EL3162 by Beckhoff

The EL3162 is an analog input terminal produced by Beckhoff within the EL EtherCAT Terminals series. Deployed on an EtherCAT I/O strand, the module acquires low-level process signals and forwards digitized data to the bus controller for high-speed, deterministic automation. It occupies a single 12 mm slot on the DIN rail and interfaces directly with sensor wiring, eliminating the need for external signal conditioning in distributed control cabinets.

The terminal handles two single-ended channels, with both channels sampled simultaneously to maintain phase accuracy between sensors. Conversion depth is 16 bits, including the sign bit, so ±32,768 discrete counts are available across the input span. A passive front end with an input filter limited to 5 kHz blocks unwanted high-frequency noise while still allowing fast process events to reach the analog-to-digital converter. The analog front end presents an impedance greater than 200 k?, reducing the electrical load placed on resistive transmitters. Sampling events are time-stamped by the EtherCAT distributed clock engine with a precision of less than 1 µs, permitting tight synchronization with motion controllers and other field devices on the network. Distributed clock support is active, and the acquired data share one coherent time domain.

Channel data enter the process image as 2 × 16-bit data words and 2 × 8-bit status words, so each scan delivers raw values and status information without additional mapping. Absolute error remains below ±0.3%, meeting typical PLC requirements for temperature, pressure, and flow loops. Electrical isolation provides a dielectric strength of up to 30 V between the channel group and supply for use in SELV installations. The IP20-rated housing latches onto a 35 mm mounting rail, and the inputs use a single-ended ground reference. The terminal stores CoE parameters locally, while its internal NoCoE flag controls the related CoE access behavior.