A clock synchronization method for EtherCAT master

Chen, Xin; Li, Di; Zhou, Nan

doi:10.1016/j.micpro.2016.03.002

Cited by 20 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The real-time Ethernet bus in this system makes use of a kind of new synchronization method of distributed clock, which lets synchronization precision of SYNC signals of all slaves could be about 20 ns as shown in Figure 6. This performance is better (Chen et al, 2016;Pang et al, 2018).…”

Section: The New Synchronization Methods Of Bus Controllermentioning

confidence: 81%

Research on software synchronization method of real-time ethernet distributed motion control system

Huang

Chen

Zhang

et al. 2019

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Purpose This paper aims to analyze the key factors influencing the synchronization performance of distributed motion control system and to improve the synchronization performance for peripherals control of this system. Design/methodology/approach This paper deals with the software synchronization problems of distributed motion control system based on real-time Ethernet. First, combined with communication and control tasks, the key factors affecting synchronization performance of system are analyzed. Then, aiming at key factors and considering the synchronization of system bus, protocol conversion and task scheduling, a software synchronization method based on CANopen protocol and real-time Ethernet is proposed. Finally, the feasibility of this method is verified by establishing distributed motion control system and testing the synchronization performance of terminal control signals of slaves. Findings Based on this method, the results show that the synchronization accuracy for peripherals control of all slaves could be about 100 ns. Practical implications This research provides high-precision synchronization method, which could lay a foundation for the application of distributed motion control system in the field of assembly automation, such as multi-axis assembly robots control. Originality/value In distributed motion control system, many factors affect the synchronization performance. At present, there is no synchronization method that could comprehensively consider these factors. This paper not only analyzes the key factors influencing the synchronization performance of system but also proposes a synchronization method. Therefore, the method proposed in this paper has certain theoretical value and engineering significance.

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Section: The New Synchronization Methods Of Bus Controllermentioning

confidence: 81%

Research on software synchronization method of real-time ethernet distributed motion control system

Huang

Chen

Zhang

et al. 2019

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show abstract

“…ey also have high performance and flexible topology and deliver more options to user. In some reports [33,34], EtherCAT is an overall highly performance real-time protocol, for example, high velocity of transmission, multislave nodes, various suppliers and manufacturers, and both academic and industry community. Contrary to its advantages, the existing drawbacks which comprise limited usages in software and hardware, or complex data structure, need more solutions to overcome.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control and Implementation of Positioning System with Symmetrical Topology for Precision Manufacturing

Truong

Ngo

2022

Mathematical Problems in Engineering

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In recent years, the needs of modularized controller for the multiaxes servo system increase significantly since traditional controller still exists many drawbacks such as limited control axes, low speed data acquisition, or heavy weight. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of both hardware and software for real-time express-based motion controller. This controller can meet the demand for high-speed motion control and high performance which conventional fieldbus controllers cannot realize. With modular design, the controller brings many benefits such as low-cost, expandable ability, multiaxes control, or small physical size. Experimental results for an industrial motion system indicate that the proposed modular controller can perform well in time critical data transmission and is feasible and applicable in various fields.

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“…However, it relies on the clock services of the RTOS, which can also administer unwanted task jitters. A fast clock synchronization method adjusting the clock of the master in accordance to the reference slave clock is presented by Chen et al [31]. The method is applied on a Windows PC with RTX real-time extension and commercial EtherCAT master which are not available as an open-source.…”

Section: Synchronous Joint Space Controllermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, synchronization between the EtherCAT master and the slaves was not considered according to the results of Cena et al [30]. This affects the stability of the entire system due to periodically losing packets on the transmission line [31]. This paper presents a method that configures the reference slave as the global reference clock to be followed by the EtherCAT master and all the slaves within the network.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Network-Oriented Real-Time Embedded System Considering Synchronous Joint Space Motion for an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot

Delgado

Choi

2019

Electronics

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This paper proposes a real-time embedded system for joint space control of omnidirectional mobile robots. Actuators driving an omnidirectional mobile robot are connected in a line topology which requires synchronization to move simultaneously in translation and rotation. We employ EtherCAT, a real-time Ethernet network, to control servo controllers for the mobile robot. The first part of this study focuses on the design of a low-cost embedded system utilizing an open-source EtherCAT master. Although satisfying real-time constraints is critical, a desired trajectory on the center of the mobile robot should be decomposed into the joint space to drive the servo controllers. For the center of the robot, a convolution-based path planner and a corresponding joint space control algorithm are presented considering its physical limits. To avoid obstacles that introduce geometric constraints on the curved path, a trajectory generation algorithm considering high curvature turning points is adapted for an omnidirectional mobile robot. Tracking a high curvature path increases mathematical complexity, which requires precise synchronization between the actuators of the mobile robot. An improvement of the distributed clock—the synchronization mechanism of EtherCAT for slaves—is presented and applied to the joint controllers of the mobile robot. The local time of the EtherCAT master is dynamically adjusted according to the drift of the reference slave, which minimizes the synchronization error between each joint. Experiments are conducted on our own developed four-wheeled omnidirectional mobile robot. The experiment results confirm that the proposed system is very effective in real-time control applications for precise motion control of the robot even for tracking high curvature paths.

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A clock synchronization method for EtherCAT master

Cited by 20 publications

References 10 publications

Research on software synchronization method of real-time ethernet distributed motion control system

Research on software synchronization method of real-time ethernet distributed motion control system

Control and Implementation of Positioning System with Symmetrical Topology for Precision Manufacturing

Network-Oriented Real-Time Embedded System Considering Synchronous Joint Space Motion for an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot

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