The EtherCAT Technology Group’s First North American EtherCAT Plug Fest a Great Success

AUSTIN, TX, October 28, 2009 – The first North American EtherCAT Plug Fest was well attended with over 20 experts from 11 EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) member companies. At this Plug Fest, four new master implementations were tested with slave devices from eight different vendors. The main goal of this event, which was hosted by National Instruments in Austin, Texas, was to check the interoperability of EtherCAT implementations.

On this note, Dr. James Truchard, President, CEO and cofounder of National Instruments, underlined in his opening speech the need of conformance and interoperability for the success of a communication technology.

All EtherCAT slave devices are operated individually and in groups with all present EtherCAT masters. In addition, the devices have been checked with the official EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool. With Plug Fests held in North America, Asia and Europe, the ETG is improving worldwide support and interoperability of EtherCAT devices. Due to the demands of numerous upcoming EtherCAT implementations and enhancements to existing devices, the date for the 2nd North American Plug Fest will be announced soon.

EtherCAT sets new standards for real-time performance and topology flexibility, while meeting or undercutting traditional fieldbus cost levels. EtherCAT features include high precision device synchronization, cable redundancy options, and a functional safety protocol (SIL3). EtherCAT is an international standard (IEC, ISO and SEMI).

The EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) is an organization in which key user companies from various industries and leading automation suppliers join forces to support, promote and advance EtherCAT technology. With over 1,100 members from 47 countries, the EtherCAT Technology Group has become the largest organization in the world that is exclusively focused on Industrial Ethernet technologies. Founded in November 2003, it is also currently the fastest growing fieldbus organization.



 

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