ETG News 2006-2013

openautomation Report: 10 Years Diversity of EtherCAT Applications

Taking our 10th anniversary as occasion, we’ve recently published a special edition of the magazine openautomation Report in cooperation with the renowned publishing house VDE VERLAG GmbH in time with SPS IPC Drives 2013. In addition to the printed version, the magazine is now available online.

Users, developers, and manufacturers of innovative automation solutions are the main target groups for the publication’s focal topics such as informative technology articles, indicative interviews, and exciting application stories about EtherCAT.

The printed version of the openautomation Report was issued in time with SPS IPC Drives 2013 with a total run of 24,000 copies in German language. In addition to the distribution together with the magazine openautomation (issue no. 6), the openautomation Report will be available at the tradeshow booths of ETG and VDE VERLAG GmbH at Hannover Messe 2014.

For the online version of our openautomation Report please visit the Download Section (see EtherCAT Publications) or use the following link:
openautomation Report (PDF)

If you want to learn more about this publishing project or want to order your personal print, please contact press@ethercat.org.

10 Years of EtherCAT Technology Group

This year’s SPS IPC Drives in Nuremberg, Germany, holds a very personal milestone for the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG): Exactly 10 years ago the organization began its activities at the 2003 trade show with 33 official founding members. Almost in perfect timing with this anniversary, the ETG recently reached yet another milestone: the Chinese machine manufacturer Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. has become the 2,500th ETG member.

After EtherCAT as a technology already celebrated its 10th anniversary at this year’s Hannover Fair, it is now the EtherCAT Technology Group’s turn. Since its foundation in November 2003, the organization stands for the approach that everyone should be able to use and implement EtherCAT. The success of this vision speaks for itself: Almost in perfect timing with the 10th anniversary of the organization, the ETG has reached another significant membership milestone. During a ceremony held at the Industrial Automation Show 2013 in Shanghai, representatives of the ETG honored the Chinese company, Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. as member number 2,500. Sany is one of the big manufacturers of mobile machines, an area in which EtherCAT technology has gained traction during the past year.

Looking to the future of the organization, the EtherCAT Technology Group team plans to continue opening up new regional and vertical markets. Martin Rostan, Executive Director of the EtherCAT Technology Group, explains: “The remarkable success of the past 10 years shows that we were right with our strategy and could even convince entire industries to standardize on EtherCAT. The semiconductor manufacturing industry, for example, made its decision in favor of EtherCAT as a system bus for a new generation of silicon wafers. On a regional level we also achieved some significant results: In Japan, for example, EtherCAT is the only fieldbus technology that is not from Japan but has become a de facto standard there.” From the technical point of view the ETG will continue to expand with further device profiles which lead to manufacturer-independent interfaces.

For more detailed information about this topic please see related press release:Press Section

ETG @ SPS IPC Drives 2013 – Get together again!

With a total of 58 co-exhibitors we invite all visitors to our ETG Joint Booth at SPS IPC Drives 2013 (Nov 26-28, 2013) at the exhibition centre in Nuremberg, Germany.
Located at booth 208 in hall 6 we show more than 330 different EtherCAT products. We’re looking forward to our 10th SPS IPC Drives tradeshow participation together with you as we are celebrating 10 Years of EtherCAT Technology Group as well.
Besides the various different EtherCAT products shown we’ve enhanced our Safety Presenter and surprise our guests with some special new EtherCAT live motion demonstrations directly at the booth. Our EtherCAT experts on-site are looking forward to take care of your individual questions and assist you with their expertise regarding EtherCAT technology. Information about ETG, the world’s largest Industrial Ethernet and fieldbus organization, rounds off the tradeshow program.
As every year we invite our members to our annual membership assembly (Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013) where they can get an impression about ETG’s activities all over the year. Additionally, we’ll conduct a press conference again – this time in a new outfit: as press briefing directly at our booth (Wednesday, Nov 27, 2013).
Meet you at our ETG Joint Booth!
For further information please check the following links:
SPS IPC Drives
ETG Exhibitor Company Profile
ETG Membership Assembly (Nov 26, 2013)ETG Press Conference (Nov 27, 2013)

SEMICON Japan 2013

A variety of EtherCAT products for semiconductor manufacturing will be presented at the ETG booth (Hall 2A-509). ETG also organizes a seminar "What semiconductor industry expects in EtherCAT technology and EtherCAT semi device profile" every day in Conference Center 1st Floor. The advantages of EtherCAT in semiconductor industry will be presented by the guest speaker from Applied Materials Japan.
SEMICON Japan Website
SEMICON Japan Seminars

SCF- System Control Fair 2013

SCF is over. Thank you all for visiting ETG booth! The System Control Fair 2013 tradeshow, taking place Nov 6-8 in Tokyo, Japan, offers latest technical information on systems in the fields of automatization and control for the manufacturing industries, such as those for factory automation.

ETG booth (West Hall N-03) shows the wide range of products made or supported in Japan, including hardware and software of PC/PLC/PAC masters, robots, AC servo systems, I/O terminals, inverters, valves, sensors, slave modules, slave controllers and development kits. Please obtain detailed information on the advantage of EtherCAT, the "global open network gaining on high speed and high precision control" as well as ETG membership application.

In addition, ETG will hold a seminar from 11:30 on the 7th of Nov. Presentation title is "Latest technology and specification trends of EtherCAT worldwide". The attendance is free of charge. Please feel free to join the seminar (approx. 80 attendees on a first-come-first-serve basis).

scf.jp/en

Industrial Ethernet Roadshow 2013 in Taiwan – great success for EtherCAT

From September 9th to 11th, 2013, we conducted our Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in three cities in Taiwan – with great success for the participants, for us at ETG, and not least for EtherCAT, the fastest Industrial Ethernet technology available.
"With a total of about 300 participants in Taipei, Tainan and Taichung we received consistently positive feedback from the attendees who were very interested in EtherCAT in general and the content of the seminars in particular", explains Beryl Fan, Manager of the ETG office China, who was on-site at the events in Taiwan.
The seminars in Taiwan, which were free of charge for the attendees, provided comprehensive information about using EtherCAT as an Ethernet-based real-time communication system. The participants learned about EtherCAT technology in detail, explored best practice approaches to implementation from ETG member companies and received general information about the benefits and challenges of Industrial Ethernet.
As usual for the EtherCAT Roadshow concept, the seminars in Taiwan were supported by several ETG member companies, who sponsored the event and provided practical info presentations about their EtherCAT implementations. At this point, we would like to thank: Altera, Beckhoff Automation, Delta, Jidien, Omron, and Trio Motion Technology.

Save the date for the EtherCAT Roadshow 2013 in North America

From October 15th to 24th, 2013, we will host another series of educational, no-charge full-day seminars on the subject of EtherCAT technology for all interested end users and system integrators across the U.S. and Canada. The ETG seminar series will stop in numerous cities including Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, and Houston.

The seminar series will provide comprehensive information about using EtherCAT as an Ethernet-based real-time communication system. Attendees will explore EtherCAT technology, see best practice approaches to implementation and learn about the benefits and the challenges of Industrial Ethernet. The seminars are educational events delivered by the foremost EtherCAT experts from the ETG and the sponsoring companies. Attendees will get the opportunity to talk with these experts face-to-face, discover the additional table-top exhibition and see how EtherCAT can improve industrial applications.

The EtherCAT Roadshow in North America will be supported and accompanied by: Altera, Beckhoff Automation, Hilscher, MKS Instruments, SEW-EURODRIVE, Trio Motion Technology, and Yaskawa. Roadshow Website Free online Registration Invitation flyer

Save the date for the EtherCAT Roadshow 2013 in Sweden

From October 8th to 10th, 2013, we will host a series of educational no-charge full-day seminars on the subject of EtherCAT technology for all interested end users and system integrators in Sweden. Be part of our well-known Industrial Ethernet seminars with a completely new light!

Sweden will be the country where we’ll kick-off our new roadshow concept composed of practical examples and live demos about diagnosis, configuration and error localization with EtherCAT. The seminar series will provide comprehensive information about using EtherCAT as an Ethernet-based real-time communication system. Attendees will explore EtherCAT technology, see best practice approaches to implementation and learn about the benefits and the challenges of Industrial Ethernet. Attendees will get the opportunity to talk with the EtherCAT experts face-to-face, discover the additional table-top exhibition and see how EtherCAT can improve industrial applications.

The EtherCAT Roadshow in Sweden will be supported and accompanied by: Altera, Beckhoff Automation, Festo, Hilscher, OMRON Europe and SEW-Eurodrive. Roadshow Website Free online Registration Invitation flyer

Save the date for the EtherCAT Roadshow 2013 in Korea

On September 25th and 26th, 2013, we invite all interested end users and system integrators to our first and free of charge Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in Korea with stops in Seoul and DaeJeon.

Due to the growing demand for EtherCAT technology in the Korean market we decided to carry out the first Industrial Ethernet Seminars there to provide in-depth EtherCAT knowledge and education to all interested companies. The full-day seminars are free of charge and introduce EtherCAT technology in general as well as describe the benefits and various implementation and application possibilities of EtherCAT. The EtherCAT experts on-site share their knowledge with the participants, who additionally can get an impression of EtherCAT’s product and application variety during the sponsors’ table-top exhibition which rounds off the seminar program.

The EtherCAT Roadshow in Korea will be supported and accompanied by: acontis technologies, ACS Motion Control, Beckhoff Automation, HIGEN Motor, Hilscher, LS Mecapion, TRi-TEK, and Omron.Roadshow website Free online registration Invitation flyer

Save the date for the EtherCAT Roadshow 2013 in Taiwan

From September 9th to 11th, 2013, we will host a series of educational full-day seminars on the subject of EtherCAT technology for all interested end users and system integrators in Taiwan. Be part of our well-known & free of charge Industrial Ethernet Seminars in Taipei, Taichung, and Tainan!

The seminar series will provide comprehensive information about using EtherCAT as an Ethernet-based real-time communication system. Attendees will explore EtherCAT technology, see best practice approaches to implementation and learn about the benefits and the challenges of Industrial Ethernet. The seminars are educational events delivered by the foremost EtherCAT experts from the ETG and the sponsoring companies. Attendees will get the opportunity to talk with these experts face-to-face, discover the additional table-top exhibition and see how EtherCAT can improve industrial applications.

The EtherCAT Roadshow in Taiwan will be supported and accompanied by: Altera, Beckhoff Automation, Delta Electronics, Jidien, Omron, and Trio Motion Technology. Roadshow website Free online registration Invitation flyer download

EtherCAT Roadshow China 2013 successfully conducted

With our recently conducted EtherCAT Roadshow 2013 in China we reached almost 500 engineers in Nanjing, Xi’an, Qingdao, Wuhan and Shenzhen – covering the automation industry in the Eastern, Central, Southwest and Southern part of the country.

Together with eight ETG member companies, the EtherCAT Technology Group visited China mainland again to meet the growing demand for EtherCAT there. As EtherCAT is the fastest Industrial Ethernet technology with its unique functional principle (processing the Ethernet frames “on the fly”), it perfectly fits to the fast-growing market in Asia.

The presentations in the morning included EtherCAT’s beneficial features in detail: speed, performance, flexibility and comparatively low system costs, to name only a few of them. In the afternoon session, attendees got informed about the latest products and EtherCAT applications by the supporting companies. The program of all five seminars was rounded off by the sponsors’ table-top exhibition, where the participants got an impression of EtherCAT technology in practical use and got the chance to discuss their projects with EtherCAT experts on site.

We would like to thank the supporting ETG member companies for presenting their latest EtherCAT applications, products and expertise throughout the EtherCAT Roadshow 2013 China: Altera, Beckhoff, Deutschmann, Hilscher, LT-i, MKS, OMRON and Tsino Dynatron. The EtherCAT seminar series are proven events to get informed about the latest trends in Industrial Automation.

