CAN Newsletter March 2004
| Business | CANdays in Italy and Japan - CiA DSP 416 |
|---|---|
| Specification | CANopen lifts people - CAN in building door control - The CANopen gateway protocol - MilCAN for military vehicles |
| Device | CAN lift controllers and devices - CAN-USB servo controller - Cost-optimized CANopen drive interface- CANopen servo - CANopen drive - CANopen option for servos - Intelligent servo - CNC controller - CANopen motor - Position control - CANopen drives - Controller - Datalogger - bluetooth gateway - Data acquisition - Connector - CANopen PCI CPU - CAN camera - I/O modules with CANopen - HMI - HMI with PLC functionality - I/Ö with CANopen backplane bus - CANopen CPU - Module for Simatic 7 - Displays - I/Os - PCI interface - I/Os for ships - PC card - CAN interfaces - IPC with CANopen and DeviceNet - Test tool - DS 406 encoder |
| Application | CAN in personal transportation devices - CAN in motorsport cars - Mobile radar simulator control - CANopen in armoured wheeled vehicles |
| Semiconductor | FPGA with on-chip CAN module - 32-bit with CAN/LIN based on ARM7 - High-speed CAN transceiver - CAN/LIN transceiver - Micro-controller |
| Software | CANopen EDS software - Evaluation software |
| Tool | CAN data analyzer - CANopen software tool - Testing tool |
Cost-optimized CANopen drive interface
“Which drive and control concept is the solution of my choice?” Many machine makers will be faced with this question: they must find their way around in the abundance of different vendors and systems. It all starts with a fundamental decision between a proprietary complete solution, in which one vendor offers the control and drive integrated, and the “open” solution, in which devices from different vendors are combined. In the latter case, you also have to choose the suitable communication interface between the controller and the drive.
Especially with the CAN bus, a low-cost system is available, which is becoming increasingly attractive for the automation of plant and machines thanks to a high data transfer rate and insusceptibility to faults. For its customers in the machine construction business, Eckelmann also frequently develops contouring or positioning controls featuring the digital CAN interface under the CANopen communication profile (CiA DS 301). This is the case, for example, with the high-speed sample cutting systems of the company Lasercomb, which feature Eckelmann CNC controllers and also motors and associated drive electronics from JAT Jenaer Antriebstechnik. The new FSP plotter generation of the company Lasercomb was also specially conceived for the high demands of the packaging industry. The units are used not only as plotters, but also with diverse tools in quite diverse functions, for example for the production of folding boxes that have to be cut out of cardboard and into which folding edges are embossed by means of a groover. Notching of adhesive films is another application area.
By use of the most up-to-date components, in particular for the control and drive, a low-cost unit was to be developed to offer a great degree of user-friendliness and flexibility, while operating at a maximum machining speed. The order for delivery of the control system was placed with Eckelmann which, in the course of software and hardware development, was able to take recourse to its experience as a control systems partner for the predecessor models of the FSP from Lasercomb. For the mechatronics systems, JAT received an order to develop a lightweight XY portal with a high contour rigidity together with the mechanical construction from Lasercomb. The Lasercomb high-speed sample cutting system is available on the market in three sizes as the models FSP 2113 (2,100 mm x 1,300 mm), FSP 1613 (1,600 mm x 1,300 mm) and FSP 0813 (800 mm x 1,300 mm).
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FPGA with on-chip CAN module
MEN’s ESM usually have FPGAs to add special I/O functions at low cost and with high flexibility. Even complex functions such as CAN controllers can be implemented like this. ESM modules are complete computers on a plug-on module. They consist of the computing core hardware (x86 or RISC CPU, chip set, memory) with accessible PCI bus, board support package, and relatively large FPGA that has no application-specific function yet. The I/O functionality to be implemented is tailored to the specific requirements—even dynamically during operation. One of the two ESM connectors (J2) carries the signals and is controlled by the FPGA. The signal pins of the additional, loaded I/O functions are led to this connector.
The rather simple ESM carrier card is the only customized component. It usually accommodates the power supply and the physical interfaces (drivers/connectors) to the outside world. A complete embedded control consists either of a stand-alone ESM (the power supply connection is sufficient to operate the module), an ESM with an application-specific carrier card and/or an ESM with additionally plugged PC/104-Plus modules. Depending on the ESM different FPGAs are available. Their complexity allows to accommodate two CAN modules plus, for instance, a TFT (thin film transistor) controller, a touch controller and eight UARTs. All I/O modules are realized in VHDL (very high speed integrated circuit hardware description language) and are internally linked using a standardized Wishbone bus. The external bus of the FPGA is the PCI bus of the CPU. This standard guarantees that customized VHDL designs can also be used for other applications, if necessary.
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32-bit with CAN and LIn based on ARM7
Philips Electronics announced a 32-bit ARM7-based micro-controller with embedded CAN and LIN gateway functionality. The SJA2020 provides CPU operation up to 60 MHz. It features 256 KiB of embedded Flash memory and support for up to six CAN channels and four LIN masters. First samples of the SJA2020 are available in a 144-pin package and mass production is scheduled to begin Q4 2004. The chip was designed for the additional computing and memory demands created by complex IVNs (in-vehicle network). It supports the industry trend towards the centralization of body control applications as it provides centralized processing power and intelligence for multiple IVN nodes. By offering both CAN and LIN nodes on a single chip, the micro-controller enables applications within the vehicle to communicate across different in-vehicle serial bus systems.
“The market for 32-bit micro-controllers for automotive applications is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 19 % through 2007. The proliferation of sub-networks within vehicle electrical architectures is creating an increasing demand for master control modules requiring high performance micro-controllers with multiple interfaces, optimized storage and message handling capabilities. CAN is already the dominant automotive network protocol and new LIN applications will grow during the next three years,” said Chris Webber, vice president of the Automotive Electronics & Telematics Practice with analyst firm Strategy Analytics. “Being the first 32-bit MCU designed specifically to support both multiple CAN and LIN channels, the SJA2020 is positioned to meet industry demands.”
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I/O with CANopen backplane bus
The Telemecanique Ad-vantys STB series of modular I/O devices feature an internal CANopen network. The network interface module (NMI) provides connectivity to a broad range of networks (CANopen, DeviceNet, Ethernet, Fipio, Interbus, Modbus Plus, and Profibus). Physically, NMI is the first module on the embedded CANopen network. Functionally, it is a gateway. The end-of-segment modules allow adding up to six additional I/O modules to the primary segment. The internal CANopen network can also be expanded in order to integrate any CANopen module from Schneider Electric or third-party suppliers (e.g. barcode readers, pneumatic valves, hydraulic drives, motor starters, and motion controllers).
In total, 32 modules can be connected to a single embedded CANopen network. In addition, all CANopen modules can be hot swapped. All I/O modules come with factory default parameter settings. An intuitive graphical editor program supports the application-specific configuration of the CANopen-based I/O sub-system and allows integration of third-party devices.
There is broad range of standard digital and analog input as well as output modules available. The distributed I/O system includes also PDM (power distribution modules) supplying the I/O modules with electricity.
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