In the industrial automation industry, the in-depth advancement of intelligent manufacturing and Industry 4.0 has put forward higher requirements for high-speed, real-time, and stability of communication networks.
With its 100Mbps bandwidth, microsecond-level synchronization capabilities and flexible topology, EtherCAT has become the mainstream protocol for the new generation of control systems. However, a large number of existing inverters, sensors, servo motors and other equipment still run based on the CAN/CANopen protocol. The barriers between old and new protocols make equipment interoperability difficult and data silos are prominent, which greatly increases the cost of enterprise upgrades.
Nidasun Automation’s CAN to EtherCAT gateway accurately solves this pain point, achieves seamless collaboration between old and new equipment with efficient and reliable protocol conversion, and helps companies complete production line upgrades at low cost.
The core advantage of Nidasun’s CAN to EtherCAT gateway lies in its dual protocol stack hardware architecture, which acts as an “intelligent translator” between devices to achieve real-time parsing and forwarding of bidirectional data.
As a standard slave station on the EtherCAT side, the dual RJ45 interfaces support cascading, DC distributed clock and link redundancy, and are compatible with mainstream master stations such as Beckhoff and Siemens; the CAN side supports CAN 2.0A/B, CANopen and CAN FD, with a baud rate of 5k~1Mbps, 2.5kV electrical isolation and strong anti-interference, making it suitable for complex industrial sites.
Its conversion delay is less than 1ms, meeting the needs of high real-time scenarios, and its configuration is extremely simple. Data mapping can be completed by dragging and dropping through exclusive ESI files and tools, and it can be quickly online in 3 steps.
Practical cases can better reflect the value of the product: A large machine tool factory newly installed an EtherCAT architecture PLC, but the original hydraulic valve group was a CAN protocol device. The 5ms delay in traditional communication caused the valve group to respond to lag and control accuracy was insufficient, affecting processing efficiency.
The cost of replacing equipment is high and the construction period is long, which puts enterprises in a dilemma.
Nidaxun provides a customized solution: deploy a CAN to EtherCAT gateway, connect the CAN port to the hydraulic valve group (500kbps baud rate), connect the EtherCAT port to the new PLC, map the pressure, opening signal and control words to the EtherCAT input and output area, and enable DC synchronization to ensure real-time issuance of instructions.
After implementation, the communication delay was reduced to 0.8ms, the processing accuracy was significantly improved, the production line efficiency was increased by 30%, and the transformation cost was reduced by 40%, achieving low-cost, non-stop upgrades.
This gateway is widely used in equipment upgrades, production line integration and other scenarios. It has industrial-grade features such as -40~85℃ wide temperature and redundant power supply, and meets the stringent needs of many industries such as machine tools and new energy.
In summary, as industrial automation is in-depth transformation to intelligent manufacturing, the upgrade of existing equipment and the integration of heterogeneous networks have become the key for enterprises to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and enhance core competitiveness.
With the core advantage of “no need to replace old equipment and low-cost upgrades”, CAN-to-EtherCAT technology has become the optimal path to break the barriers between old and new protocols and open up data islands.
Nidasun Automation is deeply involved in the field of industrial communications. The CAN-to-EtherCAT gateway it launched not only has the product advantages of low latency (<1ms), high compatibility, and easy configuration, but also relies on industrial-grade reliable design to adapt to the rigorous on-site needs of many industries.
Judging from actual cases, this gateway can effectively help enterprises reduce more than 40% of transformation costs, improve production line efficiency, and achieve the upgrade goal of "non-stop work, low cost, and high profits".
In the future, Nidaxun Automation will continue to focus on technological innovation, optimize protocol conversion solutions, help more companies retain the value of their original equipment, open up communication links, promote intelligent upgrading of production lines, and inject lasting power into the development of Industry 4.0.
