Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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The EtherCAT (Ethernet Control Automation Technology) communication protocol was proposed in 2003 and is currently maintained by EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG). It is a serial communication specifically applied in the field of industrial automation control and generally used to control servo motors and I/O devices. Now, it has been widely applied in automation control field such as robots, machine control, CNC.

We can control a variety of types of robots including: 1. tandem 6-axis robots, 2. parallel Delta (3 or 4 axis) robots, 3. SCARA robots, 4. XYZ Cartesian robots, etc.

Yes, the NexGRC controller already supports a variety of robotic arm types or mechanical platforms, as long as you enter its mechanical structure dimensions such as arm length, DH-TABLE, plus and minus limits of each joint, etc., you can control it.

  1. It’s low-cost. The master device doesn’t require a special interface card. By using Ethernet in physical layers, the cost of wire can be reduced significantly.

  2. It’s high-flexibility. EtherCAT is an internationally standardized open communication protocol, and various manufacturers have developed their own products to fit it.

The time synchronization between each slave device of EtherCAT fieldbus is based on a distributed clock (DC) mechanism. After DC synchronization, the jitter is in the range of plus and minus 20ns.

Yes, as long as the EtherCAT communication type digital I/O module can be controlled.

Yes, after installing the NexGMC installation package, there are C/C++, C#, Python sample programs and related manuals in the relevant folders for reference.

CoE is the abbreviation of CANopen over EtherCAT, which implements the CANopen protocol to the application layer of the EtherCAT fieldbus protocol. CANopen protocol is commonly used in industrial control such as servo motor control. The functions of CoE is completely supported by the EtherCAT master of NexCOBOT.

FoE is the abbreviation of File Access over EtherCAT, which is implemented in the application layer of the EtherCAT fieldbus protocol. FoE protocol is often used for updating chip firmware inside the EtherCAT slave devices. The functions of FoE is completely supported by the EtherCAT master of NexCOBOT.

ESI is the abbreviation of the EtherCAT Slave Information, which is regulated by EtherCAT fieldbus standard protocol. ESI provides detailed information of the slave devices, including vendor information and supported EtherCAT functions. When purchase the EtherCAT slave devices, you should acquire the corresponding ESI files from vendor.