The Acontis EtherCAT Stack

Class A and Class B

The Acontis stack is divided into two parts. The Class B Master forms the basis. The Class A Master is an addon that allows synchronization with Distributed Clocks (DCM = Distributed Clocks Master Synchronization).

Software libraries and components

  1. atemsys [atemsys.ko]
    • Linux kernel module. Grants direct HW access from user space.
    • Must be compiled for the kernel used.
    • Sources/LinkOsLayer/Linux/atemsys
  2. EtherCAT Master Core[libEcMaster.a]
    • Base of the EtherCAT stack.
    • SDK/LIB/Linux/x64/libEcMaster.a
  3. EC LinkLayer [libemllI8254x.so]
    • Library EtharCAT Master Link Layer for Intel8254X EtherNet hardware.
    • Special Ethernet hardware driver optimized for use with EtherCAT.
    • Replaces the installed ethernet driver
    • Different LinkLayer may be needed for different Ethernet Hardware
    • Check compatibility list in EC-Master_ClassB.pdf 2.3.1.3 Supported network controllers
    • Bin/Linux/x64/libeml8254x.so

Usage

The Acontis stack can be used without limitation for 1 hour. After this the stack stops working. To overcome this limitation you have to acquire runtime licences from Acontis.