Setup PLC

PLC setup (hardware configuration), with examples for Beckhoff TwinCAT and Codesys. This is part of the YRCP-MP4P EtherCAT quick start guide.

ESI files

1. Download the latest files here .
2. Unzip the files.

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

Install ESI file

1. Copy the downloaded ESI file into the corresponding folder of your TwinCAT installation (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Beckhoff\TwinCAT\3.1\Config\Io\EtherCAT).

Add slave

1. Add the YRCP-MP4P slave to the EtherCAT network by scanning: EtherCAT master »right mouse button » Scan
2. Alternatively, add it manually: EtherCAT master »right mouse button » Add New Item
3. Type “YRCP” in the search field to find it quickly.

   

4. Select the device and click OK to add it to the EtherCAT network.

   

Slave settings

Double click on the slave to open the settings.

The default settings in tab General and EtherCAT should fit most applications. Adjust them to your needs.

IO size

For the available IO sizes, see Configurations in the General section .

1. Open the Process Data tab.

2. By default, the slave is configured for 128b IO and other PDOs are disabled. The disabling of other PDOs prevents selecting an illegal combination of PDOs (which would result in a non supported IO size).

3. After clicking on Outputs or Inputs in the Sync Manager window, you can change its PDO selection in the PDO Assignment (0x1C12) window.

   

4. By unselecting the 128b (default), all PDOs become enabled. Now you select the PDO (or combination of PDOs) which fits your needs. In this example we will set the IO size to 32b.

5. Select PDO 16#1614 for 32b output, and select PDO 16#1A14 for 32b input.

   

Available PDOs:

For example, to build the 436b data packet for MotoLogix, the following PDOs must be selected:

IO mapping

1. Create PLC variables of the chosen size, and tie them to IO addresses:

   VAR
     // using byte array
     aIoFromRobot AT %IB1000: ARRAY [0..31] OF BYTE; // Inputs
     aIoToRobot AT %QB1000: ARRAY [0..31] OF BYTE; // Outputs
   END_VAR
   

2. In the tree, select the input area » right mouse button » Change Link…

   

3. Select all array members of the aIoFromRobot PLC variable by clicking the first one followed by the last one (while keeping shift pressed).

   

4. Now repeat this process for mapping the outputs. In the tree, select the output area » right mouse button » Change Link…

   

5. Select all array members of the aIoToRobot PLC variable by clicking the first one followed by the last one (while keeping shift pressed).

   

Codesys

Install ESI file

1. Import the downloaded ESI file into Codesys: menu Tools » Device Repository » Install

   

Add slave

1. Add the YRCP-MP4P slave to the EtherCAT network: EtherCAT master » right mouse button » Add Device
2. Type “YRCP” in the search field to find it quickly.

   

3. Select the device and click Add Device to add it to the EtherCAT network.

   

Slave settings

Double click on the slave to open the settings.

The default settings in tab General should fit most applications. Adjust them to your needs.

IO size

For the available IO sizes, see Configurations in the General section .

1. Open the Process Data tab.
2. By default, the slave is configured for 128b IO and other PDOs are disabled. The disabling of other PDOs prevents selecting an illegal combination of PDOs (which would result in a non supported IO size).
3. By unselecting the 128b ones all PDOs become enabled. Now you select the PDO (or combination of PDOs) which fits your needs:

   

In this example we will set the IO size to 32b.

1. Select PDO 16#1614 for 32b output.
2. Select PDO 16#1A14 for 32b input.

   

Available PDOs:

For example, to build the 436b data packet for MotoLogix, the following PDOs must be selected:

IO mapping

There are multiple ways of mapping fieldbus IO to PLC variables. One way is to use IO addresses, and tie the PLC variables to these addresses.

1. Open the EtherCAT I/O Mapping tab.

2. Set the address for each PDO. In this example, we start at addresss 1000 for both input and output:

   

   Important

   In case of multiple PDOs for inputs/outputs: make sure there are no gaps in the addressing.

3. Create PLC variables of the chosen size and point them to the chosen start addresses for input and output:

   VAR
     // using byte array
     aIoFromRobot AT %IB1000: ARRAY [0..31] OF BYTE; // Inputs
     aIoToRobot AT %QB1000: ARRAY [0..31] OF BYTE; // Outputs
   END_VAR
   

4. Alternatively, you can create your own data types (of the same size) and use those for the mapping:

   VAR
     // using your custom data types (size must match to the set IO size)
     aIoFromRobot AT %IB1000: myInputDataType; // Inputs
     aIoToRobot AT %QB1000: myOutputDataType; // Outputs
   END_VAR
   

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