6. EtherNet/IP communication

Mecademic robots are compatible with the EtherNet/IP protocol. The Meca500 is certified by ODVA. A common industry standard, EtherNet/IP can be used with many different PLC brands. Cyclic times up to 1 ms (though not as “hard-real-time” as EtherCAT) are possible.

Mecademic robots, when controlled via EtherNet/IP implicit (cyclic) messaging, use cyclic data exchanges to manage robot state and motion, as defined in Communicating over cyclic protocols.

Refer to our Support Center for specific PLC examples.

6.1. Connection types

When using EtherNet/IP, you can connect several Mecademic robots in the same way as with TCP/IP. Either Ethernet port on the robot can be used. The robots can either be daisy-chained together or connected in a star pattern. The two ports on the Mecademic robot act as a switch in EtherNet/IP mode.

6.2. EDS file

Each EtherNet/IP slave device is described by an Electronic Data Sheet (EDS) file that describes its identity, capabilities, and cyclic payload. The EtherNet/IP controllers (PLC) use this file to properly identify detected EtherNet/IP slave devices, such as a Mecademic robot.

It can be found in the zip file that contains your robot’s firmware update package (Meca500_vX.X.X.X.eds) .

6.3. Forward open exclusivity

A Mecademic robot allows only one controlling connection at a time (either a TCP/IP connection or through an EtherNet/IP forward-open request).

If the robot is already being controlled, it will refuse a forward-open request with status error 0x106, Ownership Conflict, in EtherNet/IP. It will refuse a TCP/IP connection with error [3001]. However, the MecaPortal can still be used in monitoring mode.

6.4. Enabling Ethernet/IP

The Ethernet/IP protocol can be enabled using the Network configuration panel in the MecaPortal configuration menu.

Alternatively, you can use the EnableEtherNetIp() command, which can be entered in the MecaPortal code editor or sent to the robot via the TCP/IP API.

This is a persistent configuration and only needs to be set once.

Note that Ethernet/IP can remain permanently enabled, as it does not interfere with the use of the TCP/IP protocol, unlike EtherCAT and the SwitchToEtherCAT command.

6.5. Cyclic data

Using cyclic data to control and monitor Mecademic robots with Ethernet/IP is explained in Section 4 of this manual.

The cyclic data format is the same for PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, and EtherCAT protocols. Therefore, it is easy to migrate a robot-controlling application on a controller/PLC between these different protocols.

Please refer to the robot’s EDS file for the list of cyclic input/output fields. Refer to Section 4 for instructions on how to use these cyclic fields.

Note that 16- and 32-bit integer values in the cyclic data use big-endian byte order. Some PLCs may need to be configured accordingly.