We invite everybody to visit the next Asian EtherCAT seminars in Taiwan and Korea this year! More information can be found here:
EtherCAT Roadshow Taiwan 2013 EtherCAT Roadshow Korea 2013

TECHNO-FRONTIER 2013

EtherCAT Technology Group is a worldwide forum with about 2400 members, and most of them have EtherCAT products ready to buy. The number of the manufacturers using EtherCAT is growing in Japan - especially in the market of semiconductor machines, machine tools and mold injections.

TECHNO-FRONTIER 2013 takes place in Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan in July 17-19. ETG exhibits EtherCAT masters, slaves and tools under the theme "EtherCAT, cutting-edge open FA network with exceptional speed and accuracy" in the booth 3D-001 in East Hall 3 providing information such as technology trend, EtherCAT introductory seminar schedules and ETG activity news. Technical demonstrations and the latest products presentation will be presented every hour a day at the booth. ETG also presents a free seminar about "EtherCAT features and merits" at 14:30-15:20 on July 18 in Exhibitor Seminar Room 2 in East Hall 3. Please stop by any time in the show, and feel free to join the seminar. www.jma.or.jp/tf/

Save the date for the EtherCAT Roadshow 2013 in China

From July 11th to 19th, 2013, we tie in with last year’s activities to spread the word of EtherCAT with our Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in China. All interested end users and system integrators are invited to participate in those free of charge events taking place at venues in Nanjing, Xi’an, Qingdao, Wuhan, and Shenzhen.

Due to the great success of the EtherCAT seminars last year, the still growing demand for EtherCAT and the attractive market situation for the technology in China, we will carry out more of those educational events this July. The full-day seminars introduce EtherCAT technology in general and transmit an in-depth knowledge about the benefits as well as various implementation and application possibilities of EtherCAT. Experienced EtherCAT technologists on-site share their knowledge with the participants – the seminars address end users as well as system integrators. To round off the program every event is accompanied by a table-top exhibition, where co-sponsoring ETG member companies show their EtherCAT products and expertise.

The EtherCAT Roadshow in China will be supported and accompanied by: Altera, Beckhoff Automation, Deutschmann, Hilscher, LT-i, MKS, OMRON and Tsino Dynatron. EtherCAT Roadshow China website Free online registration

Save the Date for the EtherCAT Roadshow 2013 in Belgium

On June 11th and 12th, 2013 we invite all interested end users and system integrators to free of charge Industrial Ethernet seminars in Hasselt and Kortrijk.
Save the date for those educational events about EtherCAT and Industrial Ethernet delivered by the experts! During the events participants learn about the benefits and challenges of Industrial Ethernet and get the possibility to talk to EtherCAT experts face-to-face. Additionally, a sponsor’s table-top exhibition gives an impression of the variety of EtherCAT in practical use.
The EtherCAT Roadshow in Belgium will be supported and accompanied by different ETG members including: Beckhoff Automation, Hilscher, Hogeschool PXL, HOWEST Hogeschool West-Vlaaneren, LIMTEC, MULTIPROX, OMRON Europe and SMC Pneumatics.
EtherCAT Roadshow Belgium website Free online registration Invitation flyer download

2013 Spring European EtherCAT Plug Fest @ wenglor sensoric

On May 14th & 15th, 2013, 27 manufacturers from 9 countries participated in our 2013 Spring European EtherCAT Plug Fest – the ideal venue for interoperability and professional exchange with our EtherCAT experts.
Interoperability tests and the professional information exchange between experts and participants were the main highlights of this two-day event which took place at the facilities of wenglor sensoric in Tettnang, Germany. In total there were more than 40 devices tested at the Plug Fest. Particularly satisfactory was the large number of masters brought to the event – during the two days 10 of those implementations were tested to check for their interoperability with other devices.
By the way: We conduct EtherCAT Plug Fests all over the world! For more information about dates and locations please check out the event section on this website.
For more detailed information about this event please see related press release: Press Section

ETG @ SPS IPC Drives Italia

From May 21st to 23rd, 2013 we will be at this year’s edition of SPS IPC Drives Italia in Parma, Italy. Visitors can find us in Pavillon 2, C007. Visit our ETG Info Booth and learn more about EtherCAT technology and the EtherCAT Technology Group. Florian Hammel, EtherCAT expert from our headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, who will be on-site supporting our Italian team, is looking forward to answer questions and explain EtherCAT in detail to all interested visitors.
After our successful premiere at SPS IPC Drives Italia in 2012 we’re happy to be part of this major exhibition for the Italian automation sector again. Please follow the links for further information about our tradeshow appearance. SPS IPC Drives Italia tradeshow website ETG booth info Sign up here for free entry to the fair

Save the Date for the first EtherCAT Roadshow in Israel

On May 7th, 2013 we invite all interested end users and system integrators to a free of charge Industrial Ethernet seminar at the Crowne Plaza Tel Aviv City Center, Tel Aviv/ Israel. Save the date for this educational event about EtherCAT and Industrial Ethernet delivered by the experts! It is the first time, that ETG offers such an event in Israel.
During the events participants learn about the benefits and challenges of Industrial Ethernet and get the possibility to talk to EtherCAT experts face-to-face. Additionally, a sponsor’s table-top exhibition gives an impression of the variety of EtherCAT in practical use. The EtherCAT roadshow in Israel will be supported and accompanied by different ETG members including: ACS Motion Control, Beckhoff Automation, Elmo Motion Control, MKS Instruments and Yaskawa.
Find more details and agenda online Download your personal invitation Register online for free

ETG with free EtherCAT Technology Introduction @ Indumation.be

From 24th to 26th April, 2013 we will be represented with an ETG tradeshow booth (Hall 6-D04) at this year’s edition of Indumation.be at Kortrijk Xpo, Belgium.

On 24th and 25th, respectively from 3 to 4 pm, we invite all visitors to a free of charge EtherCAT Technology Introduction seminar. Learn about EtherCAT and its industry leading performance, flexibility and cost advantages. Topics will be the unique functional principle `processing on the fly´ and other beneficial features of EtherCAT technology.

Indumation.be 2013 is the second edition of the national trade fair for factory-, process- and infrastructure automation at Kortrijk Xpo in Belgium. Free EtherCAT Seminar Online Registration Indumation.be Tradeshow Website

TÜV Süd certifies Safety over EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool

To round off the all-inclusive package for Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) technology, a new component is now available: The FSoE Conformance Test Tool certified and qualified by TÜV Süd enables automatic verification of the implementation for the safe transmission protocol Safety over EtherCAT.

Please find all details together with an interview by ETG’s safety expert, Dr. Guido Beckmann, available online: Press Section

ETG Joint Booth @ Hannover Messe 2013

With 62 national and international co-exhibitors in total we are represented again with our ETG Joint Booth at this year’s Hannover Messe. Over 360 EtherCAT devices from different manufacturers are showcased at the booth. In addition, the 12.5 µs Cycle Time Demo as well as the Multi Axis Presenter will be presented at the exhibition again. The latter by the way is an unofficial world record: 35 axes from 24 different manufacturers are driven synchronously within one network via one control.
Please visit us in Hall 9, Booth D18 and talk to EtherCAT experts face-to-face. If you like to, feel free to make an appointment in advance by contacting us.Hannover Messe - At a Glance

ETG @ embedded world 2013 in Nuremberg

From Feb 26 to 28, 2013, the EtherCAT Technology Group will be at this year’s embedded world exhibition in hall 4, booth 4-242.

The ETG Info Booth mainly addresses EtherCAT developers and shows development products as well as environments for EtherCAT. Additionally, the EtherCAT experts on-site answer questions regarding the technology and the special requirements in the field of embedded systems. Please note that we are moved to a new location in hall 4. Feel free to make an appointment in advance by contacting us.

EtherCAT Technology Group honors 2,000th Member

Leading automotive parts supplier, ZF Friedrichshafen AG (ZF) has become the 2000th member of the world’s largest fieldbus organization, the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG). An event marking the occasion and official distinction recently took place at ZF’s company headquarters in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

For further information please see related press release:Press Section

EtherCAT Training Class & Workshop in China

To help new members in studying EtherCAT technology, development or application, ETG will hold another workshop in Beijing, China on December 17-18.

If you are interested in the event, please download the registration form and send it back ETG Office China.

ETG @ SPS IPC Drives 2012 – Productive Get-Together

Together with almost 60 co-exhibitors the ETG looks back at a successful trade show at this year’s SPS IPC Drives 2012 in Nuremberg, Germany. At the partially re-designed exhibition booth the EtherCAT Technology Group welcomed numerous visitors – ranging from end users looking for the latest product inventions to manufacturers interested in how to implement EtherCAT.

The tradeshow program of the ETG was highlighted by the press conference, which gave information on the development of the organization, the record-breaking work of the Semiconductor Technical Working Group and the official introduction of new development products from the ETG members Renesas and HMS Industrial Networks to an international audience. As usual the annual membership assembly took place, where Martin Rostan, Executive Director of the ETG, summed up the activities in 2012 and the board of directors was re-elected concordantly.

For further information please see press releases SPS IPC Drives 2012:Press Section

EtherCAT Training Class & EtherCAT Workshop with overwhelming participation

From November 12 – 13, 2012, the EtherCAT Training Class & Workshop was successfully held in Shanghai: more than 30 technical engineers from the Eastern Region participated in the two-day event, which was successfully organized by the ETG Office China. The workshop is designed to help member companies to solve problems during the development process of new EtherCAT products.

The workshop covers all details of the EtherCAT technology: communication technology protocol, hardware implementation as well as the development guides for master and slave devices. The engineers on-site were impressed by the EtherCAT technology itself and the depth with which the ETG representatives explained and solved a series of technical questions and topics along the training.

From December 17 to 18, 2012, the ETG Office China offers another EtherCAT Training Class & EtherCAT Workshop of the same kind in Beijing. All interested members are cordially invited to participate in this event. Further information can be found on the official Chinese ETG website:www.ethercat.org.cn

Shanghai Industrial Automation Show (IAS) 2012 – Successful promotion of EtherCAT

On November 6, 2012, the largest industrial automation event – the Shanghai International Industrial Fair (IAS) – had its grand opening at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. Together with 13 co-exhibitors the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG), the world’s largest Industrial Ethernet organization, participated in the five-day exhibition to promote the latest EtherCAT products and spread the technology in general.

Foreign automation vendors like Beckhoff, Omron, Lenze, ACS, HMS, TR, Trio, Kollmorgen or Sanyo Denki showed their dynamic EtherCAT control systems, servo drives, encoders, sensors, motion controls, R&D tools and interfaces at the ETG Joint Booth.

The highlight at the ETG booth were six panels working with EtherCAT, which showed dynamically the excellent performance of the technology: ultra-high-speed data transmission and nanosecond real-time synchronization as well as seamless integration of classical fieldbus devices due to flexible topology, line cable redundancy features and the fully open character of the technology. The ETG representatives of the organization as well as the exhibiting member companies welcomed the visitors to face-to-face discussions and knowledge exchange to help solving problems while developing and implementing and to spread the technology in China even further.

