Improving EtherCAT master-slave synchronization precision using PTCP embedded in EtherCAT frames: A proof-of-concept

Author

Ganz, David ; Leschke, Serafin ; Dermot Doran, Hans

Author_Institution

Inst. of Embedded Syst., Zurich Univ. of Appl. Sci., Winterthur, Switzerland

fYear

2015

fDate

27-29 May 2015

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

7

Abstract

Designed for efficient real time traffic at low cycle times, EtherCAT is known to display several inefficiencies which include high quality master-slave synchronization. In this paper we examine a prototype circuit that allows us to achieve high quality time synchronization between master and slave device using PTCP embedded in EtherCAT frames. This circuit is backward compatible to existing EtherCAT networks. We provide measurement data and make proposals for future work.

Keywords

field buses; local area networks; protocols; synchronisation; telecommunication traffic; EtherCAT frames; EtherCAT master-slave synchronization precision improvement; PTCP; high quality time synchronization; low cycle times; master device; real time Ethernet protocols; real time traffic; slave device; Clocks; Delays; Jitter; Master-slave; Real-time systems; Synchronization; EtherCAT; IEEE 1588; Industrial Ethernet; POWERLINK; PROFINET; Precision Time Protocol; Real Time Ethernet;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Factory Communication Systems (WFCS), 2015 IEEE World Conference on

Conference_Location

Palma de Mallorca

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/WFCS.2015.7160552

Filename

7160552