KINGSTAR ESI Import Tool

KINGSTAR ESI Import Tool allows you to import ESI (EtherCAT Slave Information) files for your EtherCAT hardware and save the data to KINGSTAR ESI database. With the imported ESI data, KINGSTAR Runtime is able to connect to the devices, and the tools can get detailed hardware information.

KINGSTAR Subsystem has already stored a variety of hardware ESI data, but you may need to modify or add ESI data if the device is not included in the KINGSTAR Subsystem default database. Therefore, KINGSTAR ESI Import Tool also allows you to add custom ESI data into the KINGSTAR Subsystem. To add a device not in the KINGSTAR default devices database, you need an EtherCAT Slave Information (ESI) file. This file is in .xml format and provided by the hardware manufacturer. Once you use the KINGSTAR ESI Import Tool to add the ESI data of EtherCAT-enabled devices into the KINGSTAR Subsystem, you can use the devices with KINGSTAR immediately.

 

Before using the ESI Import Tool

Below are the names on the file menu in this ESI Import Tool which you need to know before starting it:

  1. Default Devices Database: The devices database which KINGSTAR supports and stores by default. After KINGSTAR Runtime is installed, the IntervalZeroDevices database will be created under the C:\Program Files\IntervalZero\KINGSTAR\bin\ESI Database\ folder. This database is our default devices database. It is suggested NOT to make any change to this database. If you need to add or modify any device data, please do it under user devices database.

  2. User Devices Database: You can create this user devices database through the ESI Import tool. The folder of this database is under C:\Program Files\IntervalZero\KINGSTAR\bin\ESI Database\UserDevices\. If you want to add the supported devices, please import the devices' ESI files into this database. If you want to modify the settings in the default devices database, please import the relevant device data into this database.

    NOTE: User Devices Database has the highest priority, which means that when both default devices database and user devices database contain the data of the same device, the settings in the user devices database take precedence over the settings in the default devices database.

  3. ESI Devices Database: other than the above two, the other ESI devices database stored in non-specific location.

To speed up KINGSTAR EtherCAT connection, you can put all the devices' data connected to the machine in the user device database. Once KINGSTAR finds the data of all the devices from the user database, it skips reading the data in default devices database. Hence, the loading speed will increase.

Work with the ESI Import Tool

The following sections provide information about how to use KINGSTAR ESI Import Tool:

 

How to deploy ESI databases to other devices

To deploy the ESI databases to another device, copy the C:\Program Files\IntervalZero\KINGSTAR\bin\ESI Database\ folder to the same location in the target device.

 

How to start the ESI Import Tool

The ESI Import Tool is bundled with KINGSTAR Runtime. You can start it through one of the following steps: