SmaDoTec is opening a new chapter in innovative scale technology. Until now, scales have generally been connected to the RS485 field bus in a star configuration. In future, our scales can also be optionally operated on the EtherCAT bus.
What are the benefits of EtherCAT?
The RS485 fieldbus was developed in the last millennium and has undergone little further development. It is still based on the technology and specification from back then and is only used by most modern devices for reasons of compatibility, but generally without utilising all the advanced possibilities.
The EtherCAT bus system is faster, more flexible to wire, easier to configure and more cost-effective than conventional fieldbus systems. At the same time, considerably higher transfer rates are achieved over longer distances with greater safety and less susceptibility to interference. There are also extensive diagnostic options that were difficult to access remotely in the past with conventional fieldbus systems.
EtherCAT is tried and tested and has proven itself in series applications for years.