EtherCAT Technology Group

The EtherCAT Technology Group is an organization in which key user companies from various industries and leading automation suppliers join forces to support, promote and advance the EtherCAT technology. With over 8,500 members from 77 countries, the EtherCAT Technology Group has become the largest fieldbus organization in the world. Founded in November 2003, it is also the fastest growing fieldbus. The ETG provides multiple Technical Working Groups where experts carefully work on various specific aspects of EtherCAT. All of these activities are focused on a common goal: keeping EtherCAT stable and interoperable. That’s why there is only a single version of EtherCAT, and not a new version each year. The ETG holds multiple Plug Fests in North America, Europe, and Asia every year. The Plug Fests bring EtherCAT device developers together to test and ensure device interoperability. Using the official EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool (CTT), each manufacturer conformance tests its EtherCAT devices prior to their release. The ETG awards the manufacturer a Conformance Certificate following a successful test in an accredited test lab. The ETG holds international seminars and workshops and represents EtherCAT at tradeshows around the globe. The organization also provides product guides, member-supported tradeshow booths, and seminars to help its members market their EtherCAT products. The ETG has the largest number of members of any fieldbus organization in the world. The still-growing list of members can be found on the ETG website. However, the decisive factor is not how many members there are, but how active the members are in the ETG. The number and variety of EtherCAT devices are unparalleled, and EtherCAT’s adoption rate across Europe, Asia, and North America surpasses that of all other industrial Ethernet technologies.