Guide: EtherCAT (Ethernet for Control Automation Technology) is an Ethernet-based fieldbus protocol designed to support hard and soft real-time requirements in automation technology. It enables seamless communication between controllers and field devices such as sensors and motors in industrial applications, featuring high data rates and short cycle times.
As the industrial sector continues to move toward the goal of Industry 4.0, market demand for systems with resilient connectivity, low power consumption, high performance, and robust security is growing.
However, implementing digital transformation is not always smooth. Enterprises must integrate these advanced systems into existing environments while addressing challenges such as software silos, pre-internet legacy equipment, and entrenched workflows. They need solutions that can target high-performance hardware and software applications within these constraints.
Understanding EtherCAT
EtherCAT (Ethernet for Control Automation Technology) is an Ethernet-based fieldbus protocol designed to support hard and soft real-time requirements in automation technology. It enables seamless communication between controllers and field devices like sensors and motors in industrial applications, with high data rates and short cycle times. It achieves this through a master-slave processing architecture: the controller device sends standardized Ethernet frames to each node, and each node processes and returns only the data specifically assigned to it by the controller.
EtherCAT supports an “on-the-fly” processing mechanism, where data can be passed to the next node while being processed, rather than being handled sequentially one by one. This feature improves efficiency and reduces the processing power required for each component—ensuring each component consumes only the necessary computing resources for its assigned data. Overall, compared to other industrial Ethernet protocols, EtherCAT operates faster with lower latency and jitter, making it a core component of modern distributed industrial ecosystems.
The Role of Lattice FPGAs in Industrial Applications
Lattice FPGAs provide enterprises with reliable hardware that meets today’s industrial specifications and standards, while offering inherent adaptability and scalability. This allows developers to program (or even reprogram) systems to adapt to any computing needs, even after deployment. Unlike other devices such as ASICs, MPUs, MCUs, and ASSPs, FPGAs also support parallel processing, enabling operations to be executed synchronously rather than sequentially.
Lattice FPGAs feature low power consumption, small size, low latency, and high I/O capacity, helping build efficient interconnected industrial systems. They can interface directly with sensors and support application scenarios such as real-time industrial networks, motor and motion control, machine vision, sensor fusion, and deterministic sensing and control—all key functions of modern industrial operations.
Integrating EtherCAT with Lattice FPGAs
The Lattice Safe Connect Motion Control Platform perfectly combines the advantages of these two technologies, providing industrial enterprises with high-performance, low-power, low-latency, and secure connectivity.
The platform leverages the MII/RMII MAC interface and its flexibility to integrate into existing industrial networks. It is paired with the Lattice CertusPro™-NX FPGA for closed-loop motor control and the Lattice MachXO3D™ FPGA as the hardware root of trust (HRoT) security foundation. Additionally, it uses Analog Devices’ industrial Ethernet connectivity integrated circuits (ICs) to enable seamless system interconnection and centralized network control.
The platform supports various motors, including servo motors, brushless DC (BLDC) motors, and stepper motors, ensuring efficient, precise, and safe motor control.
Accelerating the Development of Safe Interconnect Platforms
Developers can use Lattice’s Golden System Reference Design (GSRD) as a guide to build safe interconnect platforms using Lattice devices and EtherCAT. The GSRD, combined with the Golden Hardware Reference Design (GHRD), provides fully tested reference solutions for systems using FPGA-based RISC-V soft-core CPUs. Based on this benchmark, developers can quickly build FPGA hardware systems that support the EtherCAT protocol.
The flexibility and efficiency of EtherCAT and Lattice FPGAs help enterprises keep pace with evolving industrial application scenarios, including:
- Motion Control and Robotics: Industrial machinery is becoming increasingly automated, requiring connectivity and real-time control coordination to support autonomous robots and other cutting-edge production tools.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing: As demand for semiconductors and other chips grows due to AI and machine learning (ML) models, their production needs optimization in terms of speed, cost-effectiveness, and reliability. Given the complexity of these devices, their manufacturing processes require high precision and synchronization—both of which the EtherCAT protocol can meet.
- Test and Measurement: As enterprises integrate more interconnected hardware into industrial ecosystems, they need to aggregate and analyze real-time data from sensors, actuators, and other distributed components. This data helps teams effectively monitor, control, and adjust operations.
EtherCAT and Lattice FPGAs Drive the Future of Industrial Automation
In today’s market, industrial enterprises must prioritize safe, efficient, and flexible connectivity. By combining EtherCAT’s real-time communication capabilities with Lattice FPGAs’ adaptive, low-power architectures, teams can continuously develop innovative solutions and advance operational digitization. This synergy not only improves operational efficiency but also ensures systems are scalable and adaptable, ready to meet new technological advancements and industry demands.
