Glossary Updates12 new terms added to the glossaries · October 2, 2026, 22:44 CEST
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Glossary · Motion control and drives

Servo terminals EL72xx

Also known as: Beckhoff EL72xx, EtherCAT servo terminals

German: Servoklemmen EL72xx

In motion control, the EL72xx series are Beckhoff EtherCAT terminals that work as compact servo drives for small servo motors, mounted directly in the I/O terminal system.

  • Motion control
  • Vendor product

In one sentence

The EL72xx series are Beckhoff EtherCAT terminals that act as compact servo drives for small motors in the I/O system.

Example

A small assembly machine drives its format adjustment axes with EL72xx servo terminals placed next to the digital I/O terminals.

How it applies

  • Engineering: Servo terminals save cabinet space for low-power axes; they are configured in the vendor's engineering environment together with the rest of the I/O.
  • Commissioning: Motor data, encoder and loop settings are configured per terminal and saved with the project.
  • Maintenance: A replacement terminal must receive the same configuration from the project before the axis is enabled.
  • Documentation: Show servo terminals in the electrical documentation like other drives: supply, motor connection, feedback, and safety wiring. In spare-parts lists, give the exact terminal variant. For translation and localization, keep the product name unchanged in every language and record it in the terminology database as a do-not-translate term.

Keep in mind: Product names, variants and features change. Check them against Beckhoff's current documentation before naming specific terminals.

By knowledge.aitechdoc.world · Published September 26, 2026 · Last reviewed

Source: AI TechDoc Knowledge editorial definition, based on vendor information from Beckhoff Automation

Definitions follow the cited standards and specifications. Where a source is a copyrighted publication, such as an ISO, IEC or EN standard, the definition is a close paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation, so as not to infringe copyright. We recommend reading the original publication. The sections “How it applies” are editorial commentary by AI TechDoc Knowledge and are not part of any standard.

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