AKD EtherCAT XML Files for TwinCAT3 and TwinCAT2

Overview

The XML (or ESI) file for the AKD EtherCAT drive is used by the EtherCAT master to identify the AKD drives on the network and specify the allowable objects and PDO mappings.  Obtain the appropriate XML file and place it in the appropriate directory of the EtherCAT master.  Some masters have software to handle importing the XML file.

Following are the directories for TwinCAT3 and TwinCAT2, and the corresponding filenames.

For TwinCAT3

TwinCAT3 Directory

The following path is the location of the XML files used by TwinCAT3:

C:\TwinCAT\3.1\Config\Io\EtherCAT

The 3.1 folder is used for TwinCAT 3.1.  If you are running a different version, such as 3.0, etc., then there should be a 3.0 folder.

XML (ESI) filenames for TwinCAT3 and All Other Supported EtherCAT Masters

There are two naming conventions for the EtherCAT XML (ESI) file for the AKD:

• Old name: "AKD EtherCAT Device Description.xml"
• New name: "AKD.xml" -- Found in the zip file with current AKD firwmare on our website.

For TwinCAT2

TwinCAT2 Directory

The following path is the location of the XML files used by TwinCAT2:

C:\TwinCAT\Io\EtherCAT

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XML (ESI) filenames for TwinCAT2

There are two naming conventions for the EtherCAT XML (ESI) file for the AKD:

• Old name: "AKD_TwinCAT.xml"
• New name: "AKD_TwinCAT2.xml" (same file with updated name) -- Found as an attachment to this article.