Web-based EtherCAT® Configuration and Diagnosis Tool

EC-Engineer Web is a fully featured application for configuring, diagnosing, and troubleshooting EtherCAT® networks, with a user interface accessible via a web browser. Its modular and platform-independent architecture allows the software to be flexibly deployed on various operating systems (Windows, Linux, and macOS) as well as different CPU architectures (x64, Arm32, Arm64).

Architectures

In addition to multi-OS support, a major advantage of EC-Engineer Web is its modular software structure, which supports various architectures. By default, all modules are installed and run on a single device (e.g., a PC running Windows or Linux) (Architecture 1). The Business Logic integrates the MainDevice software EC-Master directly via the EC-Master API to access an optionally connected EtherCAT network. This enables, for example, a network scan for automatic detection of existing SubDevices and the topology.
If a PC running Windows or Linux is to be used to diagnose a MainDevice with EC-Master, communication takes place via a TCP/IP connection using the acontis RAS (Remote Access Service) protocol (Architecture 2). EC-Master provides the EC-Engineer Web with extensive diagnostic data via this interface, and—if enabled—data in the MainDevice and SubDevices can also be modified.
The business logic can also be installed and run directly on the main device, provided that Microsoft .NET support is generally available on that system. This cross-platform framework is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS (Architecture 3). On the user interface device, no additional installation is required beyond the browser to configure the network or diagnose the entire system.

Configuration

EC-Engineer Web supports the complete configuration of all types of EtherCAT SubDevices—with the exception of FSoE MainInstance SubDevices. This is based on the ESI (EtherCAT® Network Information) files provided by device manufacturers, which describe the SubDevice features. The available device functions can be easily selected and configured. The most important aspect is defining the cyclic process data (PDO), but also setting parameters to be transferred during startup and much more. Furthermore, with EC-Engineer Web the cabling between devices is defined. Optional device groups (Hot Connect Groups) can also be created. The result of the configuration is then saved in the ENI (EtherCAT® Network Information) file, which is required by the MainDevice software.
When using EC-Engineer Web the EtherCAT configuration can be done "offline" in the lab/office or "online" when connected with the real EtherCAT network on the machine. It doesn't matter whether the EtherCAT SubDevices are connected with the local device where EC-Engineer Web is running, or with the MainDevice controller where the control application's EC-Master stack is running. In either case the SubDevices and the network topology can easily be determined using the "Network Scan" feature.

Diagnosis

EC-Engineer Web is a sophisticated tool for diagnosis and monitoring as well. Using a TCP/IP connection to the EC-Master MainDevice the complete EtherCAT network can be viewed and analyzed. Display of the system status and the process data content as well as more complex functions like reading the object dictionary or downloading new SubDevice firmware are available then. To perform a diagnosis of an EC-Master MainDevice, only the IP address of the MainDevice is required. All required information, including the content of the ENI file, is then supplied by the EC-Master to EC-Engineer Web.

Troubleshooting

EtherCAT networks provide extensive built-in diagnostics, and the acontis EC-Engineer is designed to make these accessible even without deep EtherCAT expertise. Errors in an EtherCAT network fall into three categories, each requiring different diagnostic approaches.

Category 1 covers permanent errors during network startup that prevent the network from reaching the Operational state. These include topology mismatches between the real network and the ENI configuration, SubDevice initialization failures, Distributed Clock synchronization problems, and complete frame loss despite correct cabling. The EC-Engineer's graphical topology view allows engineers to immediately compare the discovered network against the planned configuration, making it straightforward to identify missing or mismatched SubDevices.

Category 2 covers permanent errors while the network is Operational — cable disconnections at the MainDevice or between SubDevices, power loss, SubDevices dropping to a lower state, total SubDevice failure, or an unexpected device appearing on the network. Localizing the exact problem location within a potentially large network of hundreds of SubDevices is crucial for efficient troubleshooting. The EC-Engineer's topology view highlights exactly where in the chain communication is lost, allowing targeted intervention rather than time-consuming trial-and-error cable swapping.

Category 3 covers intermittent errors while the network stays Operational but with degraded quality — occasional frame loss and Working Counter Errors (WKC) in cyclic process data. These are the hardest to catch because they may appear only under specific conditions such as vibration, temperature changes, or electromagnetic interference. The EC-Engineer's "Self Test Scan" function sends large numbers of frames of varying lengths over a defined period, counts missing frames, and reads SubDevice error registers to identify vulnerabilities. By combining frame loss statistics with per-SubDevice error counter readouts, the EC-Engineer pinpoints marginal connections before they escalate into permanent failures.

EC-Engineer Web Software Development Kit (SDK)

EC-Engineer Web is a client server application, with the modern dark mode client user interface (UI) an Angular-CLI project communicating through a REST-API with the backend (ASP.NET Core). Using the available SDK all (or just a subset) of the EC-Engineer Web features can be integrated into another engineering application. Brand labeling and other customer specific enhancements can be achieved as well. All EC-Engineer core software components and modules are available for Windows and Linux. The user interface layers are based on the Microsoft® ASP .NET Core Angular project.

Technologies

• ASP.NET Core Web Application
• Angular: Application design framework and development platform for creating single-page apps
• TypeScript: Is a strict syntactical superset of JavaScript

Features

General Features

• Configuration of multiple MainDevice systems within one project
• EtherCAT SubDevices connected to the Windows PC
• EtherCAT SubDevices connected to the control system
• Tree View and Topology View
• ESI and EMI Manager
• Multiple Languages

Configuration Features

• Import ESI (EtherCAT SubDevice Information) files according to ETG.2000
• Export ENI-(EtherCAT Network Information) files according to ETG.2100
• Automatic determination of the connected SubDevices (bus scan)
• SubDevice device copy and paste including all parameters
• PDO selection and configuration
• Adjustment and appending of EtherCAT SubDevice init commands
• Transparent integration of MDP (Modular Device Profile) SubDevices
• Fixed memory layout of SubDevices or
• Distributed Clocks (DC) Settings
• Definition of "Hot Connect" groups
• Programming Station Alias Address
• Other MainDevice and SubDevices parameters

Diagnosis and Monitoring Features

• EC-Master and SubDevice State (display and control)
• Process (I/O) data (display and control)
• ESC Register (read and write)
• EEPROM (read and write)
• EC-Master And SubDevice Object Dictionaries
• Mailbox transfers (Service Data Objects upload and download)
• Firmware upload and download
• Comparison of configuration and real network

A complete feature overview of all versions can be found here.

More information

Please request additional information in our download area.