Position control in EtherCAT networks

Parent topic: Quick start guides

Before you start

Before operating this product, read the safety instructions in the related Operating Instructions.

This product is for industrial use only.

Electrical connections must be made by qualified electrical personnel.

About this document

Step-by-step instructions will guide you through connecting an FP7 EtherCAT unit to a MINAS servo driver.

Available software

The following software is available free of charge.

  • PANATERM 6

    This link will take you to the Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd. Web site.

  • Control Motion Integrator tool

    You can download a trial version. A dongle is required after the 60-day trial period.

  • Control FPWIN Pro7 programming software (basic version)

  • MC_ETHERCAT Library

    This programming library was developed for the FP7 EtherCAT unit and offers convenient functions and function blocks for basic positioning tasks.

Functional overview

Position control is a control mode in which the motor moves the load to a specified target position.

The servo driver can be controlled via EtherCAT from any host controller which supports EtherCAT communication. This Quick Start Guide explains how to wire and configure the servo driver and the host controller to get your system up and running.

Use the Control Motion Integrator tool to configure the FP7 EtherCAT unit.

Example

The host controller is an FP7 EtherCAT unit. It is connected to a MINAS A6B servo driver by an EtherCAT cable.

Data transmission between host controller and servo driver via EtherCAT cable
  1.  (1) MINAS A6B servo driver
  2.  (2) Load to be moved
  3.  (3) 24V DC power supply
  4.  (4) EtherCAT cable
  5.  (5) FP7 PLC and EtherCAT unit

Wiring

Recommendations for wiring

It is the customer's responsibility to apply the countermeasures that they consider necessary to comply with current regulations on wiring, safety and reducing EMI.

Do not forget to meet the specifications indicated in the hardware manual for each of the devices being wired. If any specifications in the manual conflict with the information in this document, the manufacturer's manual takes preference.

For detailed information on reducing EMI, please refer to Recommendations for EMC-compliant wiring of servo drivers and motors.

Connectors of the servo driver

XA connector (main power connector)

Connect the power supply cable to the XA connector. For a 1-phase power supply of 230V, connect a 2-wire cable to the servo driver as illustrated. The L2 pin is not used in 1-phase mode.

Wiring of the XA connector for a power supply of 230V

XB connector (motor connector)

Connect the motor cable to the XB connector. The wires are labeled with the letters U, V, and W. Do not change the sequence of the motor phases, e.g. by connecting V to W.

Wiring of the XB connector for the motor power supply

X6 connector (encoder connector)

Connect the encoder cable to the X6 connector.

Wiring of the X6 connector for the encoder connection

X1 connector (USB connector for PC connection)

The servo driver is configured using the PANATERM configuration software . Use a commercially available USB A to mini-B cable to connect the PC to the servo driver.

Connector X1 for PC connection

X2A connector (EtherCAT connector)

Connect an Ethernet cable to the X2A connector of the MINAS A6B servo driver and to the EtherCAT port of the FP7 EtherCAT unit.

Connect the FP7 EtherCAT unit to a 24V DC power supply.

Connector X2A for EtherCAT connection on MINAS A6B
FP7 CPU connected to 24V DC power supply and FP7 EtherCAT unit with EtherCAT cable

Make parameter settings in PANATERM

Use the PANATERM configuration software to configure the MINAS servo driver.

  1. Connect your PC to the X1 connector and turn on the servo driver.
  2. Start the PANATERM configuration software .

    The software automatically detects the type of servo driver connected.

  3. Select OK and confirm the connected series by selecting your type of servo driver.
  4. Select the Parameter tab.
  5. In the Selection of parameter to be read dialog, select Read the default. There is a message if the parameter values in the servo driver are not the default values. To overwrite the parameters in the servo driver, select the Trans icon.
  6. Select the parameter list for your type of servo driver.
  7. To change a parameter setting, select the desired parameter class and enter a value. For parameter descriptions, please refer to the Operating Instructions. You can find each parameter by its unique parameter number. The parameter number is written in the format PrX.YY (X: Class, YY: No.).

    Make sure, that Pr7.40 (Station Alias setup (high)) is set to 0 and Pr7.41 (Station alias selection) is set to 1: SII.

  8. Depending on the parameter, select the Trans or the EEP icon to transfer a setting to the servo driver. For yellow parameters, select the EEP icon. These parameters will be saved in the EEPROM of the servo driver. To activate the settings, you need to restart the servo driver.

    All other parameters are transferred simply by selecting the Trans icon.

Make pin assignments in PANATERM

If you use an FP7 EtherCAT unit, the POT and NOT limit switch inputs cannot be assigned to pin 07 and 08. (If you need these limit switches, refer to the FP7 Motion Control Unit User's Manual.)

  1. Connect your PC to the servo driver.
  2. Start the PANATERM configuration software.
  3. Select Other > Pin Assign.

    The current pin assignment is uploaded from the servo driver.

  4. Double-click on the lines of pin number 07 (SI2) and 08 (SI3).
  5. Select Invalid for each pin.
  6. Select Apply to transfer the pin assignment to the servo driver.

Make parameter settings in Control Motion Integrator

Use the Control Motion Integrator tool to configure the FP7 EtherCAT unit. The software can be started as a stand-alone product or from within the Control FPWIN Pro 7 programming software. In this procedure, we assume that you are using the stand-alone version. For details on the procedure in Control FPWIN Pro 7, refer to the online help of the programming library MC_EtherCAT_Library.

NOTE

If the trial period of 60 days for the Control Motion Integrator tool has expired, you must connect a hardware dongle to your PC to be able to change the EtherCAT communication settings.

Hardware dongle for Control Motion Integrator
  1. Connect the FP7 CPU to your PC using a USB cable.
  2. Start the Control Motion Integrator tool.
  3. Select New.
  4. Select the unit and the number of connected axes. In our example, it is one axis only.
  5. Select OK.
  6. In this example, we do not use interpolation because there is only one axis. Select OK.
  7. Double-click on EtherCAT communication settings to search for connected axes.
  8. Select Network > Scan EtherCAT Network.
  9. Select the number of the slot where you have physically installed the FP7 EtherCAT unit and select OK.
  10. The connected axis is displayed in the Project Explorer. Select the axis number of the corresponding station number. Then close the window.
  11. Download the configuration by selecting the green highlighted button.
  12. Select the number of the slot where you have physically installed the FP7 EtherCAT unit and select Yes.
  13. To additionally save the configuration in the FROM, confirm the message in the next dialog.

    Otherwise, the configuration data will be lost when the FP7 EtherCAT unit is turned off.

  14. Select OK to complete the process.

Modified on: 2025-04-24Feedback on this pagePanasonic hotline