Support of all important Industrial Ethernet Protocols.

At the upcoming SPS/IPC/DRIVES fair in Nuremberg, IXXAT will present the new Industrial Ethernet Module, which enables customers to easily connect their devices to networks based on an Industrial Ethernet standard.

The new Industrial Ethernet Module was designed from the ground up to support various protocol standards.
At this, a powerful Altera Cyclone III FPGA is used and low manufacturing costs for the module were a focus of attention.
As a result, the new Industrial Ethernet Module is more powerful, lower priced, smaller and can be used more flexible than its predecessor.

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IXXAT is pleased to announce the availability of a new tool that enables the user to inspect respectively convert CANopen and POWERLINK device description files conforming to the CiA 306 and CiA 311, as well as the upcoming EPL V2.0 XML specifications.

In 2007 CAN in Automation (CiA), the international users’ and manufacturers’ group governing the development of the CANopen specifications introduced a new XML based device description file format as CiA 311 – CANopen device description. CiA 311 is based on the ISO 15745-1:2003 specification which defines generic elements and rules for describing integration models and application interoperability profiles.
A new and more flexible device description format was required due to the numerous enhancements introduced in CANopen that were not covered by the original EDS format as specified in CiA 306. In addition to the general benefits of a XML based syntax, the CiA 311 format has the particular advantage of allowing for localized device description files, a feature becoming increasingly important with the global acceptance of CANopen.

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Conforms to the latest Powerlink
specification DS 1.0.0

The current version 1.04.05 of the Powerlink stack from IXXAT Automation GmbH provides the following features:

• Node monitoring on Controlled Nodes (CNs) via object 0×1016

• Support of all priority levels on Managing Nodes (MNs) for the allocation of the asynchronous communication channel

• Support of all mandatory and many optional objects according to the Powerlink specification DS 1.0.0

• Modification of the Node ID at run-time via the object dictionary

• Tool for the stack configuration with GUI for scaling and generation of the IXXAT Powerlink software (especially static parameters and the object dictionary)

• Switching between MN and CN functionality at run-time by changing the Node ID

• Bug fixes and adaptations to increase the compatibility with implementations of other vendors

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Besides our comprehensive company webpage in German and English language, we created a new internet platform for international customers which was launched in mid-June.

The new, multilingual technology pages provide an overview of the IXXAT product range in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Swedish and Japanese language.

This enables visitors to get a brief description of the desired product in their mother language, with the possibility to switch to a detailed product description in English language.

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By using IXXAT’s Powerlink FPGA IP Core, the Powerlink Managing Node (MN) functionality can be implemented rapidly and cost effective into any kind of host system.

The major advantages of the FPGA based implementation are the flexibility, the vendor independency, the reduced development time and due to this the low development costs.
Furthermore, the possibility of reconfiguration of the FPGA solution allows the implementation of various real-time Ethernet based protocols on the same hardware platform.

Besides the Powerlink functionality, the MN IP Core includes a standard Ethernet controller, an Ethernet hub and a PCI controller for the host communication.

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Cooperation of IXXAT and Altera at FPGA based solutions for Industrial Ethernet Protocols

Due to the benefits of high performance and low cost, the use of Ethernet-based communication protocols, like PROFINET, Ethernet/IP, EtherCAT, Powerlink or SERCOS III, is growing rapidly in the industrial market. However, despite the fact that they are all Ethernet based, many of the protocols in use today are incompatible, leaving the developer with the problem of how to cost effectively support multiple standards.

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for PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP und Powerlink

With the proved “Industrial Ethernet Module” from IXXAT devices can quickly and cost-efficiently be adapted to various Industrial Ethernet technologies.

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The fast introduction to the Powerlink world.

The Powerlink Starter Kit is a complete set of devices for building a Powerlink network and enables a quick start with the Powerlink technology.

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