SEMICON Japan 2012

A variety of EtherCAT products for semiconductor manufacturing will be presented at the ETG booth (Hall 3D-707). ETG also presents a seminar "What semiconductor industry expects in EtherCAT technology and EtherCAT semi device profile" every day in Exhibitor Seminar Room, Hall 4. The advantages of EtherCAT in semiconductor manufacturing will be presented by the guest speaker from Tokyo Electron Device.Further InformationEtherCAT Seminar

SPS IPC Drives 2012

This fall the EtherCAT Technology Group will be represented again from November 27 – 29, 2012, at SPS IPC Drives 2012 in Nuremberg, Germany. Accompanied by 58 co-exhibitors we will show the latest developments of the EtherCAT technology as well as our member’s components and automation solutions at our joint booth (Hall 6 - 208).
The SPS IPC Drives is one of the most important European tradeshows for the automation industry – in 2012 it will take place for the 23rd time. Many visitors from all over the world are expected to identify the latest trends regarding products, innovations and industry news in general.
The ETG joint booth offers a platform for our members to show their latest EtherCAT products, services and expertizes jointly: All in all the 58 co-exhibitors show about 360 different products at the booth.
The products and solutions shown at this year’s tradeshow range from the latest drive technologies to control systems, from I/O systems, gateways, sensors, actors and HMI to a record breaking 12.5µs cycle time demo. Additionally all visitors receive expert’s information like the development or certification process of EtherCAT devices. EtherCAT master devices, configuration tools and development products can be tested hands-on at our EtherCAT live demo.
Besides the representatives of our members on-site the EtherCAT experts from the ETG headquarters in Nuremberg as well as the ETG office in China are looking forward to an active knowledge exchange with all interested visitors at the booth.
In addition to the regular tradeshow program we will carry out a press conference as well as our annual membership assembly. SPS IPC Drives Website How to find us at SPS Membership Assembly Press Conference Press Release (PDF)

EtherCAT Training Class & Workshop in China

To help new members in studying EtherCAT technology, development or application, ETG will hold a workshop in Shanghai, China on November 12-13.
The workshop is just after the Industrial Automation Show (IAS) and it makes easier for engineers to combine the travel to Shanghai for IAS and the workshop.
The same workshop will be held in December in Beijing to help customers from North China.
If you are interested in the event, Please download the registration form and send it back ETG Office China.

EtherCAT Seminar Japan

ETG offers three seminars about EtherCAT on October 26, 2012 in Yokohama: EtherCAT introduction, EtherCAT technical update and EtherCAT for developers.

This is the EtherCAT week in Japan this year, so please join us in Yokohama this October for an EtherCAT seminar - just the day after the Japanese EtherCAT Plug Fest! More information can be found on the following page in Japanese language: EtherCATセミナ開催

EtherCAT Roadshow in Australia & New Zealand

Participate in the Industrial Ethernet seminar series from October 19-25, 2012 in Australia and New Zealand. Those full-day EtherCAT seminars are free of charge – at venues in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Conceived as educational events, the EtherCAT seminars are a great chance to explore and understand the EtherCAT technology in your market and worldwide. The agenda contains expert’s presentations as well the sponsor’s table-top exhibition. Beyond that there’s plenty of time to discuss directly with EtherCAT experts and sponsors and learn about the benefits of EtherCAT for you and your application.
The EtherCAT seminar series in Australia and New Zealand addresses end users as well as system integrators and is supported by ANCA Motion, Beckhoff Automation, OMRON and SEW-EURODRIVE.
We cordially invite you to participate in your favorite location! Please feel free to inform your local colleagues, customers and partners about the EtherCAT seminar series 2012 in Australia and New Zealand. Invitation Flyer: Download and forward Roadshow Website: Visit and register online

EtherCAT Roadshow in Malaysia & Singapore

Be part of the Industrial Ethernet seminar series for end users as well as system integrators from October 15-17, 2012, in South East Asia!
Those EtherCAT seminars are free of charge – you can choose between full-day (Malaysia) and half-day (Singapore) events at venues in Selangor, Penang and Singapore.
The seminars are a great chance to get access to the EtherCAT technology in your market and worldwide.
Expert’s presentations, the sponsor’s table-top exhibition and time for personal discussions on-site with the speakers provide you with a complete overview on benefits and challenges of EtherCAT for you and your application. The EtherCAT seminar series in Malaysia and Singapore is specific to end users as well as system integrators and will be supported by Beckhoff Automation.
We cordially invite you to participate in your favorite location! Please feel free to inform your local colleagues, customers and partners about the EtherCAT seminar series 2012 in South East Asia.
Invitation Flyer: Download and forwardRoadshow Website: Visit and register online for free

EtherCAT Roadshow in Brazil

ETG will come to Brazil from September 11-20, 2012 at venues in Ribeirão Preto, São José dos Campos, Volta Redonda, São Paulo, Caxias do Sul, Porto Alegre and Joinville offering full-day Industrial Ethernet seminars.

The EtherCAT Roadshow brings international EtherCAT experts to Brazil to further the knowledge and use of EtherCAT technology in the Brazilian market. In addition to presentations held by experts, you will learn about EtherCAT success stories both in Brazil and worldwide. These seminars are a great opportunity to speak directly with EtherCAT experts to explore what EtherCAT can do for you and your application!

The seminars are free of charge and supported by Beckhoff Automation Brazil. In addition to the presentations, there will be a table-top exhibition at each of the seminars.
We cordially invite you and your local colleagues, customers, and partners to these seminars. Please feel free to spread the word about this exciting opportunity and register today for free, because the number of seats is limited!

For detailed information on venues, the speakers, presentations as well as the online registration form please visit:www.ethercat.org/2012/brasil

EtherCAT Roadshow in China

Following a successful seminar series in 2012, the ETG will return to China from September 11-14, 2012 at venues in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shanghai for full-day Industrial Ethernet seminars.

The EtherCAT Roadshow brings international EtherCAT experts to China to further the knowledge and use of EtherCAT technology in the Chinese market. In addition to presentations held by experts, you will learn about EtherCAT success stories both in China and worldwide. These seminars are a great opportunity to speak directly with EtherCAT experts and sponsors to explore what EtherCAT can do for you and your application!

The seminars are free of charge and supported by Beckhoff Automation, Copley Controls, Kollmorgen, MKS Instruments, Omron, SEW-EURODRIVE, and Trio Motion Technology. The sponsors will be part of a table-top exhibition at each of the seminars.
We cordially invite you and your colleagues, customers, and partners to these seminars. Please feel free to spread the word about this exciting opportunity and register today, because the number of seats is limited!

For detailed information on venues, the speakers, presentations as well as the online registration form please visit:www.ethercat.org/2012/china

Successful Beijing FA/PA Tradeshow Participation

ETG Office China attended the Beijing FA/PA (IA Beijing) tradeshow successfully last week. Besides EtherCAT technology introduction, the ETG information and some applications, more than 40 different EtherCAT products from 12 companies were presented on the ETG info booth, including EtherCAT master, IO, drives, motosr, motion systems, sensors, interface modules, and implementation tools. A lot of customers and Chinese ETG members visited the booth and communicated with EtherCAT experts and learnt more about the technology and available products on the booth.

TECHNO-FRONTIER 2012

EtherCAT Technology Group is a worldwide forum with about 2000 members, and most of them have EtherCAT products ready to buy. The number of the manufacturers using EtherCAT is growing in Japan - especially in the market of semiconductor machines, machine tools and mold injections.

TECHNO-FRONTIER 2012 takes place in Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan in July 11-13. ETG exhibits EtherCAT masters, slaves and tools under the theme "EtherCAT, cutting-edge open FA network with exceptional speed and accuracy" in the booth 4E-001 in East Hall 4 providing information such as technology trend, EtherCAT introductory seminar schedules and ETG activity news. Technical demonstrations will be presented three times a day at the booth. ETG also presents a free seminar about "EtherCAT features and merits" at 1:40 PM on July 12 in Exhibitor Seminar Room 2 in East Hall 6. Please stop by any time in the show, and feel free to join the seminar.

TECHNO-FRONTIER 2012

ETG Member Meeting Korea 2012

The next ETG Member Meeting Korea will take place in Seoul on June 14, 2012. Venue location is the GwangMyung Culture Center.

All ETG member companies from Korea are invited to join the annual ETG Member Meeting Korea. The agenda includes, among other things, presentations from several local EtherCAT applications/success stories as well as EtherCAT activities worldwide and an EtherCAT technology update.

Please have a look at the following page for details and registration:
ETG Member Meeting Korea 2012

ETG Member Meeting Japan 2012

The next ETG Member Meeting Japan will take place in Minatomirai on June 12, 2012. Venue location is the Nisseki Yokohama Building.

The agenda will comprise an update on the ETG activities worldwide and in Japan, as well as information about technology enhancements, EtherCAT applications and projects in Japan. The member meeting will also be an excellent networking opportunity, and we expect a large participation again. Participation is free of charge and all ETG members in Japan are cordially invited. Please find the agenda and the official invitation as well as registration online, now. Please note that both files are available in Japanese language only.

ETG goes North: EtherCAT Roadshow in Finland

ETG will come to Finland with an Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series from June 5-7, 2012. These EtherCAT seminars are educational events delivered by the experts and provide an insight into EtherCAT technology and its applications in Finland and worldwide.

These EtherCAT seminars are free-of-charge. Explore and understand EtherCAT technology, listen to EtherCAT success stories, talk with EtherCAT experts face-to-face, and discover the sponsors' table-top exhibition: See how EtherCAT can help you and join us for a one-day seminar in Helsinki, Tampere or Vaasa from June 5-7, 2012!

Feel free to register for a full-day seminar if you are an end user, system integrator or machine builder dealing with fieldbus or Industrial Ethernet systems and if you are interested to know the latest trends in industrial automation and how fieldbus selection plays an important role.

The seminars are supported by Beckhoff Automation, IXXAT Automation, Omron Industrial Automation and SEW-EURODRIVE.

Please find your invitation for download below or visit the EtherCAT Roadshow Finland website for further details and online registration form. Register soon, as the number of attendees is limited.

Download Invitation Flyer (PDF)Visit Roadshow Website

EtherCAT Roadshow throughout the UK

Following the successful seminar series in 2011, ETG returns to the UK on May 23-24, 2012 in Birmingham and Bristol: this seminar series specifically addresses users and system integrators to learn about EtherCAT and other Industrial Ethernet technologies.

These EtherCAT seminars are free-of-charge educational events delivered by the experts. Explore and understand EtherCAT technology, listen to EtherCAT success stories, talk with EtherCAT experts face-to-face, and discover the sponsors' table-top exhibition: See how EtherCAT can help you and join us for a one-day seminar in Birmingham (National Motorcycle Museum) or Bristol (M Shed) from May 23-24!

The seminars are supported by Baumüller Nürnberg, Beckhoff Automation, Deutschmann Automation, MKS Instruments, Omron, SEW-EURODRIVE and Trio Motion Technology.

Please find your invitation for download below or visit the EtherCAT Roadshow UK website for further details and online registration form. Register soon, as the number of attendees is limited.

Invitation EtherCAT Roadshow UK 2012Website EtherCAT Roadshow UK 2012

EtherCAT Roadshow in Istanbul, Turkey

For the first time EtherCAT will come to Istanbul (Turkey) with a one-day seminar on May 15, 2012. We invite EtherCAT users and system integrators to a free Industrial Ethernet Seminar at the santralistabul, Museum of Energy!

The seminar agenda not only covers Ethernet and EtherCAT introductory presentations, but also addresses migration strategies, competitive advantages for machine builders through EtherCAT and applications in Turkey as well as worldwide. You are cordially invited and also encouraged to make your colleagues, customers and partners in Turkey aware of this excellent opportunity to learn about EtherCAT. EtherCAT seminars are educational events from experts and provide an insight into EtherCAT technology and its applications in Turkey and worldwide.

Please find your personal invitation available as pdf in English and Turkish.

The seminar is free of charge and is supported by Baumüller Nürnberg, Beckhoff Automation, Deutschmann Automation, Festo, Omron, SEW-EURODRIVE and Trio Motion Technology. Register today, because the number of seats is limited.

