Product Description

Beckhoff Automation is one of the most popular corporations that produce industrial technology for automation. With a vast range of systems such as I/Os, motion controllers, electric motors and iPCs, Beckhoff is known as a worldwide leader for industrial automation applications. EtherCAT is an industrial communication protocol developed by Beckhoff Automation. It is now an industrial standard for high-performance real-time applications and communication, reaching data transfer rates of 1000 Mbaud.

The EK1541 is an EtherCAT coupler for I/O stations from Beckhoff. The coupler is the first module of any I/O station, whose goal is to connect the entire station (with its terminals) to the EtherCAT network (left side of the device) and to provide power supply to the terminals via the E-bus connection (right side of the device). The EK1541 has two 100BASE-FX POF (Plastic Fiber Optic) ports on the left side to connect the station to the EtherCAT network. The plastic optical fiber cable is easier to wire in the field with respect to glass fiber optic cables , but the distances covered by the cable are smaller (up to 50 meters between two couplers).

On the back of the device, the user can find 3 hexadecimal switches that can be used to select the EtherCAT ID of the coupler (1… 65,324). The EK1541 requires a 24 V DC power supply and is able to provide a current up to 2000 mA to the terminals via the E-bus connection. The temperature close to the equipment should stay in the following range: 0… 55 degrees Celsius while the module is in running conditions and shall be kept between -25 and 85 degrees Celsius while the equipment is not operating.