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ASIX Electronics Corporation

Product Design Article

Figure-5. AX58400 EtherCAT Slave Motor Control Reference Design Kit

Figure-6. AX58400 Reference Schematic & PCB Layout

 Software Design Process Overview

The AX58400 EtherCAT slave motor control reference design kit also includes complete software and

firmware source codes, as well as software design guides. Designers can utility these technical

resources and tutorial videos to quickly set up the AX58400 development environment, and begin

verifying the hardware functionality of the new AX58400 device. If the new AX58400 device is

functioning correctly, designers can then begin customizing the source codes based on the product

requirements. These source codes include bootloader, application firmware, and TwinCAT PLC

applications. The following outlines the software design process for AX58400 EtherCAT slave motor

control products:

a. Compile the AX58400 bootloader source code using the ARM KEIL MDK uVision 5 development

tool, then flash it onto the new AX58400 device with the STM32CubeProgrammer tool.

b. Generate the EtherCAT SSC source code using Beckhoff EtherCAT SSC tool; compile the

AX58400 EtherCAT slave motor control firmware source code using STM32CubeIDE or ARM

KEIL MDK uVision 5 development tools, and then flash the new firmware onto the new AX58400

device with STM32CubeIDE or STM32CubeProgrammer tools.

c. Create a new TwinCAT project using the Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 XAE development tool, import

and build the AX58400 motor control TwinCAT PLC demo application source code. Run the demo

application to flash the EEPROM, and start verifying the motor control functionality of the new

AX58400 device.

d. After verifying the functionality of the AX58400 device, designers can begin customizing the

source codes based on the product requirements.