Detailed information regarding the venue, speaker and presentations as well as online registration form please see here:
EtherCAT Roadshow Turkey (English)EtherCAT Roadshow Turkiye (Turkish)

HANNOVER MESSE 2012

HANNOVER MESSE 2012, which takes place April 23-27 in Hanover, Germany, remains as excellent place to inform you about EtherCAT technology, products and solutions as well as about the EtherCAT Technology Group itself. You will find our ETG Joint Booth again in hall 9-D18.

We invite you to discover the joint EtherCAT booth (at the same location as last year), where more than 67 ETG member companies show over 270 different EtherCAT products. The range of products includes a great variety of master systems, servo drives, frequency converters, I/O systems, pneumatic and hydraulic valves, encoders, sensors, gateways as well as implementation kits and services for slave devices, software tools and Safety over EtherCAT solutions. An overview of all co-exhibitors and product types shown at the booth will be available as help planning your visit of our co-exhibitors at HMI.

Highlights are the functional Safety over EtherCAT demonstration and the product walls showing the outstanding product variety of EtherCAT devices. Furthermore you can inform yourself about EtherCAT adoption rates worldwide and talk with EtherCAT experts face-to-face about your application. Stop by any time the show or feel free to make an appointment by contacting the ETG headquarters in advance.

Website Hannovermesse

embedded world 2012

Visit the ETG Info Booth at the embedded world 2012, taking place Feb 28 - March 1 in Nuremberg, Germany. You will find us at a new location in Hall 4A, Booth 303. Please inform yourself about the latest EtherCAT technology and product updates as well as ETG developments. Take the chance to speak with EtherCAT experts discussing your project or implementation question.

Feel free to ask for an appointment by contacting ETG Headquarters.

EtherCAT now a Korean National Standard

The South Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) has announced that EtherCAT was accepted as a Korean Industrial Standard (KS) by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards. This marks the successful completion of a two-year effort driven by the Korean ETG office. Office manager Key Yoo led this vital initiative and also translated most of the 500-page EtherCAT specification.

Pleasef ind the full press release in English and German language within the Press Section.

SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011 | Review: ETG Joint Booth Highlights

Thanks to the active support of its members, ETG was well represented at SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011 tradeshow showing the unique technology highlights as well as the great product variety of EtherCAT.

This year over 270 (!) different devices were shown from 65 co-exhibitors on new designed product walls, demonstrating the acceptance of the technology not only within the EtherCAT community. With more than 130 master vendors, over 90 drive vendors and across 66 I/O vendors, EtherCAT not only emphasizes its leading position on the Industrial Ethernet market, but also shows the broad support of the technology and thus leading to a huge assortment of products for users of the technology, such as machine builders, OEM or system integrators.

However, not only the number of products is increasing every day: With more than 1850 members worldwide since the foundation of ETG in 2003, ETG is still monitoring a continuous positive trend for new membership applications, especially from Asia and North America.

Among the product variety, the world record multi-axis presenter and the EtherCAT system architecture wall, another other hot topics was addressed: Safety products are available for EtherCAT since 2005 and a functional demo shows the exchange of safe data between safety devices from several companies.

We’ve made a two-part video highlighting EtherCAT features and products by means of the booth. Take a tour through the booth, commented by Martin Rostan (Executive Director ETG), here:
Highlight Video 1
Highlight Video 2


ETG Membership Assembly: Besides the ETG Joint Booth the annual ETG Membership Assembly took place in the evening right after the show hours of the first day. The introductory and main part was presented by Martin Rostan, Executive Director ETG, including ETG membership development, ETG activities worldwide and EtherCAT market situation, to name a few. Dr. Guido Beckmann, Chairman ETG Technical Committee, gave an overview over the work and the achievements of the various Technical Working Groups. He also informed about recent updates of EtherCAT technical documents and specifications. ETG members can download the slides and minutes within the download section:
Membership Assembly Files


ETG Press Conference: At the ETG Press Conference during the tradeshow ETG introduced a new concept standardizing plant-wide Safety architecture for heterogeneous control networks. Furthermore the EtherCAT chip from Texas Instruments is available now, enabling standard microcontroller for EtherCAT communication. In addition, Beckhoff now offers ETG members the most widely-used EtherCAT Slave Stack Code for free. ETG member company Aixtron stated their support of the new ETG Semiconductor Technical Working Group, backed by the market-leading semiconductor equipment vendors. See press section for details:
Press Section

SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011

EtherCAT will be well represented at SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011, the leading European exhibition for electric automation technology, which takes place November 22-24 in Nuremberg, Germany. You will find us at our ETG joint booth (Hall 6-208). Furthermore, there will be the ETG press conference and the annual ETG membership assembly.

ETG Joint Booth: We invite you to discover the joint EtherCAT booth in Hall 6-208 (at the same location as last year), where more than 65 ETG member companies show over 270 different EtherCAT products. The range of products includes master systems, servo drives, frequency converters, I/O systems, pneumatic and hydraulic valves, encoders, sensors, gateways as well as implementation kits for slave devices, software tools and Safety over EtherCAT solutions. An overview of all co-exhibitors and product types shown at the booth will be available as help planning your visit of our co-exhibitors at SPS.

Highlights are the new functional Safety over EtherCAT demonstration and the redesigned product walls showing the outstanding product variety of EtherCAT devices. Furthermore you can inform yourself about EtherCAT adoption rates worldwide and talk with EtherCAT experts face-to-face about your application. Stop by any time the show or feel free to make an appointment by contacting the ETG headquarters in advance.

ETG press conference & ETG membership assembly: Further details are available within the member area. An invitation and the online registration for the annual membership assembly is available there.

SCF - System Control Fair 2011

SCF tradeshow, taking place Nov 16-18 in Tokyo, Japan, offers latest technical information on systems in the fields of automatization and control for the manufacturing industries, such as those for factory automation. ETG booth (West Hall 2-27) shows the wide range of products made in Japan or supported in Japan, including hardware and software of PC/PLC/PAC masters, robots, AC servo systems, I/O terminals, inverters, valves, sensors, slave modules, slave controllers and development kits. Please obtain detailed information on the advantage of EtherCAT, the "global open network gaining on high speed and high precision control" as well as ETG membership application.

In addition, ETG will hold a seminar from 15:30 on the 17th of Nov. Presentation title is "Latest technology and specification trends of EtherCAT worldwide". The attendance is free of charge. Please feel free to join the seminar (approx. 80 attendees on a first-come-first-serve basis).

2011 Japanese EtherCAT Plug Fest announced

We invite and encourage all vendors of EtherCAT devices, code and tools to participate in the Japanese EtherCAT Plug Fest taking place December 13+14 in Yokohama, Japan, at facilities provided by ETG member company Beckhoff Automation Japan (BAJ).
Test the interoperability of your device(s) with other EtherCAT master and/or slave implementations! EtherCAT experts from the ETG will be present and support the Plug Fest. They can give useful hints for technical implementation and handling of the EtherCAT devices.
Detailed information and registration form is available in English and Japanese language.

ETG launches Semiconductor Technical Working Group

EtherCAT is growing rapidly in the Semiconductor and Flat Panel Display (FPD) manufacturing industry – including Photovoltaics and LED manufacturing. Several major equipment and tool makers have adopted EtherCAT, and many Semi component suppliers have first products readily available. Following the request from our members, ETG is now establishing a Semiconductor Technical Working Group (Semi TWG), which will address Semi specific device profiles, installation guidelines, and device tests in order to meet the special requirements of this industry.
For the Kick-Off Meeting we have secured the active participation of premium tool makers, in order to ensure that the results meet their requirements; as of today, presentations are scheduled by Applied Materials, LAM Research, Aixtron and Brooks Automation to talk about their expectations regarding EtherCAT enabled Semi components. Other presentations are being considered by ETG members Tokyo Electron and Dainippon Screen as many Semi related EtherCAT users and potential users are expected to join this meeting.
The Kick-Off Meeting which will shape the future work of this Semi TWG will take place on Oct 26/27, 2011 in the Silicon Valley, CA, USA. The invitation contains the agenda, registration information and venue details of this important event: Invitation ETG Semi TWG Kick Off Meeting For direct registration please go here: Registration ETG Semi TWG Kick Off Meeting

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in the U.S.

We invite EtherCAT users and system integrators to a seminar series throughout the U.S. this October, taking place in Boston (MA), Chicago (IL), Milwaukee (WI), San Diego (CA), Phoenix (AZ) and Denver (CO).
These full-day seminars from October 11-13 and 18-20, 2011, will show the benefits and the challenges of Industrial Ethernet. EtherCAT seminars are educational events from the experts: Learn more about EtherCAT technology and its applications in the U.S. as well as worldwide. Talk with EtherCAT experts face-to-face, and discover the table-top exhibition. See how EtherCAT can help you! Participation is free of charge and you are cordially invited. Please find your personal invitation here for download.
These seminars are supported by Applied Materials, Beckhoff Automation, Elmo Motion Control, Omron Industrial Automation, SEW-EURODRIVE, SICK USA and Yaskawa America. For detailed information regarding the venues, speaker and presentations as well as the online registration form please see here:
www.ethercat.org/2011/us

New Online Product Guide

As the number of product entries increases permanently, the official EtherCAT Product Guide got an extensive update: Entries can be now found in a more comfortable way by setting various filters. Results are displayed in tables for a better overview.
New arrangement of product types has been established in order to help EtherCAT users and implementers finding the product or service they are looking for. The well known color system from the ETG Join Booth has also been included to simplify distinguishing product groups. Certified products can be easily found by setting the corresponding check box. Feel free to test the new official EtherCAT Product Guide today!
www.ethercat.org/products

EtherCAT trainings in China well attended

With the successful promotion of EtherCAT in China, more and more end customers get interested in EtherCAT products. In addition, valuable feedback was given from them to EtherCAT device providers in China to improve EtherCAT products and services. At the same time, the number of new EtherCAT products in China is still increasing. As a result, further EtherCAT trainings are needed for marketing, sales and technical staff from ETG member companies. To meet this demand, ETG office China intend to make further free of charge trainings for those companies. The first training was held in Beijing on July 14th, at Beijing Branch of Beckhoff Automation GmbH. 20 engineers from Omron, SMC, Lenze, HMS and Beckhoff participated this training. The main topics of this training were EtherCAT technology basics, ETG info and worldwide development, EtherCAT in the chinese market and its applications.
ETG China will hold another free training in Shanghai in this September either.

ETG spreads EtherCAT promotion in second-tier cities in China

With the promotions in big cities as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China during last several years, more and more electrical engineers there have been educated about EtherCAT technology and now using and implementing EtherCAT successfully. For further promotion in other important industrial cities in China and strengthen the marketing promotion, EtherCAT Technology Group Office China attended several seminars for general EtherCAT technology promotion in Shanghai, Xi’an, and Shenyang this year. In June 15th, Industrial Ethernet Technology Forum 2011, hold by Control Engineer China, took place in Shanghai. EtherCAT Technology Group introduced EtherCAT technology and actively answered questions from the interested audience.
In June 22th and July 20th, ETG attended the forum "2011 Ethernet & Wireless technology application form - offer you the suitable industry communication solution" by IIA NEWS in Xi’an and Shenyang, brought local engineers the idea about EtherCAT technology and its applications. In those promotional activities, EtherCAT was one of the most interesting topic for the audience.
In Sep.21st, ETG will also attend the seminar by CEC China in Chongqing, to meet local engineers and inform about the EtherCAT technology. All application engineers as well as R&D engineers are welcome to the seminar.

TECHNO-FRONTIER 2011

TECHNO-FRONTIER 2011, which takes place on June 20-21 in TOKYO BIG SIGHT, Japan, is an advanced electronic & mechatronic devices and components exhibition. EtherCAT Technology Group has expanded the exhibition scale by 1.5 times from last year to join this exhibition. Stop by at our ETG Joint Booth at "Booth No. 1E-001", located in front of the entrance of East 1 Hall.

