By Christian Schlegel, IXXAT Automation GmbH

Today, the industrial automation market for Ethernet-based communication is increasing in demand. As with classical field busses, several protocol standards are available for Industrial Ethernet, which have to be supported by device manufacturers. Since these different Ethernet standards vary in their hardware and software requirements, a specific protocol solution for their integration into a device is required.

Despite the efforts of IAONA to find a common solution for industrial communication over Ethernet, disparate protocols emerged that were sponsored and promoted by a number of classic field bus suppliers. Eleven concepts to achieve Ethernet relevant for industrial communication are currently standardized within IEC 61158. Similar to the so-called “field bus wars” in the eighties, in the end, some of the eleven Industrial Ethernet solutions will be accepted in the market.

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The universal Embedded Platform, which was already successful presented in March on the Embedded World Fair in Nuremberg, can as of now be delivered to interested customers.

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.

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By Dr. Martin Merkel, Christian Schlegel, IXXAT Automation GmbH

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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IXXAT Automation GmbH is pleased to announce that the versatile CANopenRT protocol software now supports the most recent implementation of the SocketCAN drivers for Linux using the Sysfs virtual file system.

SocketCAN is a set of open source drivers and a network stack that extends the Berkeley sockets API in Linux by introducing a new protocol family PF_CAN. Main components of SocketCAN are the network device drivers for different CAN controllers and the implementation of the CAN protocol family. The SocketCAN framework has become part of vanilla kernel starting with 2.6.25.

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IXXAT is distributor for the EtherNet/IP products from Pyramid Solutions

IXXAT, a well known provider of products and services for the industrial communication, now distributes the EtherNet/IP protocol software and tools from Pyramid Solutions, which are conforming to the ODVA specifications, worldwide.At this, IXXAT uses the EtherNet/IP software from Pyramid already successfully on its Industrial Ethernet Module.

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Powerlink with redundant Managing Nodes according to the specification V 1.1.0 and WDS 302-A

A major safety feature for industrial communication is the continuous system availability, even if failures in essential components occur, e.g. in the communication master or in network connections (cables). To ensure a high system availability, the availability of the controller as well as of the network must be guaranteed.

For this reason, a highly available controller solution was considered for Powerlink at a very early stage, and was now specified in EPSG WDP 302 A and implemented by IXXAT.

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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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Extension of the supported target platforms

The CANopen protocol software from IXXAT, which has been available for many years and has proven itself in numerous applications, is now also available for the following target systems:

• Linux Kernel 2.6 with SocketCAN driver and GNU C development environment for Freescale MPC 5200B with internal MSCAN Rev 2.1 or x86 based PCs with passive IXXAT CAN interface modules (CANopenRT)

• Infineon XE16x with internal MultiCAN for Keil C166 V6

• STMicroelectronics STM32 (STM32F103) with internal bxCAN for Keil ARM (Real-View) µVision III and IAR Embedded Workbench

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