IXXAT announces the availability of its highly regarded USB-to-CAN interface as a board for mounting directly in your own chassis or housing.

The USB-to-CAN compact is delivered as a small circuit board with an on-board USB connector and a sub-D9 CAN connector. The board has a convenient mounting hole and is only 37.5 mm wide x 61.5 mm long.

The USB-to-CAN Compact board is delivered with IXXAT’s VCI driver and manual, but without the housing and USB cable.

Click here for more information about the USB-to-CAN compact or call USA 603-471-0800 x101 (for other countries +49-751-56146-0)

The CARcorder is available as Basic or Plus version. The Basic version provides already six CAN interfaces (ISO 11898-2 / 11898-3), two LIN and two RS232 interfaces, an USB host/device interface as well as an interface switchable between SAE J1850 and K/L-line. In addition, the device comes with digital and analog inputs and outputs each providing eight channels.
Furthermore, the Plus version of the CARcorder offers a FlexRay interface with two channels.

The two processor architecture of the CARcorder enables the fanless device to record all data synchronous and without any losses in real time and with a time stamp accuracy of 1 µs.

The device is delivered with a rugged aluminum case, an integrated UPS for up to 10 seconds of power cut and it has a power consumption of less than 10 mW in deep sleep mode. The wake up is initiated with the first valid message, which will be recorded also. The power supply can be made in a wide range between 6.5 and 40 V DC.

With the PC-based software tool, the device can be configured via Ethernet, a direct USB connection or an USB stick. The software also enables the user to define trigger conditions and to set-up diagnostic tasks. The bus configuration is done by importing the related bus description files (CANdB, FIBEX, A2L, ODX, open XML).

Besides the CARcorder, IXXAT presents further products for the automotive area on the fair, like the Automotive Development Platform ATP, FlexRay/CAN interfaces, analysing tools and gateways.

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Sporadic negative impacts, such as external EMC interferences or a slowly deteriorating signal quality caused by worn plug connections, can be detected by the physical layer diagnosis and logical frame monitoring in a timely manner. Thus, the CANobserver is able to inform the system operator before any communication error occurs.

The CANobserver comes with LEDs to display busload and error status and optionally the power supply status. In addition, free programmable error outputs can be used to trigger external devices and signalers.
An Ethernet interface is used to connect the CANobserver to the PC, which also enables the operation of the device by an easy to use web interface. Recorded messages can be stored using the universal XML format. The connection of the device with a control center can be made via SNMP.

The CANobserver comes in an IP20 aluminum housing for DIN rail mounting. The power can be supplied within a wide range between 9 – 36 V DC.

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The IEM implements a cost efficient and flexible solution to adapt to various Industrial Ethernet technologies. The IEM is based on a powerful Altera Cyclone III FPGA which includes, besides an integrated 32-bit CPU, PHYs, magnetic modules and RJ45 jacks, the new 3-port switch IP for Profinet, EtherNet/IP and Modbus-TCP.

The switch IP has been developed by IXXAT in close co-operation with one of the world’s leading experts in switch technologies. The IP implements a store-and-forward switch and is explicitly designed for real-time Ethernet networks. An implementation as cut-through switch is already in preparation.
The switch IP makes use of the priority information to transfer real-time Ethernet frames with lowest latency and jitter (in the range of a few microseconds).
The switch IP comes with integrated MACs which support 10/100 Base-T, half and full duplex. To make use of features like static or dynamic address table, aging mode, routing mode, etc, the customer can configure the IP by using its management interface. On top of this, the internal port supports filters and backpressure to reduce the load of the connected system.

The switch IP is also available as a product, based on Altera Cyclone III (further FPGA types on request). Furthermore, IXXAT also offers the development of fully customized adaptations of the switch IP on a project base.

Read more about the Industrial Ethernet Module

The 1939 API is currently available for the programming languages C/C++ and Phyton. Support of the .NET framework is in preparation.

Based on the programming interface several applications can be implemented accessing one CAN interface including the capability to communicate with each other. This allows the simulation of entire SAE J1939 networks on one PC and is thereby ideally suited for test and commissioning of control devices.
The interpretation of the signals transmitted within the messages (Parameter Groups) is based on a message catalog with standard messages and can be extended by the definition of application specific messages, if required.

Further information about the SAE J1939 API is available on the IXXAT webpage www.ixxat.com

In this areas a safe and timely equidistant data exchange is usually needed as well as a fast reaction on external events. Here, the standard Windows drivers delivered with CAN boards fail, because they are only usable from within the application context.