The wide range of products made in Japan or supported in Japan will be exhibited, including hardware and software of PC/PLC/PAC master, robot, AC servo system, I/O terminal, inverter, valve, sensor, slave module, slave controller and development kit. Please obtain detailed information on the advantage of EtherCAT, the "global open network gaining on high speed and high precision control", and the ETG membership application.

In addition, we will hold a seminar from 13:40 on the 20th of July. We will present details of “the latest technology and specification trend of EtherCAT in the ETG Headquarters, as well as the merit of the system manufacturer and end-user developed by the fine technology and the introduction of EtherCAT”, which would be of great interest to every Japanese users and vendors. The attendance is free of charge. Please feel free to join the seminar (approx. 70 attendees a day on a first-come-first-served basis).
TECHNO FRONTIER Website

Popular 11th European Plug Fest

The 11th European EtherCAT Plug Fest was well attended again by 41 participants from 25 companies. The main goal was again testing interoperability of EtherCAT master and slave device implementations. ETG member company Kuhnke Automation hosted this event from May 10-11, 2011, in Malente in the North of Germany.
Overall 11 different EtherCAT master and 27 diverse slave device implementations were tested. The EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool was used in addition to check all slave devices with regards to conformance to the EtherCAT specifications.
Due to the persistent demand and success of these Plug Fests, ETG is preparing further dates in Europe, Asia and North America. These well attended events are a very valuable contribution to device interoperability and help to ensure simple configuration of devices from different vendors within heterogeneous EtherCAT networks.

Texas Instruments implements EtherCAT® in ARM®-based processors

Texas Instruments is the first semiconductor company to license EtherCAT technology for standard microcontroller and microprocessor families. This milestone development, which was announced in an ETG press event at Hannover Industrial Fair, makes EtherCAT a mainstream technology also beyond the automation market. For details please the press release.

HANNOVER MESSE 2011

HANNOVER MESSE 2011, which takes place April 4-8 in Hanover, Germany, is an excellent place to inform you about EtherCAT technology, products and solutions as well as about the EtherCAT Technology Group itself. You will find our ETG Joint Booth again in Hall 9-D18.
We welcome everybody to visit the EtherCAT booth in Hall 9-D18, where 64 member companies show again over 270 different EtherCAT products, including 25 different masters using 10 different operating systems controlling I/O terminals. The wide range of products also includes controller/master, servo drives, frequency converter, I/O terminals, pneumatic and hydraulic valves, encoder, sensors, gateways as well as implementation kits for slave devices, tools and services.
Safety over EtherCAT solutions can be seen on active networks with devices from several vendors.
A highlight will be again the EtherCAT Multi-Axis presenter, showing 35 different synchronized servo drives from 24 (!) different vendors within one EtherCAT network.
Products passed the official EtherCAT Conformance Test will be marked.
Talk with EtherCAT experts about your application or EtherCAT implementation. Get detailed information about the advantages of EtherCAT and Industrial Ethernet or how to apply for an ETG membership. Please stop by at any time of the tradeshow! Feel free to make an appointment by contacting the ETG headquarters in advance.
ETG Joint Booth

Comprehensive Japanese Guide for EtherCAT Slave Implementation

The document is written based on actual demands from number of the local Japanese members to guide through the whole process step-by-step with information of technical documents to be essentially referred at each step, and is useful particularly to design engineers who are less experienced on the implementation tasks.
Click below to download the document within the member area. Your feedback to enhance the content is appreciated.
EtherCAT Slave Development Procedure Guide

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in Switzerland

May 10th to 12th, 2011, ETG is inviting end users and system integrators to the full-day Industrial Ethernet Seminars in Switzerland, taking place in Yverdon, Egerkingen and Zurich-Regensdorf.
The seminars will cover Industrial Ethernet and in particular EtherCAT and its applications as well as competitive advantages that machine builders generate by adopting this fast yet low cost open communication technology. ETG members are encouraged to make their customers and partners in Switzerland aware of this excellent opportunity to learn about EtherCAT. Participation is free of charge at all three locations.
A detailed agenda, information regarding the venues and the online registration form can be found on the ETG website here:
www.ethercat.org/2011/switzerland

Happy Chinese New Year

ETG office China wishes you a happy Chinese new year!

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in the UK

ETG is addressing users and system integrators with a seminar series in the UK that is being held in Dundee, Manchester and Reading on March 15-17, 2011.
Industrial Ethernet and in particular EtherCAT are hot topics in the world wide automation industry. The all-day seminars in the UK will look at EtherCAT and its application as well as at the competitive advantages that machine builders generate by adopting this fast yet low cost open communication technology. The seminars address users and system integrators alike, and participation is free of charge.
A detailed agenda, information regarding the venues and the online registration form can be found on the ETG website here:
www.ethercat.org/2011/uk

More than 100 Chinese ETG Members

There are now more than 100 ETG members in mainland China. Since ETG built up its China office in Beijing in 2007, there is a strong member growth in China. The member variety covers local vendors, universities, institutes and end users, many of them are leaders in their industry. There is much interest of studying the EtherCAT technology as well as implementing EtherCAT in Chinese products and applying EtherCAT in various applications there.

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in India

Following two successful seminar series in 2008, ETG returns to India on February 21-25, 2011 in New Delhi, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Mumbai: this time the full-day seminars specifically address potential EtherCAT users, such as machine builders, system integrators, control system consultants and end users.
The seminar agenda not only covers Ethernet and EtherCAT introductory presentations, but also addresses migration strategies, competitive advantages for machine builders through EtherCAT and applications in India and worldwide. ETG members are encouraged to make their customers and partners in India aware of this excellent opportunity to learn about EtherCAT. Participation is free of charge.
Seminar Details & Online Registration

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in France

ETG is offering Industrial Ethernet / EtherCAT Seminars taking place in Paris and Lyon on January 25-26, 2011 as classical fieldbus systems are challenged by new technologies that provide more performance and support for internet protocols. Automation system users have to decide if, when and how to adopt these next generation networks. Learn about the benefits and the challenges of Industrial Ethernet.
Come, explore and understand the EtherCAT technology and see how it can improve your application. The seminar addresses end user, machine builder, system integrator, OEM or consultant for control and automation systems for different industries alike.
Attendance is free of charge. Further seminar details and online registration is available here.
Please register online as soon as possible, because the number of seats are limited.

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in Italy

ETG presents Industrial Ethernet / EtherCAT seminars taking place in Milano, Bologna and Padova on February 8-10, 2011. At the morning session there will be an introduction of EtherCAT technology, and in the afternoon there will be two sessions in parallel: one highlighting EtherCAT user benefits and application reports addressing machine builders and system integrators, and another one focusing on EtherCAT implementation topics for device vendors considering to implement EtherCAT.
The main purpose of the seminar is to provide an understanding of the benefits using EtherCAT technology for end users as well as device vendors and integrators. Learn about the benefits and the challenges of Industrial Ethernet! Come, explore and understand the EtherCAT technology and see how it can improve your application.
Attendance is free of charge. Further seminar details and online registration is available here.

Christmas Illumination with EtherCAT

The new Christmas illumination in the Swiss town of St. Gallen is networked with EtherCAT. In the current stage of expansion about 640 stars and 330 so called power boxes are EtherCAT slave devices. The network is partitioned in several segments. Along the streets line topologies are used to connect the power boxes, which convert 230VAC into 48VDC. The power boxes are able to provide diagnosis information and feed the DC power into drop lines where 1 to 5 stars are daisy chained. The drop lines are made of hybrid cables with separate power supply and EtherCAT data wires - altogether 7km of hybrid cable is used. Each of the stars - which have a diameter of more than 2 m -  is illuminated by 14 LEDs and is controlled in a highly dynamic fashion, forming light patterns along the streets. The engineers originally planned to use other Industrial Ethernet protocols, but found that due to the large number of nodes and the topology constraints of the project only EtherCAT could provide the performance that is needed to provide full freedom for the light designers. Further information in German language can be found here: www.allerstern.ch The technical part of 3.8 Million CHF project was completed by ETG members robonaut in close cooperation with Peyer Engineering for the light design company KALUZA + SCHMID

ETG successfully participated in IAS

November 9th to 13th, 2010, EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) attended with a Joint Booth at the IAS tradeshow in Shanghai, China.

13 member companies showed 25 different products on the ETG booth, including EtherCAT controller, I/O, servo drives, HMI, software, valves, encoder, CNC systems, PC104 equipment as well as development tools etc. Also three local Chinese ETG member companies joined the booth and presented their own products on the booth, which is specially a highlight. These EtherCAT implementations from local companies show the success of the technology as well as strengthen the confidence for other members in China.

The excellent EtherCAT technology which has been well-tested by practice and oriented for the future was well known to most of the visitors. By visiting the associated booth in the exhibition, they took the change to get more knowledge about the current situation of EtherCAT. Through the rapid development of the community in China as well as worldwide, companies are more confident to implement EtherCAT into their devices. EtherCAT is getting more and more popular at the Chinese market by an increasing number of products and applications. This development of the technology will help to continue the EtherCAT success story.

During the IAS, ETG office China attended the 6th CIIF • MM • China Automation Days (Industrial Communication Boosts High Speed and Intelligent Development of Machines) and introduced EtherCAT technology to the audience. ETG also had a presentation on EtherCAT products news and a technology press meeting.

SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2010

EtherCAT will be well represented at SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2010, the leading European exhibition for electric automation technology, which takes place Nov 23-25 in Nuremberg, Germany. You will find us at our ETG joint booth (Hall 6-208). Furthermore, there will be EtherCAT Presentations at the Conference, the ETG Press Conference and the annual ETG Membership Assembly.
ETG Joint Booth: Please visit the joint EtherCAT booth in Hall 6-208 (at the same location as last year), where more than 60 member companies show over 250 different EtherCAT Products, including 25 different masters using 10 different operating systems controlling I/O terminals. The range of products also includes servo drives, frequency converters, I/O, pneumatic and hydraulic valves, encoder, sensors, gateways as well as implementation kits for slave devices, software tools and Safety over EtherCAT solutions. An overview of all co-exhibitors and product types shown at the booth can be found here as help with planning your visit.
Highlights will be the enhanced Master demo, the functional Safety networks and the extended Multi-Axis presenter, showing now 35 synchronized servo drives from 24 (!) different vendors within one EtherCAT network. Several manufacturers will also demonstrate Master-Master communication, redundancy and gateway solutions in live applications. Certified products will be highlighted and parts of the booth will be Conformance & Interoperability themed.
EtherCAT Presentations: ETG and Beckhoff Automation present two presentations at the SPS/IPC/DRIVES Conference on both days. Please have a look at the conference program to attend the presentations.
ETG Press Conference & ETG Membership Assembly: Further details are available within the Member Area. An invitation and the online registration for the annual membership assembly is also available there.

Mail-based technical support service is now available in Japan

Through surveys at various trade shows and seminars, ETG Task Force Japan has been studying issues and requirements regarding support and services to be provided by ETG, and solving them step-by-step in order of priority. As a first step, the Task Force has just started offering mail-based technical support and service in the local language. ETG Office Japan will continuously improve its support and service system. For further information in Japanese, please click here.

ETG website available in Japanese language

The ETG website is now also available in Japanese language. The Japanese translation is maintained by ASTEM RI which also hosts the ETG Office Japan. Currently 144 member companies from Japan form the third largest national EtherCAT community in the EtherCAT Technology Group. The ETG Task Force Japan is very active promoting and supporting EtherCAT technology in Japan. ETG is happy to respond to the wish of the Japanese EtherCAT community by introducing the Japanese version of the website, which was made possible by the special effort of the EtherCAT team at ASTEM RI in Kyoto who provided the translation and maintains the updates. Thus the website of the EtherCAT Technology Group now offers three language variants: English, Chinese and Japanese.

