EtherCAT gateway for Altivar drives
The VW3AP3601 is a communication module that adds an EtherCAT slave interface to a compatible Schneider Altivar drive. It mounts inside the drive's option slot, not as a standalone panel component — the condition of use states it cannot be ordered alone, only in combination with a standard enclosure (i.e., the host drive). Two RJ45 ports provide line-in / line-out daisy-chain wiring at 100 Mbps, with a maximum cable distance of 100 m between devices per the EtherCAT segment spec.
Protocol and drive profile
The module supports CANopen over EtherCAT (CoE), with PDO and SDO services for cyclic process data and acyclic parameter access. It implements the drive profile CiA 402 velocity mode, conforming to IEC 61800-7-201. For addressing, it supports logical addressing, position addressing, and node addressing — covering both network-wide and device-specific mapping needs.
Diagnostic indicators
Four LEDs on the front panel give quick status: one for input status, one for RUN, one for error, and one for output status. No display or configuration interface on the module itself — all setup is done through the drive's keypad or the EtherCAT master configuration tool.