The CAN Module for the “RealTime Suite” now closes this gap by supporting CAN communication in real-time. The real-time driver is as the moment available for the IXXAT PC-I 04/PCI CAN interface board. A support of further IXXAT interfaces is already in preparation. At this, drivers for many popular CAN board families from different well-known vendors are available, e.g. for the IXXAT CAN interfaces. For programming the languages C/C++ or Delphi can be used. Even the .NET environment using e.g. C# is supported, as long as a DLL, programmed in native C++, is embedded into C#.

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The Embedded Platform was specially designed for customers, which like to develop applications for the industrial or automotive area, but do not yet have the final target hardware with the required field bus interfaces available.

The hardware supports a temperature range between -20 °C and +70 °C, is based on a powerful microcontroller module and provides many interfaces for the connection to all important field bus systems (FlexRay, 4 x CAN, 2 x LIN, K-Line and others). In addition, RS-232 interfaces for the connection of external peripheral devices are available, as well as digital and analog I/Os.
Time stamps with an accuracy of 100 ns can be assigned to the messages on all bus interfaces. This also applies for the analog and digital I/Os.

In addition, the Embedded Platform offers a 10/100Base-T Ethernet interface, two USB 2.0 interfaces (host and device), an audio interface and a CF-memory slot. On request, the Embedded Platform can be delivered with a LCD color touch screen.

Due to the optional power-down functionality, the power consumption of the Embedded Platform can be reduced to 10 mW in deep-sleep mode. Within sleep mode, the first transmitted message can be received on any bus.

One major advantage of the Embedded Platform is the software package included in the scope of delivery. It enables the customer to start directly with the development of the application, without taking care about buying or developing drivers and protocols for the interfaces.
The field bus access DLL abstracts the field busses for the user application. This enables the field bus access by the application without specific know-how, using a simple interface.

If required, optional and already implemented measurement and transportation protocols (TP2.0, ISO 15765-2, ISO 14230-2, KWP2000, UDS, CCP/XCP and others) as well as communication stacks are available from IXXAT.

The scope of delivery also includes the operating system Windows CE. An implementation of LabVIEW is planned for June 2009. Linux and QNX support is in preparation.

For usage as a series product the Embedded Platform can be modified and produced according to customer needs. Furthermore, IXXAT offers the software development for its customers on request.

Read more on the IXXAT webpage…

Already in the early days of CAN, Philips Medical Systems noticed the advantages of CAN and decided to use this network protocol as communication network for interconnecting various components such as collimators, generators, and patient tables in their x-ray systems. To achieve a modular and open approach, a group within Philips Medical Systems, managed by Tom Suters, developed the first higher layer protocol for CAN, the CAN Message Specification – CMS, which was presented to the public in 1992.
CMS provided the framework for the first official CAN based communication protocol specified by CAN in Automation, the CAN Application Layer (CAL). One of the reasons that may have lead to the limited market penetration was that CAL did not provide the functionality necessary for a straight-forward description of generic device or application profiles…

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The first RTX driver will be available for the intelligent CAN board iPC-I 320/PCI as this board is very interesting for hard real-time solutions. The next boards that will be supported are the high-end board series iPC-I XC16 and the USB-to-CAN.

US-based IntervalZero designs and develops embedded software products that deliver deterministic, hard real-time capability. The company’s RTX software allows embedded systems developers to take advantage of the Windows® environment and form factor, and also solve scheduling, prioritization and control challenges. RTX is a self-contained real-time subsystem that bypasses the Windows scheduler to provide the desired deterministic hard real-time response.

IntervalZero CEO Jeffrey Hibbard said, “IXXAT’s excellent products are used in many of the key markets for RTX – motion control systems, military systems and medical systems. The release of an RTX driver for CAN is very positive for us and it affirms the value that RTX can deliver.”

TenAsys Corporation is a leading provider of real-time OS and virtualization software technology. The INtime software combines deterministic, hard real-time control with standard Windows operating systems without requiring additional hardware. Real-time and non-real-time applications run in separate virtual machines on a single computer, enabling cost-effective, reliable control that is easy to develop and maintain.

The Embedded Communication Interface driver (ECI) will be made available initially for the iPC-I XC16/PCI interface board, an intelligent CAN interface board from IXXAT designed for industrial PC applications. INtime drivers for other IXXAT CAN boards will follow.

“INtime is a natural platform for deterministic control of time-critical applications on a standard PC because it eliminates the need for a separate real-time platform in addition to the Windows-based human interface,” said Karl Judex, IXXAT VP of Sales & Marketing. “Offering INtime drivers for our CAN boards is a logical choice for us.”

“Partnering with IXXAT is a perfect fit for TenAsys,” said Kim Hartman, TenAsys VP of Sales & Marketing, “our expanding customer base in the automotive test and measurement market will benefit greatly from the direct support for CAN by our INtime RTOS for Windows.”

For further information about INtime and the IXXAT CAN interfaces please visit www.tenasys.com and www.ixxat.com