EK1818 Beckhoff
Wake Industrial LLC is not an authorized distributor of this product.
The Beckhoff EK1818 is part of the EK EtherCAT Couplers series and has 8 digital inputs and 4 digital outputs. It supports a nominal input voltage of 24 VDC, provides an output current of 0.5 Amps per channel, and uses 2 RJ45 bus connections. The coupler operates at a baud rate of 100 MBaud and has an IP20 protection class.
Internal Product Review
The EK1818 is a Beckhoff EtherCAT coupler with 2 x RJ45 bus connections and 100 MBaud communication for fast network integration. The 8 digital inputs and 4 digital outputs give the coupler strong versatility for compact machine-level control tasks. A 24 VDC nominal input voltage and IP20 protection make the EK1818 a dependable choice for standard control cabinet applications.
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Product Description:
Beckhoff’s EK1818 belongs to the EK EtherCAT Couplers series and acts as a gateway between an EtherCAT trunk line and the company’s clip-on I/O terminals. The unit mounts on a DIN rail, links real-time telegrams to its internal E-bus, and supplies the host controller with state data for eight digital inputs while forwarding commands to four transistor outputs. By combining the coupler, power distribution, and compact wiring in one block, it simplifies decentralized control tasks in industrial automation cells.
The EtherCAT side communicates at 100 MBaud, and two RJ45 ports provide media access for line or ring topologies. The logic rail operates at 24 VDC, and this voltage is routed internally so no additional power feed is needed for the coupler electronics. Each output channel can source up to 0.5 A, allowing it to drive small solenoids or indicator lamps directly. Downstream terminals receive their logic and sensor power from the integrated E-bus, which delivers up to 1000 mA for signal conditioning and module electronics. The typical input load on the sensor circuit is only 3 mA, minimizing the load placed on upstream proximity switches. The integrated power distribution also reduces the amount of separate wiring required inside the control cabinet.
Cabling between nodes can extend up to 100 m without repeaters, matching the standard segment limit for Cat 5e cable. A hardware input filter of 3 ms suppresses contact bounce before data enters the process image, while the propagation delay from reception to E-bus refresh is only 1 µs, supporting tight control loops. The housing has an IP20 protection rating, so the unit is intended for installation inside a control cabinet. The output channels tolerate short-circuit events below 2 A, helping protect the switching circuitry during a fault. Built-in output transistors absorb up to 150 mJ of inductive energy, eliminating the need for external flyback diodes within that limit.
