The core logic of the success of the EtherCAT ecosystem is that the core of EtherCAT technology has not changed in the past 20 years. It must be said that the Germans have done a good job in advance planning. There are very few changes in the core protocol of the ESC slave chip, and EtherCAT is highly scalable, and has a bus security mechanism and ultra-large bandwidth EtherCAT G.
Today's EtherCAT devices can be integrated with all EtherCAT devices within 20 years
This also means there are no bottlenecks in the EtherCAT technology in the control architecture, and most applications can still use 100Mbps speeds. Of course, this is only one factor, because the above-mentioned B&R POWERLINK can also do it.
The above factors are only the core logic of EtherCAT's success, but they are not absolute factors, because EtherNETIP, POWERLINK, M3, and CCLINK also have most of the above characteristics.
Depends on the people in this world who pursue better and higher-quality products, EtherCAT is powerful, cost-effective, and open source, and has been supported by manufacturers and users in the global automation field. The underlying logic is still that the Emperor of Zhou divided the world and the princes of the world opened up territories. Such a wave was not only driven by business in two weeks and eight hundred years, but also the fundamental logic for Britain to become an empire on which the sun never sets in the Age of Discovery.
With powerful technologies and methods, and exciting cooperation methods, EtherCAT provides a steady stream of solutions to the market. Global automation manufacturers arm themselves with powerful technologies to improve quality and efficiency, making EtherCAT famous in the field of automation. In recent years, these organizations in Europe have also been engaged in TSN, but the thunder is loud and the raindrops are small. The essence is that the automation manufacturers behind the platform have their own agendas. Why should the meat in their own bowls and their own ecology be unified and open with you? How can I, the Xi family, dominate the world if we eat from a big pot with your small factory? Therefore, what TSN wants to overcome with the unified bus is not technical problems, but whether these automation overlords agree or not.
Omron, Beckhoff, Schneider, ABB, Panasonic, Delta, and Inovance are all loyal supporters and beneficiaries of EtherCAT. Mitsubishi is also gradually joining the EtherCAT ecosystem. But Siemens is different. It is impossible for Siemens to play with EtherCAT. After all, although Siemens' PROFINET is not as powerful as EtherCAT, PROFINET has a profound foundation and its overall influence in the automation field is not comparable to EtherCAT. After all, EtherCAT is only a device layer network.
Who did I offend with CANopen? CANopen can be said to be a person who works hard and never complains, and shines and contributes wisdom to all walks of life free of charge. In the field of motion control, there used to be a lot of CANopen. DS402 is CANopen, which is now the famous CIA402. In the past, I was embarrassed to say that I was very strong when I couldn't use CANopen for servo frequency conversion. But since EtherCAT has become popular, CANopen can be said to have borne the brunt and replaced it seamlessly, because the application layer logic of EtherCAT is CANopen, which is also COE. As the saying goes, behead the person you like first when you land. The current position of CANopen in the field of motion control is naturally gone, but CAN’s influence in subdivided industries such as low-power consumption, mobile equipment, and construction machinery cannot be overshadowed.
The biggest main battlefield of EtherCAT is motion control. PROFINET is not only motion control, but also has outstanding advantages in factory-level information network.
The development of the industrial control market is diversified. If it is a Siemens ecosystem, then PROFINET is the eternal king. If anything else, the combat power of EtherCAT is absolutely amazing. One sits on the Siemens empire, and the other relies on open source to conquer all directions. This is like a duel between Apple and Android, a tiger versus a pack of wolves.
The success of domestic PLC leaders in the field of industrial control is inseparable from EtherCAT. The previous EtherCAT solutions from manufacturers such as Omron, Schneider, ABB, and Beckhoff were very high-end and expensive. At that time, EtherCAT was very easy to use, but compared with Siemens' PN solution, it was cost-effective. The advantage is not obvious.
Quickly occupy CANopen's market share in motion control. With the rise of lithium battery, 3C, and photovoltaic industries, Inovance's EtherCAT solutions are sweeping the world. What really enabled Inovance to realize its Nirvana transformation was the wave of mask machines. At that time, the domestic EtherCAT mask machine solution was widely accepted. Since then, more and more people have realized that domestic industrial control products can be of great use.
Powerful performance is the foundation of EtherCAT's success, and openness is the decisive factor for EtherCAT's success. Everyone adds fuel to the fire, and EtherCAT is open to all automation manufacturers and users around the world. This also determines that the EtherCAT ecosystem is open to all rivers and is inclusive. Therefore, Beckhoff has done something that giants such as ABB, Mitsubishi, and Schneider cannot do, which is innovation and technological revolution. According to the current situation, the ecology of EtherCAT will become more and more abundant, but Siemens PN cannot be underestimated. God’s right hand is so powerful that it has no rivals. The foundation of the global industrial empire is as deep as the ocean.