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in China

ETG offers Industrial Ethernet / EtherCAT Seminars taking place in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen on October 20-26, 2010. Next to a comprehensive overview of existing Industrial Ethernet solutions, the seminars will help you to understand the EtherCAT Technology and how it can help your application!
End users as well as device vendors, system integrators and consultants are addressed to join the seminars. Participation is free of charge and you are cordially invited!
Further seminar details and free online registration is available here.
Please register as soon as possible, because the number of seats are limited.

EtherCAT Plug Fests with record participation

A record number of 54 participants attended the 10th European EtherCAT Plug Fest, hosted by Lenze Automation in Braunschweig, Germany on September 22-23. At this EtherCAT Plug Fest, 10 different master implementations were tested with the slave variety of 21 different vendors. All slave devices were operated individually and in groups with all master devices. The EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool was used in addition to check all slave devices with regards to conformance to the EtherCAT specifications.
The second North American EtherCAT Plug Fest was well attended again. At this Plug Fest seven master implementations were tested with the slave variety of 10 different devices. Yaskawa Electric America in Waukegan (IL), USA hosted this interoperability testing event of EtherCAT implementations on September 9-10.
Due to the persistent demand and success of these Plug Fests, ETG will announce further dates soon here and within the event section. The main goal of EtherCAT Plug Fests is to test and improve interoperability of the devices from various vendors. In addition, the events act as a forum for discussing implementation tips and tricks as well as for clarifying questions regarding the technology.

Asian ETG Member Meetings well attended

Many Japanese and Korean member representatives of the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) used the opportunity to get the latest EtherCAT technology updates at first hand on one of the local member meetings.
The annual ETG Member Meeting Japan was held in Tokyo. It was well attended again like previous meetings by over 100 representatives of ETG member companies. Martin Rostan, Executive Director of the ETG, provided a detailed update on EtherCAT technology and ETG activities. Technology enhancements have been developed by ETG Working Groups: amongst others the Safety Drive Profile for Functional Safety in drives and an update of the EtherCAT Slave Information Specification that defines the format for slave device description files used by configuration tools have been published within the ETG.Besides the technical highlights the global status and activities of the ETG were in focus: more than 1400 companies joined the organization so far; including the fast-growing number of about 330 members from Asia. The ETG Task Force Japan is a group of Japanese member companies which contribute with ideas and man power to take an active role in EtherCAT promotion in Japan.
More than 60 representatives of Korean ETG member companies joined the ETG Member Meeting Korea, held in Seoul. In addition to the ETG update a highlight was the speech of Prof. Yongseon Moon from Sunchon National University: he presented several successful robotic applications – all equipped with EtherCAT which has been established itself as the de facto standard for robotics in Korea. The highly technology-oriented Korean market identified early the outstanding advantages of EtherCAT and now profits in its various machine applications.

EtherCAT included in EUROMAP specification

The European association of manufacturers from plastics and rubber machineries has approved EtherCAT for their applications: EtherCAT was added as basic communication technology to the EUROMAP 75 specification which contains protocols for communication with peripheral equipment. Part 3 of the specification describes the implementation of real-time Ethernet systems.
Beside the standardization of EtherCAT for the semiconductor industry, this is another international standardization of EtherCAT within an industry specific sector. Both show the increasing acceptance and diffusion of the EtherCAT technology.
The final edition of the EUROMAP 75 specification can be downloaded at the website of the EUROMAP Technical Commission.

International EtherCAT Plug Fest Series

To support ETG Members all around the world the ETG continues its Plug Fest series on three continents: North America, Europe and Asia.
At the Plug Fest both master and slave devices are interoperability tested in various configurations. Thus we invite and encourage all manufacturers of EtherCAT Devices, Codes and Tools to participate. The meeting also serves as forum for developers. ETG experts will attend the Plug Fests to share implementation tips and tricks and clarify questions regarding the technology. The Plug Fests have established themselves as pragmatic and effective means to achieve interoperable EtherCAT products.
The general boot-up, process data and mailbox communication will be tested as well as device behaviour with enhanced functionality, like support of Modular Device Profile and CiA402 servo drive profile. The current EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool is available and EtherCAT Analyzer Tools are used to check device behaviour and interoperability.
Participants of the last Plug Fests are encouraged to attend again. We expect new devices (both master and slaves) to be present, so that the interoperability tests will be enhanced, too. Companies with subsidiaries in several countries may participates on multiple Plug Fests to test with a big variety of devices.

2nd North American Plug Fest: Info & Registration
- September 09-10, 2010, Waukegan (IL), USA. Hosted by Yaskawa Electric.

10th European Plug Fest: Info & Registration
- September 22-23, 2010, Braunschweig, GER. Hosted by Lenze Automation.

2nd Asian EtherCAT Plug Fest: Info & Registration
- October 28-29, 2010, Kyoto, JPN. Hosted by ASTEM.

EtherCAT powered robots win RoboCup German Open

The TechUnited team has won the German Open robot soccer competition held in April in Magdeburg, Germany. The EtherCAT powered robots play in the middle-size league, which can considered to be the main league of the competition. In this league two teams of mid-sized robots with all sensors on-board play soccer autonomously on a field. Communication among robots is supported via wireless communications. The TechUnited robots use EtherCAT both for data acquisition and for motion control. The current 5th generation moves even faster than its predecessor, features an optimized path-planning algorithm and is able to pass the ball dynamically between players.
A video compilation showing the TechUnited Team at the RoboCup German Open can be found here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=agHBb8KCTZg

ETG Booth @ Beijing FA/PA, May 12-15

ETG will attend Beijing FA/PA (Modern Factory/Process Automation Show) for the first time. The tradeshow takes place May 12-15, 2010 at the China International Exhibition Centre, Beijing. Learn more about the technology as well as see EtherCAT products from more than 10 Chinese ETG members. You will find us at the ETG Info Booth in Hall 8-A100. Please click here for booth details.
The official website of FA/PA can be found here.

Hannover Messe 2010 (HMI)

EtherCAT will be again well presented at Hannover Messe 2010, which takes place Apr 19-23 in Hanover, Germany. You will find us at our ETG Joint Booth (Hall 9-D18) at an enlarged booth.
ETG Joint Booth: Please visit the joint EtherCAT booth in Hall 9-D18, where 54 member companies show again over 200 different EtherCAT products, including 17 different masters using 10 different operating systems controlling I/O terminals. The range of products also includes servo drives, frequency converts, I/Os, pneumatic and hydraulic valves, encoder, sensors, gateways, as well as implementation kits for slave devices, tools and Safety over EtherCAT solutions. A highlight will be the EtherCAT Multi-Axis presenter, showing 30 different synchronized servo drives within one EtherCAT network. Certified products will be highlighted and parts of the booth will be Conformance & Interoperability themed.
EtherCAT Introductory Presentation: There will be a daily EtherCAT Introductory Presentation at 4:15 pm in Hall 9-G08. This free seminar will include the EtherCAT functional principle, technology features, benefits for vendors and end users, application examples as well as implementation notes. Take the chance at the end of the tradeshow day to inform you about EtherCAT within only 45 minutes! The training classroom is located close to the ETG Joint Booth in Hall 9 at booth G08.
If you have questions on the EtherCAT technology, how to become a member and on your application or EtherCAT implementation, then please come by and discuss these topics with EtherCAT experts. Stop by any time the show or feel free to make an appointment by contacting the ETG headquarters before the show.

Interoperability Testing at 9th EtherCAT Plug Fest

35 participants of ETG member companies met at the 9th European EtherCAT Plug Fest hosted by VIPA in Herzogenaurach, Germany. The main goal was again testing interoperability of EtherCAT master and slave device implementations. Overall 9 different EtherCAT master and 18 diverse slave device implementations were tested. Conformity of slave devices was checked by using the updated official Conformance Test Tool (CTT). This tool was enhanced with new features to improve the level of testing coverage as well as better test handling. Several master manufacturers put their focus on Safety over EtherCAT.
Thus the Plug Fests will continue to be a popular and important event for developers to ensure quality of EtherCAT products. Furthermore these well attended acticities serve as basis for device interoperability and guarantee simple configuration of devices from different vendors within heterogenous EtherCAT networks.

embeddedworld 2010

Visit the ETG Info Booth at the embeddedworld 2010, taking place March 2-4 in Nuremberg, Germany. You will find us in Hall 9, Booth 331.
Please inform yourself about the latest technology and product updates as well as ETG developments. Take the chance to speak with EtherCAT experts discussing your project or implementation question.
Please ask for an appointment by sending an email to info@ethercat.org.

9th European EtherCAT Plug Fest announced

We invite and encourage all manufacturers of EtherCAT Devices, Code and Tools to participate in the 9th European EtherCAT Plug Fest taking place March 18th and 19th in Herzogenaurach, Germany, at facilities provided by ETG member company VIPA.
Test the interoperability of your device(s) with other EtherCAT master and/or slave implementations! EtherCAT experts from the ETG will be present and support the Plug Fest. They can give useful hints for technical implementation and handling of the EtherCAT devices.
Detailed information and registration form can be found here.

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in Norway

The ETG offers Industrial Ethernet / EtherCAT Seminars taking place in Horten, Stavanger and Trondheim on February 9-11, 2010. Next to a comprehensive overview of existing Industrial Ethernet solutions, the seminars will help you to understand the EtherCAT Technology and how it can enhance your application!
End users as well as device vendors and system integrators are addressed to join the seminars. Participation is free of charge and you are cordially invited!
Further seminar details and online registration is available here.
Please register as soon as possible, because the number of seats are limited.

EtherCAT also for factory automation

EtherCAT is a well-established technology for machine level control networks. Now ETG has also put a focus on the factory network, enhancing the EtherCAT specification by defining services for the supervisory control level. As a result, EtherCAT will also comprise the Ethernet communication between control systems, as well as to the supervisory systems. The new EtherCAT Automation Protocol (EAP) simplifies the direct access of process data from field devices at the sensor / actuator level and also supports the integration of wireless devices.
For the factory level, the base protocols for process data communication have been part of the EtherCAT specification from the very beginning. Now they were enhanced with services for the parameter communication between control systems and for routing across system boundaries. Uniform diagnostic and configuration interfaces are also part of the EAP. It can be used in switch-based Ethernet topologies as well as via wireless Ethernet. Process data is communicated like network variables, either cyclically or event-driven. Both the classic EtherCAT Device Protocol, which utilizes the special EtherCAT functional principle of "processing on the fly", and the new EAP make use of the same data structures and facilitate vertical integration to supervisory control systems and networked controllers.
Since EAP mainly uses already available protocols and services, for example, those already implemented in many EtherCAT control systems for access to field devices from outside via TCP/IP, it is a fully compatible enhancement of the standard. While EAP handles the communication in the millisecond range on the process control level and between control systems, the EtherCAT Device Protocol handles I/O and motion control communication in the field level in the microsecond range.
Development of the EtherCAT Automation Protocol was kicked off in March 2009. The corresponding ETG working group plans to publish the specification in short time.
Further Information about EAP can be found in this publication

SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2009

EtherCAT will be well represented and very active at SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2009, the leading European exhibition for electric automation technology, which takes place Nov 24-26 in Nuremberg, Germany. You will find us at our Joint Booth (Hall 6-208). Furthermore, there will be EtherCAT Presentations at the Conference, the ETG Press Conference and the annual ETG Membership Assembly.
ETG Joint Booth: Please visit the joint EtherCAT booth in Hall 6-208 (at the same location as last year), where 52 member companies show over 200 different EtherCAT Products, including 17 different masters using 10 different operating systems controlling I/O terminals. The range of products also includes servo drives, frequency converts, I/Os, pneumatic and hydraulic valves, encoder, sensors, gateways, as well as implementation kits for slave devices, tools and Safety over EtherCAT solutions. A highlight will be the enhanced Multi-Axis presenter, showing 30 synchronized servo drives within one EtherCAT network. The EtherCAT Automation Protocol will be introduced. Several manufacturers will demonstrate Master-Master communication, Redundancy as well as devices with Power over EtherCAT in live applications.
EtherCAT Presentations: ETG and Beckhoff Automation present two presentations at the SPS/IPC/DRIVES Congress on Tuesday, Nov 24th. Please read more at the tradeshow conference.
ETG Press Conference & ETG Membership Assembly: Details are available within the member area.

