Where collaboration is key: The European EtherCAT Plug Fest returns for its second edition

Once again, the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) organized the 2024 European EtherCAT Plug Fest, this time hosted by ETG member Panasonic Industry Europe at their Customer Experience Center in Ottobrunn near Munich.

EtherCAT invited all vendors of controllers, devices, codes, and tools to participate in the event and share their experience working with the technology.

In total, 55 participants from 23 different manufacturers tested the interoperability of their devices, analyzed device behaviour, exchanged tips and tricks for implementation, and were given the opportunity to discuss technical questions about the technology with onsite experts. The ETG’s EtherCAT experts were ready to share their expertise directly and in person, thus supporting the participants’ knowledge transfer.

Florian Hammel, a member of the ETG technical team on site in Ottobrunn, said: “It is important to us to actively support the EtherCAT community in exchanging ideas and sharing knowledge. The more devices we can test for interoperability during an EtherCAT Plug Fest, the better for everyone.

Events like today are extremely valuable for participants to exchange knowledge in person, but they are also important for us to learn and to share experiences directly with the EtherCat providers and vendors.”

“We are particularly pleased to be hosting the EtherCat community today. Our Customer Experience Center here at our Panasonic Industry Campus in Ottobrunn is the perfect meeting place for collaborative work. It has been two instructive and information-packed days for us and all participants, and we are already looking forward to the next time.” added Philipp Zebisch, Senior Team Manager Product Management at Panasonic Industry Europe.

EtherCAT Plug Fests are held regularly in Europe, Japan, Korea and North America. All information on future dates is available at www.ethercat.org/events.