EtherCAT Terminal

Beckhoff introduced its EL6861 EtherCAT Terminal that now supports BACnet MS/TP (Master Slave/Token Passing) in addition to BACnet/IP. The serial interface can directly control and monitor BACnet-compatible field devices (e.g. pumps, drives, frequency converters) as sub-bus systems without additional gateways or routers. Up to 64 devices with RS485 low power transceivers can be connected to the terminal. In addition, several terminals can be operated in parallel to scale the number of supported MS/TP channels. Using the terminal’s 1-channel BACnet MS/TP interface, configuration is performed centrally in the TwinCAT System Manager. The EL6861 terminal implements BACnet in compliance with Revision 12 of the protocol. The terminal can also be used locally without routing to the BACnet/IP network. The EL6861 provides 1 x 5 VDC at 20mA (electrically isolated, short-circuit-proof) from the EtherCAT E-bus supply for use with bias resistors.
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