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in India

The ETG offers Industrial Ethernet / EtherCAT Seminars taking place in Achmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai on November 2‐6, 2009.

Learn about the benefits and the challenges of Industrial Ethernet. Come, explore and understand the EtherCAT Technology & see how it can help your application! These seminars specifically address end users as well as device vendors and system integrators to learn about EtherCAT technology and other Industrial Ethernet technologies.

Participation is free of charge & you are cordially invited!
Further seminar details and online registration is available here.

Please register online as soon as possible, because the number of seats are limited.

Well attended 8th European EtherCAT Plug Fest

37 participants attended the 8th European EtherCAT Plug Fest, hosted by STÖBER Antriebstechnik in Pforzheim, Germany on October 1-2, 2009. At this well established and also well attended EtherCAT Plug Fest, 8 different master implementations were tested with the slave variety of 15 different vendors. All slave devices were operated individually and in groups with all master devices. In addition, the devices were checked with the official EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool.
The next European Plug Fest will be hosted by ETG member company VIPA on March 18-19, 2010. Further details will be published in the Event section soon.

Great success with 1st North American EtherCAT Plug Fest

The first North American EtherCAT Plug Fest was well attended with over 20 people from 11 ETG member companies. At this Plug Fest four new master implementations were tested with the slave device variety of 8 different vendors. The main goal of this event, which was hosted by National Instruments in Austin, Texas, was to check interoperability of EtherCAT implementations.
Please find the full article as press release and additional pictures from the event here.

Japanese EtherCAT Test Center fully operational

As of September 1st the Japanese EtherCAT Test Center (ETC), operated in Kyoto by ASTEM, is fully operational and can serve the Japanese as well as the overall Asian EtherCAT community. The European ETC, operated by Beckhoff Automation GmbH in Nuremberg, Germany, has been providing Conformance Testing for ETG members since end of 2008.
Please find more information about conformance and contact details of the ETCs within the Conformance Section.

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in Taiwan

September 15-18 ETG hosts Industrial Ethernet / EtherCAT seminars in Taipei, Tainan and Taichung. These seminars address the needs of system integrators and machine builders in Taiwan.
Details and registration form can be found here.

8th European EtherCAT Plug Fest announced

The 8th European EtherCAT Plug Fest will take place in Pforzheim, Germany, on October 1/2, 2009. The interoperability meeting will be hosted by STÖBER Antriebstechnik. At the Plug Fest both master and slave devices are interoperability tested in various configurations. Thus we invite and encourage all manufacturers of EtherCAT Devices, Codes and Tools to participate. The meeting also serves as forum for developers. ETG experts will attend the Plug Fest to ensure qualified feedback and provide technical backup.
Details and registration form for ETG members can be found here.

1st North American EtherCAT Plug Fest hosted by NI

We invite and encourage all manufacturers of EtherCAT Devices, Code and Tools to participate in the 1st North American EtherCAT Plug Fest taking place September 2nd and 3rd in Austin, Texas, at facilities provided by ETG member company, National Instruments (NI). The goal of this developers’ event is to perform interoperability tests.
This is a special offer for manufacturers in North America to test the interoperability of their devices with other EtherCAT master and/or slave implementations. EtherCAT experts will be present and support the PlugFest. They can give useful hints for technical implementation and handling of the EtherCAT devices.
Further information and registration form for ETG members can be found here. Please register as soon as possible!

ETG opens new Conformance Test Center in Japan

To best serve the large number of EtherCAT device vendors in Japan, the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) has opened the first EtherCAT Test Center (ETC) outside of Europe in Kyoto, Japan. This new ETC is operated by the Advanced Scientific Technology & Management Research Institute of KYOTO (ASTEM RI). The Kyoto Test Center will be fully operational in a few weeks from now, serving the Japanese as well as the overall Asian EtherCAT community.
Please read the full article and see pictures in the press release section.

Full house at ETG Member Meeting Japan

Three weeks before the ETG member meeting Japan on July 7th already over 100 people registered for the event, which will provide an update of the EtherCAT technology, application presentations from Japan and also an overview of EtherCAT applications worldwide. This information and networking event is held annually, this year for the first time in the new, conveniently located Akihabara UDX conference center. In the last years the event was well attended, too, reflecting the enormous interest of the Japanese automation industry in EtherCAT. Details and the registration form can be found here.

US membership exceeds 100

Shortly after exceeding the 1000 member mark, ETG membership reached another milestone: there are now more than 100 member companies from the United States of America. After Germany, the US provides the second largest ETG member community, closely followed by Japan and China/Taiwan. Since member 1000 was reached, ETG experiences an ongoing strong interest in its membership: the last month has seen an average of two new members every business day.

EtherCAT in Measurement Systems

Encountered by many as the upcoming de facto standard for measurement systems, EtherCAT is quickly expanding in this industry, too. The decision of BMW, Volvo, Airbus and others for EtherCAT in test stand applications has further boosted the acceptance among the test and measurement suppliers. Consequently ETG exhibited at the Sensor & Test Exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany in May. Besides generic EtherCAT Technology displays and demonstrators also EtherCAT based measurement systems by HBM, imc Messsysteme, National Instruments, Stiegele Datensysteme, and Vector Informatik were shown.

Large audience at ETG Seminars in India

Although aimed at ETG member companies only, the recent seminar series was very well received: more than 150 registered attendants mark India’s interest in the EtherCAT Technology. The seminars in New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune covered a detailed technology introduction as well as an EtherCAT application overview. In India, EtherCAT is already used in a large variety of applications such as packaging machines, automotive test beds, wind turbines and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. ETG plans to hold another seminar series in India in October, this time focusing on end users.

Historic Milestone for EtherCAT Technology Group: the 1000th Member

With 1000 member companies joining in just over 5 years, the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) is undoubtedly a dynamic organization powered by rapid growth. The 1000th member of the ETG is Multivac, a world leader in packaging machine technology with its headquarters in Bavaria, Germany. Details can be found in the press release section.

EtherCAT Seminar Series and Evaluation Kit Workshops in North America

On May 13th+14th as well as May 18th+19th there will be EtherCAT seminars and Evaluation Kit workshops in North America. Invited are end users as well as device vendors that want to learn about EtherCAT technology. The EtherCAT implementation seminars take place in San Jose and Chicago. Details and registration form are found in the event section.

Industrial Ethernet Seminar Series in India

In May, ETG hosts Industrial Ethernet / EtherCAT seminars in New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. These seminars specifically address the needs of ETG members and their distributors in India, who may have EtherCAT or other Industrial Ethernet products either available or coming up, and who want to be prepared so that they can talk to their customers about it. Details can be found here.

Call for Experts: Technical Committee starts new Working groups

The Technical Committee (TC) established several Working Groups (WG) on the last Meeting on March, 18th 2009. These Working Groups have the goal to enhance the EtherCAT Technology and to improve the conformity. The TC asks the ETG members to join the Working Groups and send Experts for an active work within these groups. A list of all Working Groups is available within the Member Section here.

Free "Safety over EtherCAT" Seminar: March, 17th, 2009

The EtherCAT Technology Group organizes a "Safety over EtherCAT" seminar in Raunheim, Germany, on March 17th, 2009. Decision makers, product manager as well as R&D engineers who are involved in their companies safety product strategy are invited to this seminar. We will give you a comprehensive overview about today's requirements for safety machine architectures with the focus on safety communication with the Safety over EtherCAT protocol. You should get a basis for the strategy of your machine or device implementation. Safety over EtherCAT is a safety communication protocol used within the EtherCAT Technology. Several companies already use this technology or offer products. If you are interested in joining the seminar, please register immediately here.

50 Devices successfully Conformance Tested

Starting operations in October last year, the EtherCAT Test Center in Nuremberg has successfully tested 50 EtherCAT devices so far. Among the first vendors that received conformance certificates were Hilscher, SMC and Beckhoff. ETG invites the device vendors among its members to bring their EtherCAT products to the official test center and also encourages end users to check for the ETG Certificate when purchasing EtherCAT products. The Test Center is operated by Beckhoff on behalf of the ETG. Details about conformance can be found here.

ETG Team expanded

The EtherCAT Technology Group welcomes a new team member: Rainer Hoffmann complements the technical team in the Nuremberg ETG headquarter in Germany. Rainer Hoffmann has a background in software development and will provide high level implementation support, contribute to the conformance test and look after EtherCAT sample code. He started his new job in February and is currently receiving advanced training.

7th European Plug Fest announced

The 7th European EtherCAT Plug Fest will take place in Garbsen, near Hannover, Germany, on March 16/17, 2009. The interoperability meeting will be hosted by the local SEW Eurodrive training center. At the Plug Fest both master and slave devices are interoperability tested in various configurations. The meeting also serves as forum for developers. Details can be found here.

"Safety over EtherCAT" wins SAFETY AWARD 2009

Nominated by a jury that included safety experts from TÜV, BGIA, VDMA and ZVEI and voted for by the readers of the German magazines "Sicherheit + Management" and "MessTec & Automation" the EtherCAT Safety Technology "Safety over EtherCAT" has won one of the three GIT SAFETY AWARDs 2009 in the category  "Safe Automation". "Safety over EtherCAT" was the only winning safety technology, all other winners were products.
Please read more about Safety over EtherCAT here.

Omron selects EtherCAT as its next Motion Bus System

Following an extensive study and evaluation period, Omron has selected EtherCAT as its next Motion Bus System. Along with that step, Omron has also decided to take an active role in EtherCAT Technology Group in Japan and Asian Market: Omron will pursue the adoption of EtherCAT as a national Japanese standard and will help to establish the conformance and interoperability test lab in Japan. Omron will develop EtherCAT based servo motors and inverters as well as the motion controllers in the next summer, initially for the European market and for Japanese OEMs exporting their machines.

National Instruments selects EtherCAT as System Bus

National Instruments has selected EtherCAT as System Bus for its Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) product line. Rahman Jamal, Technical & Marketing Director of National Instruments Central Europe, presented at the ETG press conference at SPS/IPC/Drives show how third party slave devices can be integrated in the system by using the LabView configuration tool. ETG expects that NIs' decision will have major impact both in North America and in the test and measurement field in general, where EtherCAT is already well established.

Multi-vendor Multi-axis Demonstrator @ ETG Booth at SPS/IPC/Drives 2008

25 different Servo Drives from 16 Vendors, one EtherCAT network, one application program: ETG shows new multi-vendor multi-axis demonstrator at SPS/IPC/Drives tradeshow in Nuremberg, Germany. This unparalleled setup, in which all servo drives are synchronized, underlines the leadership of EtherCAT in motion control.

ETG develops new Safety Drive Profile

Because current Drive Profiles do not cover functional safety, the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) is developing a new Safety Drive Profile to close this gap. With this new drive profile, the Safety Functionality of EtherCAT drives with CiA402 (CANopen®) or SERCOS™ Drive Profile can be used and configured in a "manufacturer-independent" way.

