With the EtherCAT P solution, Beckhoff combines EtherCAT communication and power supply in a standard 4-wire Ethernet cable. This enables direct power supply for both EtherCAT P slaves and the connected sensors and actuators in such a way that separate power lines can be eliminated, simplifying system cabling. This makes EtherCAT P the ideal sensor, actuator and measurement bus, providing advantages both for connecting small remote I/O stations in terminal boxes and for decentralized I/O components located throughout the process.
A full range of EtherCAT P system and I/O components in protection class IP 67 and 4-wire Ethernet cables is currently available for the 24 V I/O level. The power supply from EtherCAT P is rated at 2x 24 V DC/3A. For connecting sensors and actuators with power supply, users can integrate any of the wide range of well-established EP Box modules from Beckhoff in the new EPP versions for EtherCAT P. These include a variety of 4, 8 and 16-channel digital input box modules; 4, 8, 16 and 24-channel digital output modules; numerous 4, 8 and 16-channel IP 67 I/Os with combined digital inputs/outputs; as well as RS232 and RS422/RS485 serial interfaces. There are also new EPP Box modules for analog input and output quantities, such as ±10V/0...20 mA, differential/absolute pressures, and data from resistance sensors, thermocouples and incremental encoders.
