Product Description:

The EL6695-1001 is a bridge terminal manufactured by Beckhoff for the EL EtherCAT Terminals series. Designed to interconnect a primary EtherCAT segment on the E-bus with a secondary EtherCAT network, the module exchanges cyclic process data in both directions while keeping deterministic timing. This arrangement allows separate control sections to share real-time data without protocol conversion or a separate gateway. Its integrated distributed clocks feature enables synchronized motion or I/O updates across controllers located on separate machine frames, so packaging lines, conveyor sections, or robot cells can share position and status information.

The housing dimensions suit cabinet installation and allow the terminal to fit neatly beside standard Beckhoff I/O slices. The terminal has a panel width of 24 mm, a height of 100 mm, and a depth of 68 mm. The enclosure carries an IP20 protection class, so it is intended for dry, protected control cabinets. On the data side, the device transfers up to 3 kbyte each direction per cycle between the two EtherCAT domains, providing capacity for several hundred digital channels or multiple synchronized drive telegrams. Power for the primary side is supplied through the E-bus backplane at 400 mA, while the secondary side requires 24 V DC at 80 mA.

The terminal supports a minimum EtherCAT cycle time of 50 µs, allowing fast updates when the controller requires tightly timed communication. Two secondary network connectors are implemented as 2 × 100 Mbit/s RJ45 ports, so the extension segment can be daisy-chained or arranged in a ring. The 24 V input tolerates a -15 %/+20 % voltage window, which helps maintain operation during normal supply variation in distributed panels. For remote installations, the copper link remains stable up to a 100 m cable length, allowing the terminal to serve machine sections that are physically separated within a production line.