Product Description:

The EL3314 analog input terminal is produced by Beckhoff as part of the EL EtherCAT Terminals series. Designed for thermocouples and millivolt sources, the module scales field signals and forwards them to an EtherCAT controller, providing compact sensor acquisition for industrial ovens, environmental chambers, or laboratory rigs. It occupies a 15 × 100 × 70 mm housing that snaps onto the DIN rail beside other terminals, integrating quickly into decentralized I/O stations within an automation cell.

In operation, the EL3314 accepts sensors wired through a 2-wire topology and supports a full-scale span of 75 mV in the ±75 mV mode. The converter works with a 16-bit resolution, so each numerical step equals 4 µV under the PDO setting, giving fine discrimination of small thermal changes. Gain error remains below 1200 ppm and offset error under 60 µV, while open-circuit recognition signals the bus when a probe is absent. The terminal draws all operating power from the E-bus, eliminating extra wiring. A permissible trunk length of 30 m and a protection rating of IP20 suit enclosed cabinets, while the 60 g housing keeps the rack light.

Each of the 4 differential channels can tolerate continuous sensor potentials up to ±15 V, protecting the front end against miswiring, while galvanic isolation of 500 V separates the thermocouple domain from the EtherCAT backplane to help prevent ground loops. Offset trimming down to ±60 µV ensures low drift over temperature, and the gain limits allow precise reconstruction of absolute temperature with minimal post-processing in the PLC. The module maintains full accuracy across the specified 75 mV span and communicates conversion results cyclically, so deterministic timing is preserved even when cable runs approach the maximum length. This electrical profile suits mixed I/O stations where low-level analog measurement must coexist with digital motion or power switching modules on the same bus segment.