icECAT EtherCAT Master Stack v1.8 released

Since version 1.8 the EtherCAT Master Stack of IBV supports the SoE protocol (Sercos over EtherCAT). Drives can be controlled using this mailbox protocol. SoE is also integrated in the monitoring tool (ecatm-mon) and in the icECAT EtherCAT Configuration Library.

Furthermore, the following platforms and Ethernet MACs are now additionally supported:

• Raspberry Pi 4
• QNX Neutrino RTOS v7.x
• Optimized Link Layer Driver for Intel I225
• Optimized Link Layer Driver for TI Sitara AM64x (PRU-ICSSG with ENET Firmware)

Since version 1.6 the EtherCAT Configuration Library supports an API for saving and loading of EtherCAT network configurations. With that feature project specific settings can be exported and imported, multiple file formats (e. g. XML, binary, …) can be supported.

Announcement for icECAT Configuration Library v1.7:

• Support of PDO Mapping
• Support of access to the object dictionary
• Support of configuration for slave-2-slave communication