Product Description:

The EL3142 is an analog input terminal manufactured by Beckhoff for installation in the EL EtherCAT Terminals series. It serves as a modular interface that converts field-level current signals into digital words. An EtherCAT controller can process these words, allowing distributed acquisition of sensor data without separate I/O racks.

This module provides two differential current channels that are digitized at a 16-bit resolution, so each measurement is divided into 65,536 discrete steps for precise scaling in the control program. Both channels are sampled in parallel through simultaneous sampling, which removes phase error between correlated signals. A typical internal resistance of 85 Ω presents only a small load to connected transducers, while the circuitry provides a dielectric strength of up to 30 V to protect the backplane against overvoltage on adjacent terminals. Signals share a single-ended ground reference, and a 5 kHz input filter attenuates high-frequency noise before conversion. The terminal transfers each measurement as a 2 × 16-bit process input with an accompanying 2 × 8-bit status word. The status data allow diagnostic information to be reported across the E-bus with the measured values.

The EtherCAT segment supplies the electronics with a typical E-bus current of 170 mA, while each field channel may draw up to 40 mA from its source device. Power distribution to downstream terminals is supported through contacts rated at 1 A, reducing the need for external feed-in modules on short node chains. The IP20 protection rating limits the terminal to enclosed control cabinets because the housing does not provide protection against water. The housing snaps onto a 35 mm DIN rail, allowing the terminal to use the standard mounting rail found in industrial control panels.