The EK1101 EtherCAT Coupler is the link between the EtherCAT protocol at fieldbus level

and the EtherCAT Terminals. The coupler converts the passing telegrams from Ethernet

100BASE-TX to E-bus signal representation. A station consists of a coupler and any number

of EtherCAT Terminals that are automatically detected and individually displayed in the

process image.

Special features:

• Connection technology: 2 x RJ45 socket

• Connection lengths: up to 100 m

• Three ID switches for implementing variable topologies

• Number of EtherCAT Terminals in the overall system: up to 65.535

The EK1101 has two RJ45 sockets and three hexadecimal ID switches. The upper Ethernet

interface is used to connect the coupler to the network; the lower socket serves for the

optional connection of further EtherCAT devices in the same segment. A group of EtherCAT

components can be assigned a unique ID via the hexadecimal ID switches. This group can

then be located at any position within the EtherCAT network. Variable topologies are

therefore easily implementable. In addition, an EtherCAT junction or an EtherCAT extension

can be used for the extension or for setting up a line or star topology.