Beckhoff EL/ED3xxx | EtherCAT Terminals, analog input

The EtherCAT Terminals from the EL/ED3xxx, ES3xxx, ELM3xxx, ELX3xxx

and EM3xxx series process the most diverse analog signals. 

The typical standard signals encountered in the automation industry, such

as 0 to 10 V, ±10 V, 0 to 20 mA and 4 to 20 mA, are supported and pre-

processed along with other measured variables such as resistance,

pressure or temperature. The product portfolio additionally includes analog

EtherCAT Terminals for the connection and evaluation of special sensors

such as strain gauges, thermocouples, resistance thermometers and

accelerometers. Special analog EtherCAT Terminals are also available for

measurement tasks in energy and power measurement.

Beckhoff offers the right product for every application in its product

portfolio of analog EtherCAT input terminals. Due to a comprehensive

selection of terminals with different numbers of channels, resolutions

and measuring accuracies, the right product is available for every

application, from simple industrial applications to high-precision

measurement technology. There are also different product categories for

some application areas. For example, the analog input terminals from the

ELX3xxx series are specially designed for potentially explosive atmospheres

and the products from the ELM3xxx series with their low measurement

uncertainty are especially designed for measurement applications with

high requirements.

Distributed clocks and XFC for speed and precision

Some analog EtherCAT Terminals support the XFC technology (eXtreme

Fast Control), which enables rapid, deterministic reactions in the µs range.

This technology enables fast I/O response times, oversampling of the input

signal and precise time measurement for events at the input with a

resolution of 1 ns. Highly accurate synchronization of all distributed clocks

-capable devices in the network is attainable with a synchronization accuracy

of << 1 µs with the EtherCAT distributed clocks, which are implemented in

many EtherCAT analog terminals.

Calibration to control the measurement chain

Calibration certificates (factory calibration or calibration to ISO 17025/DAkkS)

are also available for some EtherCAT analog input terminals. If Beckhoff 

EtherCAT Terminals are part of a measurement chain and therefore subject

to special requirements for the reproducibility and traceability of measurement

results, a calibration certificate can be issued to the user for certain terminal

types for quality assurance purposes. The certificate is issued for individual

terminals, enabling a more precise definition of the entire measurement chain

as proof of the exact measurement deviation of the terminal and thus reducing

the measurement uncertainty. In the context of the uncertainty assessment of

a measurement, the possible influence of the Beckhoff terminal can be reduced

in this way.

Advantages:

robust measurement of analog signals with long-term availability fine scalability

of channel density and functional scope extensive adjustment and diagnostic

options in the terminals via the EtherCAT bus distributed clocks for the precise

acquisition of the timestamp of an input signal and synchronization of the network

optionally calibrated terminals for precise acquisition of the measurement uncertainty

Areas of application:

production machines

test systems

condition monitoring

energy generation systems