How to Achieve Distributed Power Supply with EtherCAT?

Zhiyuan Electronics has launched a plug-in module system that easily implements EtherCAT network cascading through a distribution baseboard, supporting up to 255 modules! So how can we power such a large number of modules? This article will teach you how to use power modules to achieve distributed power supply!

Plug-in Module

To meet the control needs of personalized large systems, Zhiyuan Electronics has launched a plug-in motor drive module. This system uses the EtherCAT bus, with a slave module size of 59mm*50mm, and employs a 40-pin standard header interface. Users can create distribution baseboards as needed, and slave boards are plugged into the baseboard to cascade through the EtherCAT network, supporting a maximum of 255 nodes.

• Adapting to changes with minimal effort, create distribution baseboards as needed to accommodate the ever-changing wiring requirements.
• Small size, large system, integrating the maximum number of slaves within the smallest volume to achieve control of large systems.
• High precision and fast layout, based on EtherCAT, achieving high precision distributed control and plug-and-play rapid layout.

Figure 1: Plug-in Motor Drive Module

Main parameters of each module are as follows:

Stepper Motor Drive Module

• 24V~48V/1.5A~3A two-phase stepper motor;
• 1/2/4/8/16/32/64/128/256 microstepping options;
• CiA402 motion control protocol, supporting CSP/PP/HM/PV modes;
• 3 digital inputs, 1 set of ABZ quadrature encoding input;
• Open-loop or encoder closed-loop control options.

I/O Acquisition Module

• Digital input, 24V level, 3ms debounce, 16 channels, high and low level selectable;

• Digital output, 24V level, single channel 0.5A, 16 channels, high and low level selectable;

• Analog input, 12-bit, 8 channels, current type/voltage type selectable;

• Analog output, 12-bit, 8 channels, voltage type.

Power Module

• 24VDC input, 3.3VDC/2.5A output.

Usage of the Power Module

The plug-in motor drive module can connect multiple slave modules to easily achieve synchronized control of hundreds of motor drives. However, such a large number of modules places high demands on the 3.3V power supply used for EtherCAT communication; on one hand, the power must be sufficiently large (around 250mA/module), and on the other hand, ripple and other interference must be minimized. The accompanying power module ZPWB-240302 is specifically designed to provide efficient and stable power for EtherCAT communication.

The stepper motor drive module, I/O acquisition module, and power module are distributed and plugged into the distribution baseboard. The power module inputs 24VDC and outputs 3.3VDC/2.5A, primarily providing 3.3V power for the EtherCAT circuit of the stepper motor drive module and I/O acquisition module. The overall system’s distribution block diagram is shown below. The entire system’s EtherCAT circuit power is provided by the ZPWB-240302 power module, with a single module’s EtherCAT circuit requiring a maximum of 250mA current supply. Thus, the ZPWB-240302 power module can support up to 10 modules. As shown, a ZPWB-240302 power module is connected behind the ZCPB-80600 coupler, allowing for a maximum of 10 stepper motor drive modules or I/O acquisition modules to be connected, including the coupler. If all 10 modules are filled, another ZPWB-240302 power module needs to be plugged in to provide current for subsequent modules. The distribution baseboard is made as needed, and if each baseboard has more than 10 modules, additional power modules must be inserted.

Figure 2: Distribution Baseboard

Power Module Interface Description

The signal header consists of a standard header with a 2.54mm pitch of 40 pins, as shown in Table 1. Generally, the baseboard needs to be made according to this signal header.

Table 1: Pin Definition Description

Classic Wiring Diagram of Power Module

Figure 3: Classic Wiring Diagram of Power Module

The above figure shows the pin definitions and connection methods of the power module. Below is the selection table for various modules.

Table 2: Motor Module Selection Table

Table 3: I/O Module Selection Table

For detailed information on plug-in modules, please follow:

https://manual.zlg.cn/web/#/333/13047

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