Diagnostics with Ethercat is nothing new: the Ethernet-based communication system detects and localizes both bit errors and 'loose contacts' in the communication line. This and other information can be provided directly by the Ethercat master without the need for complex diagnostic hardware.

Now, however, the Ethercat Technology Group (ETG) has published a manufacturer-independent interface for this diagnostic data. Martin Rostan, Executive Director of the ETG, comments: "The 'ingredients' have long been part of Ethercat - i.e. the standardized parameter structure with the 'Object Dictionary' and the 'Modular Device Profile' also for master implementations and the likewise standardized access to this data via Ethercat Mailbox Gateway. In the new ETG.1510 specification, these are now supplemented by some diagnostic parameters and summarized in one document. This allows master manufacturers, providers of diagnostic tools and system integrators to implement and use the interface quickly and easily." In this way, the 'health status' of the network and the participants can be read out in future in a manufacturer-independent manner. Access is not only possible locally, but also remotely via a LAN or WLAN - even from cloud-based applications.

The new Executive Board

Also in Nuremberg - on the evening of the first day of the SPS IPC Drives 2018 trade fair - the ETG held its general meeting with board elections. Erich Hutflesz has contributed to the development of the ETG as a board member for thirteen years, during which time the ETG has grown from 241 to over 5000 members. The Ethercat man of the first hour is now responsible for the functional safety of hydraulic presses at Schuler Pressen and was no longer available for a new term of office. Dmitry A. Dzilno, Technical Director of the ALD division of Applied Materials (AMAT), was elected as his successor on the board. According to Martin Rostan, who, like Prof. Dr. Peter Heidrich from Pforzheim University, was confirmed in his position on the board, Dzilno has made a decisive contribution to Ethercat becoming the leading fieldbus for chip production.