Beckhoff EL7037 User Manual download pdf (Page 62)

Commissioning

5.1.2 Notes regarding ESI device description

Installation of the latest ESI device description

The TwinCAT EtherCAT master/System Manager needs the device description files for the devices to be

used in order to generate the configuration in online or offline mode. The device descriptions are contained

in the so-called ESI files (EtherCAT Slave Information) in XML format. These files can be requested from the

respective manufacturer and are made available for download. An *.xml file may contain several device

descriptions.

The ESI files for Beckhoff EtherCAT devices are available on the Beckhoff website.

The ESI files should be stored in the TwinCAT installation directory (default TwinCAT2: C:\TwinCAT\IO

\EtherCAT). The files are read (once) when a new System Manager window is opened, if they have changed

since the last time the System Manager window was opened.

A TwinCAT installation includes the set of Beckhoff ESI files that was current at the time when the TwinCAT

build was created.

For TwinCAT 2.11/TwinCAT 3 and higher, the ESI directory can be updated from the System Manager, if the

programming PC is connected to the Internet (Option -> “Update EtherCAT Device Descriptions”)

Fig.49: For TwinCAT 2.11 and higher, the System Manager can search for current Beckhoff ESI files auto-

matically, if an online connection is available

Note

ESI

The *.xml files are associated with *.xsd files, which describe the structure of the ESI XML

files. To update the ESI device descriptions, both file types should therefore be updated.

Device differentiation

EtherCAT devices/slaves are distinguished by 4 properties, which determine the full device identifier. The

EL2521-0025-1018 ID consists of

• family key “EL”

• name “2521”

• type “0025”

• and revision “1018”

Fig.50: Identifier structure

The order identifier consisting of name + type (here: EL2521-0010) describes the device function. The

revision indicates the technical progress and is managed by Beckhoff. In principle, a device with a higher

revision can replace a device with a lower revision, unless specified otherwise, e.g. in the documentation.

Each revision has its own ESI description. See further notes [}8].

Online description

If the EtherCAT configuration is created online through scanning of real devices (see section Online setup)

and no ESI descriptions are available for a slave (specified by name and revision) that was found, the

System Manager asks whether the description stored in the device should be used. In any case, the System

Manager needs this information for setting up the cyclic and acyclic communication with the slave correctly.

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Beckhoff EL7037 User Manual Page 62