any switches or
routers used are rated for industrial use. Office grade Ethernet equipment does not
generally offer the same degree of noise immunity as equipment intended for industrial
use.
4.1.4 Maximum network length
The main restriction imposed on Ethernet cabling is the length of a single segment of cable.
The SI-EtherCAT module has two 100BASE-TX Ethernet ports, which support segment lengths of
up to 100 m. This means that the maximum cable length which can be used between one SI-
EtherCAT port and another 100BASE-TX port is 100 m however it is not recommended that the full
100 m cable length is used. The total network length is not restricted by the Ethernet standard but
depends on the number of devices on the network and the transmission media (copper, fiber optic,
etc.).
The EtherCAT system designer must consider the impact that the selected network
NOTE
structure will have on performance.
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SI-EtherCAT User Guide