Can I Use EtherCAT to Communicate Between NX/NJ PLCs?
Written by Barbara Garnier-Jay
Updated at May 3rd, 2022
NX or NJ Master to NX Slave
No, this is not possible. This is due to the fact that NX series PLCs are EtherCAT masters only and cannot be setup as EtherCAT slaves.
An alternative is to set up an Ethernet/IP connection to the NX series PLCs.
Refer to this article for a step-by-step guide on how to set up an Ethernet/IP network : https://omron.helpjuice.com/en_US/machine-automation-controllers/ethernetip-setup-guide-using-sysmac.
NX or NJ Master to NJ Slave
It is possible to turn an NJ series PLC into an EtherCAT slave by adding a CJ1W-ECT21 EtherCAT slave unit.
- In your Sysmac project, add the EtherCAT slave unit to the NJ EtherCAT tree:
- Click on Edit PDO Map and select the desired size of the inputs and outputs.
- The input and output variables now appear in the I/O Map. Assign variable names to use them in the POU program.
