EtherCAT Setup on Jetson with EtherLab Master

Execution model

Run one phase at a time. After each phase:

• Relay all command output to the user.
• If output contains [STOP] → stop immediately, consult the failure decision tree below.
• If output ends with [OK] → tell the user "Phase N complete" and proceed to the next phase.

Prerequisites

Most slave devices require additional external power after physical Ethernet connection.

Phase 1 — Hardware connection (~2 min)

Connect the Jetson Ethernet interface directly to the EtherCAT slave device. If the slave uses a 4-pin interface, use an Ethernet-to-4-pin adapter.

Identify the Ethernet interface name:

ifconfig

Note the interface name (e.g. eno1). This will be used in subsequent configuration.

[OK] — proceed to Phase 2.

Phase 2 — Install EtherCAT driver (~5–10 min)

Install build dependencies and compile the EtherLab EtherCAT master:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential cmake libtool autoconf automake

git clone https://gitlab.com/etherlab.org/ethercat.git
cd ethercat
./bootstrap
./configure --sysconfdir=/etc
make all modules
sudo make modules_install install
sudo depmod -a

Verify the kernel modules are loaded:

sudo lsmod | grep "ec_"

Expected: ec_master and ec_generic modules listed.

[OK] — proceed to Phase 3. [STOP] if modules not found.

Phase 3 — Configure EtherCAT master (~2 min)

Edit the configuration file:

sudo vim /etc/ethercat.conf

Set these parameters (replace eno1 with your interface name):

MASTER0_DEVICE="eno1"
DEVICE_MODULES="generic"

Restart the service and verify:

sudo systemctl restart ethercat
ls /dev/EtherCAT*

Expected: /dev/EtherCAT0 appears.

(Optional) If /dev/EtherCAT is not found, try loading modules manually:

sudo modprobe ec_master devices="eno1"
sudo modprobe ec_generic
sudo systemctl restart ethercat

(Optional) If the interface is occupied by NetworkManager:

sudo nmcli dev set eno1 managed no
sudo nmcli dev set eno1 managed on

[OK] — proceed to Phase 4. [STOP] if /dev/EtherCAT0 does not appear.

Phase 4 — Test communication (~2 min)

Scan for EtherCAT devices and check packet loss:

sudo ethercat rescan
sudo ethercat master

List all slaves on the bus:

sudo ethercat rescan
sudo ethercat slaves -v

View PDOs of slave at index 0:

sudo ethercat rescan
sudo ethercat pdos -p 0

[OK] — slaves detected and communication verified. [STOP] if no slaves found.

Phase 5 — Motor control example (MyActuator X4, optional) (~5 min)

Clone and build the example motor control code:

git clone https://github.com/jjjadand/ethercat-myctor.git
cd ethercat-myctor/src/build
cmake ..
make

Lock CPU frequency and run:

sudo jetson_clocks
sudo ./ethercat_master

Expected: after ~2 seconds, the motor begins to move in a loop.

[OK] — EtherCAT motor control working.

Each EtherCAT motor uses a different communication protocol. Adapt the example for your specific device.

Failure decision tree

Reference files

• references/source.body.md — full original Seeed tutorial with hardware diagrams, motor control flowchart, and CiA-402 state machine details (reference only)