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ISSUE — EtherCAT.ini Missing or Contains 'servo1' Line

CONFIRMED RESOLVED BOTH BOLT BOLT JR

Summary

EtherCAT fails to connect after a Flair update or fresh install because ethercat.ini either contains an invalid servo1 entry, or the file is missing entirely. Fix by removing the servo1 line from the file, or by creating it manually in Notepad with six lines each reading only Staubli — one per Staubli axis on the robot (standard Bolt = 6 axes = 6 lines).

Symptoms

Variant A — 'servo1' line present: - After a Flair 7 update, Flair cannot find any network connections at all - Appears as an inability to engage or connect to hardware

Variant B — file missing entirely: - EtherCAT connection fails to establish - File simply not present in Flair folder (can happen after denying a Windows update, or after Flair reinstall)

Systems Affected

  • Bolt (confirmed)
  • Bolt Jr (confirmed — Timothy: "more important for systems with Track")
  • Any Staubli-based system using EtherCAT

Software Environment

BOTH

Possible Causes

  • Variant A: Flair 7 installer or update left a servo1 entry in ethercat.ini, which is incompatible
  • Variant B: Windows update process deleted or failed to create the file; or file was never there after a fresh install

Solutions

Solution A — Remove 'servo1' line from ethercat.ini

CONFIRMED BOTH

Contributor(s): Gordon Eschke — 2021-01-28

Steps

  1. Navigate to \Flair\Flair7\FlairClassic\ on the Flair PC.
  2. Open ethercat.ini in Notepad.
  3. Find and remove the line servo1 (or any similar non-Staubli entry).
  4. Save the file.
  5. Restart Flair.

Notes

"Please check ethercat.ini in \Flair\Flair7\FlairClassic\ and make sure the line 'servo1' is removed." — Gordon Eschke

Solution B — Create ethercat.ini manually

CONFIRMED BOTH

Contributor(s): Timothy Heys Cerchio — 2021-04-19

Steps

  1. Open Notepad on the Flair PC.
  2. Create a new text file with 6 lines, each containing exactly: 
    Staubli
Staubli
Staubli
Staubli
Staubli
Staubli
  3. Save as ethercat.ini in the Flair folder (same location as flair.ini).
  4. Restart Flair.

Notes

"In your Flair folder you should have an ethercat.ini (text file) file that just has 6 lines that say 'Staubli'" — Timothy Heys Cerchio

"And you can make one very easily with Notepad." — Timothy Heys Cerchio

The number of lines corresponds to the number of Staubli axes on the robot. Standard Bolt = 6 axes = 6 lines.

Timeline

Event Date Contributor
No network connections after Flair 7 update — servo1 fix 2021-01-28 Gordon Eschke
ethercat.ini missing after Windows update 2021-04-19 ~ Tran Quang Duy, Timothy Heys Cerchio

Official Documentation

Document Section Notes
Flair v7.4 Operator Manual Network configuration EtherCAT setup section

Flair Classic Manual — Ch.14A High Speed Robots / EtherCAT — p.235

Flair Classic Manual — Ch.22 Network Direct — p.313

Flair 7 Manual — Ch.11 High Speed Robots / EtherCAT — p.195

Flair 7 Manual — Ch.19 Network Direct — p.263

WhatsApp Excerpts

[28/1/2021, 7:37:08 pm] ~ kyle.k: hello guys. recently we updated flair 7 for sub pc, then when we try to engage it we cannot find any network connections. is any page that we can look around how to set up? or any tips for us?

[28/1/2021, 7:53:58 pm] Gordon Eschke: Hi please check ethercat.ini in \Flair\Flair7\FlairClassic\ and make sure the line 'servo1' is removed

[19/4/2021, 12:17:02 am] Timothy Heys Cerchio: in your Flair folder you should have an Ethercat.ini (text file) file that just has 6 lines that say 'Staubli'

[19/4/2021, 1:36:46 am] ~ Tran Quang Duy: Thank you. Dont know how the ethercat.ini is missing after i deny to update the window

[19/4/2021, 1:37:48 am] Timothy Heys Cerchio: Probably was never there...

[19/4/2021, 1:42:05 am] Timothy Heys Cerchio: And you can make one very easily with Notepad.

Revision History

Date Change Editor
2026-05-24 Initial extraction Tom D / Claude Code