Implementation and validation of ethercat support in integrated development environment for synchronized motion control application

Recently, software-based programmable logic controller (PLC) systems, which are implemented in standard PLC languages on general hardware, are gaining popularity because they overcome the limitations of classical hardware PLC systems. Another noticeable trend is that the use of integrated development environment (IDE) is becoming important. IDEs can help developers to easily manage the growing complexity of modern control systems. Furthermore, industrial Ethernet, e.g. EtherCAT, is becoming widely accepted as a replacement for conventional fieldbuses in the distributed control domain because it offers favorable features such as short transmission delay, high bandwidth, and low cost. In this paper, we implemented the extension of open source IDE, called Beremiz, for developing EtherCAT-based real-time, synchronized motion control applications. We validated the EtherCAT system management features and the real-time responsiveness of the control function by using commercial EtherCAT drives and evaluation boards.