Technology enhancement: "Power over EtherCAT"

The EtherCAT Technology Group has enhanced its technology with a new "Power over EtherCAT" option. The specification enhancement makes use of the IEEE802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality and can be implemented with commercially available chips. Power over EtherCAT is particularly suitable for encoders or linear position sensors, which now can connected to EtherCAT using a single, standard Ethernet cable.

Industrial Ethernet Seminars in South Africa

November 11+14 ETG will hold Industrial Ethernet Seminars in South Africa. Invited are end users as well as device vendors that want to learn about EtherCAT and other Industrial Ethernet technologies. The seminars take place in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Details and registration form are found here.

"Safety over EtherCAT" nominated for SAFETY AWARD

A Jury that included safety experts from TÜV, BGIA, VDMA and ZVEI has nominated the "Safety over EtherCAT" Technology for the final round of the 2009 GIT SAFETY AWARD in category A: Safe automation. The winner is selected by an online poll system which can be found here.

Webcast: "Engineering-driven Ethernet"

Control Engineering online has premiered "Engineering-driven Ethernet" - a highly informative Webcast featuring Joey Stubbs, ETG representative North America and other industry experts. Click here to register and view the archived Webcast from October 8th, 2008.

EtherCAT Plugfest with 13 Master Vendors

At the EtherCAT Plugfest on Sept 22/23 13 different master implementations were tested with the slave device variety of 17 different vendors. It is the goal of the event, which was hosted by Lti Drives in Lahnau, Germany, to check the interoperability of EtherCAT implementations. All slave devices are operated individually and in groups with all master devices. In addition, the devices are checked with the Conformance Test Tool.

1st Asian EtherCAT Plugfest announced

The first Asian EtherCAT Plugfest will be held in Suncheon, South Korea, on October 15/16. The event is hosted by Prof Moon, ETG Representative Korea, in facilities provided by Sunchon National University and will be attended by master and slave device manufacturers from several Asian countries. Establishing plug fests in Asia reflects the importance of the Asian market for EtherCAT. The technology is currently being implemented by many Asian automation device vendors.

IEC approves ETG Liaison with IEC SC65C JWG10

The Standardization Management Board of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has approved the liaison of the ETG with the workgroup for industrial cabling, JWG10. The decision was taken unanimously. ETG experts are actively contributing to the installation profiles elaborated in this workgroup, e.g. to the next edition of IEC 61784-5.

EtherCAT SEMI Standard enhanced

The EtherCAT SEMI standard E54.20 was enhanced by the vacuum pump device profile. The SEMI committees unanimously accepted the proposed specification at the standards meetings during Semicon West in San Francisco, CA, USA. The new standard release is expected to be published soon. ETG had an info booth at this show, which was well frequented.

EtherCAT Robots are vice world champions

EtherCAT Robots finish a strong second in soccer championship. The EtherCAT equipped robots from the Dutch Team, Tech United had a near perfect record at the RoboCup World Championships in Suzhou, China: the finals went to the 14th match, which was the first that the EtherCAT soccer robots from Eindhoven finally lost. In the semi finals, Tech United defeated the former world champion, but the win from the round robins against the eventual world champion team CAMBADA from Portugal could not be repeated in the finals. However, 2nd place is a great achievement and everyone at the ETG offers congratulations to Tech United!

EtherCAT at SEMICON West, San Francisco

The semiconductor industry recognizes EtherCAT as the upcoming communication technology. Major players in this industry call on their suppliers to provide EtherCAT interfaces for semiconductor manufacturing devices, and as a result several such products were already shown on the recent SEMICON West tradeshow. Many visitors informed themselves about EtherCAT technology, products and implementation options at the ETG info booth, which also displayed a live multi vendor demo with controllers, sensors, drives, gateways, mass flow controllers, gauges and I/O. EtherCAT Implementation workshops will be held at the main US semiconductor locations San Jose, CA and Boston, MA in August.

ETG Member Meeting Japan: over 100 Attendees

The members meeting in Tokyo was very well attended: over 100 representatives of Japanese ETG members followed the invitation. Seiko Epson and the bio-mimetic control research center Riken presented robot projects.

ETG Member Meeting Japan on July 8th

ETG Japan Office will host a members meeting in Tokyo on July 8th. The meeting is intended for employees of Japanese ETG members as well as for the Japanese representatives of ETG members located in other parts of the world. Latest EtherCAT technology enhancements, ETG news, and the status of the worldwide and Japanese EtherCAT deployment will be covered as well as EtherCAT slave device development resources. Detailed information can be found here.

EtherCAT IP Core now supporting 3 Ports

The EtherCAT IP core turns Altera or Xilinx FPGAs into an EtherCAT Slave Controller. The core now supports up to three EtherCAT ports. The third port allows one to directly connect drop lines and branches with further devices and take full advantage of the topology flexibility of EtherCAT. So far this functionality was implemented in the ASICs only, now EtherCAT devices with integrated junction can be designed with FPGAs, too.

EtherCAT Robots win RoboCup German Open

EtherCAT equipped soccer robots of the Dutch Team Tech United Eindhoven won the RoboCup German Open in Hannover. In the semi-final they defeated the reigning world champion of the Middle Size League, the Brainstormers Tribots from Osnabrück, Germany, a team that had not been beaten since 2004. In the finals it took a penalty shoot-out to beat the current number 3 in the world ranking, the CoPS Team from Stuttgart. The Tech United Robots use EtherCAT for interfacing to drives, sensors and actuators.

EtherCAT at Hannover Industrial Fair

EtherCAT is shown at the worlds largest industrial show in a variety of ways. The focus is on the Joint Booth of the EtherCAT Technology Group in Hall 9, F13 where 54 Vendors present more than 150 different EtherCAT Products. Shown for the first time are several control systems - including a new safety controller with Safety over EtherCAT protocol, drives, sensors, I/O systems, interfaces and gateways from various vendors.
EtherCAT introductory presentations at the convention center in the middle of the fair ground are held at 4 p.m. on April 22-24. There will also be implementation seminars and workshops, which have been fully booked for some weeks, adjacent to the trade show.

ETG Gains One New Member Every Business Day

The growth rate of the EtherCAT Technology Group is further accelerating. In the last 12 months membership of the worldwide group increased by 250 - an average of one new member every business day. There are 732 member companies from 41 countries. The member distribution shows the migration from a primarily German to a truly global association. At the end of 2003, 70% of the 35 founding members were from Germany. As of today the percentage of German members is down to 38%. The US has the second highest percentage of members, followed by Japan, Switzerland and Italy.

ETG Technical Committee Spring Meeting

86 participants attended the spring meeting of the ETG Technical Committee and the associated training classes. The Technical Committee meets twice a year to discuss the results of the various working groups and task forces, pass implementation guidelines and implement new work groups. One topic at the spring meeting was the EtherCAT master/master communication: the protocols and services are part of the specification since 2005 and are also included in IEC 61158, now a uniform configuration interface was introduced. The Technical Committee is accompanied by training classes which are also open to all ETG members. The fall meeting will take place Sept 23/24.

EtherCAT at Hannover Industrial Fair

EtherCAT is the fastest Industrial Ethernet Technology. This was found by researchers in a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. More details about performance can be found here.

10 Master and 22 Slave Device Vendors at EtherCAT Plug Fest

The 5. EtherCAT Plug Fest, hosted by Baumüller in Nuremberg, Germany, was well attended: 10 Master and 22 Slave Device Vendors from Europe, Asia and North America tested and proved the interoperability of their devices. The technical focus of this plug fest were the CiA402 Implementation Guideline for Servo Drives and the Modular Device Profile, which allows one to easily integrate and configure such modular products in EtherCAT networks.

More than 100 Asian Members

The number of ETG members from Asia has exceeded 100. This milestone shows the great interest in the fastest Industrial Ethernet Technology in Asia, underlined by a growing range of EtherCAT enabled products from local automation vendors.

EtherCAT at SPS/IPC/Drives in Nuremberg, Germany

Please visit the joint EtherCAT Booth (Hall 6/309), where 50 (!) member companies show over 100 EtherCAT products, including 20 masters using 10 different operating systems. The range of products also includes drives, I/O, pneumatic and hydraulic valves, sensors, as well as implementation kits for master and slave devices, and Safety over EtherCAT solutions.

ETG opens Korea Office

The EtherCAT Technology Group has opened a regional office in Korea. The office is supported by the new ETG Regional Committee, which was established to promote EtherCAT is this important market. EtherCAT is already widely used in Korea in applications ranging from semiconductor and flat panel display manufacturing via robotics and machine control to ship building. The new ETG office is based in Seoul and is managed by Mr. Key Yoo, CEO of Tri-TEK, who has been deeply involved in EtherCAT promotion and support in Korea since 2004. Chairman of the Regional Committee Korea and official ETG Representative Korea is Prof. Dr. Yong Seon Moon, CEO of RedOne Technologies. Prof. Moon is a well known researcher in the field of robotic controls and has been involved in numerous Korean technology projects.

EtherCAT standardized as communication technology for SERCOS and CANopen Drive Profile

On Oct 12, IEC 61800-7 also passed the final voting unanimously. IEC 61800-7 is particularly important for motion control applications, since it makes EtherCAT a standardized communication technology for the SERCOS™ and CANopen® drive profiles, on an equal footing with SERCOS I-III and CANopen respectively. The drive parameters and state machines as well as the process data layout of the device profiles remain untouched when mapped to EtherCAT. Hence the user interface does not change when moving from SERCOS and CANopen to EtherCAT, and device manufacturers can re-use major parts of their firmware.

EtherCAT now IEC standard!

The voting period for lEC/FDIS 61158 ended midnight on Friday, Sept 28 - and it passed with 100% YES-votes. After four years of standardization work this makes EtherCAT an official IEC standard. In 2004 the EtherCAT Technology Group became an official standardization partner of IEC SC65C. Since 2005 EtherCAT had been an IEC specification (IEC/PAS 62407), which will now be replaced by the international standard IEC 61158. IEC will publish the standard in a few weeks, it will be made available in the IEC web-shop. EtherCAT is also part of IEC/FDIS 61784-2, which specifies profiles for real-time Ethernet networks. This standard also passed with 100% approval. The voting period for the drive profile standard IEC 61800-7 ends October 12.

SEMI approves EtherCAT standard

Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), the leading standards organization for the semiconductor industry, has approved EtherCAT for their applications. The EtherCAT SEMI standard was accepted by the SEMI North American Information & Control Committee in July and meanwhile also passed the final review. Currently SEMI staff in San Jose, CA, prepares the publication. EtherCAT is added to the E54 Sensor/Actuator suite of standards. This important milestone further increases the acceptance of EtherCAT within the semiconductor and flat panel display manufacturing industries.

Chinese EtherCAT Website online

The ETG website is now also available in Chinese language, maintained by the new ETG Office in Beijing.

Enhanced Product Guide online

The updated and enhanced version of the EtherCAT product guide is now online. If you want to add your EtherCAT product, please contact ETG Headquarters.

ETG Member Meeting Japan on July 10th

ETG Japan Office will host a members meeting in Tokyo on July 10th. More than 50 Japanese ETG member representatives have signed up so far. Highlight of the meeting will be several presentations from Japanese end users about their EtherCAT deployment. Detailed information can be found here.

 

EtherCAT 1st RTE Choice for Packaging Machine Builders

According to a survey recently published by the consultancy and market research firm Quest TechnoMarketing (Bochum, London) the trend towards Ethernet is particularly visible in packaging machines. While in 2005 21% of the machine builders supported Ethernet, 76% plan to use this technology by the end of 2008. Generic TCP/IP without real time capabilities still has the largest share with 45%, but for 31% real time Ethernet already is the way to go. Within this group EtherCAT is the first choice. For more details please see graphics here.