EtherCAT was presented for the first time at Hannover Messe 2003 and has since become an established standard in numerous industries worldwide. Meanwhile, the international user and manufacturer association for EtherCAT, the EtherCAT Technology Group, has more than 2300 members that support and disseminate EtherCAT technology and drive future developments. Martin Rostan, head of technology marketing at Beckhoff, looks back on the early days of the ‘Fast Lightbus’.
EtherCAT is basically Lightbus technology adapted to Ethernet. Lightbus, the first Beckhoff fieldbus, was launched in 1989 and already derived its then exceptional performance from the ‘processing on-the-fly’ concept that EtherCAT also utilises. The working title of the project from which EtherCAT later emerged, was Fast Lightbus. It is the unique operating principle that makes EtherCAT special: fast, flexible, easy to use, cost-effective, compelling, and therefore successful.
“The presentation of this pioneering communication technology at Hannover Messe 2003 was a highlight in the company history of Beckhoff: virtually the whole industry visited its booth and was amazed – many even congratulated us,” says Rostan. “Right from the outset we announced our intention to develop the technology into an open standard. The foundation of the EtherCAT Technology Group and publishing the specification as a global IEC standard were important milestones that Beckhoff is celebrating 10 years later in 2013.”
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