Beckhoff expands EtherCAT I/O terminals for mains and power monitoring

May 7, 2018 – Beckhoff Automation has introduced new EL34x3 series EtherCAT terminals for advanced power measurement and mains monitoring applications.

Energy management for machine operation and the energy industries creates various demands, starting with basic monitoring of the supply network and process control to high-end power monitoring – demands Beckhoff says the new EtherCAT I/O terminals aim to answer. Together with the EL37x3 power monitoring oversampling terminals (and the associated TwinCAT Power Monitoring software library), the new EL34x3 EtherCAT Terminals for energy management create a product portfolio that can be adapted to a range of measurement tasks.

Two of the EtherCAT terminals are suited for power measurement in process control applications: the EL3443 3-phase EtherCAT Terminal offers functions such as mains monitoring functionality, precise determination of zero voltage crossing and harmonics analysis; and the EL3453 3-phase EtherCAT terminal for measuring voltages up to 690 VAC focuses on more demanding process control tasks. Two other EtherCAT terminals have been designed for energy management in monitoring and maintenance applications: the EL3423 3-phase power measurement terminal for energy management solutions in IoT applications; and the EL3483 3-phase mains monitoring terminal for voltage, frequency and phase monitoring of the power supply to a machine.