CAN Newsletter June 2004
| Business | CANopen Product Guide 2004, CANopen book |
|---|---|
| Tool | CANopen Conformance Test - Testing of CAN network characteristics - Software tools - Designing displays - Flash programming - Analyzer tool |
| Semiconductor | Toshiba CAN micro-controllers - 32-bit CISC - DSP with CAN - 8-bit micro-controller with 15 message objects - 32-bit micro-controller based on ARM - CAN micro-controllers - 32-bit micro-controllers for Linux with four CAN interfaces - 16-bit CAN micro-controller - Stand-alone CAN with eight channels |
| Devices | Fiber optic converter for DeviceNet and CANopen - Gateways and couplers - DC motor controllers - CANopen controller - Motion control devices: control unit, amplifier, motor - Testing equipment for automotive - Driver display - Burner management - Closed-loop controller - All integrated on-board PC for CAN networks - Intelligent I/O - Pressure transmitter - Datalogger - Radial load cells - HMI - Decentral controller - DVN digital display - Interface cable - Touchscreen controller - PCI card |
| Specification | Maritime electronics standard DSP 307 |
| Application | CAN-based ambulance control system - CANopen-based pripherals for printing machines |
CANopen Product Guide 2004 released
CAN in Automation (CiA) has released the free CANopen Product Guide 2004. The CD-ROM provides a comprehensive overview of the CANopen products available on the market. Over 220 entries of CANopen products are listed in the Product Guide, which is available as CD-ROM or on the Internet. Available in a very useful and easy-to-understand format the CANopen Product Guide lists CANopen products by categories, such as application-specific device (i.e. for building applications, off-highway, railway, truck, etc.), generic device (i.e. actuator, controller, gateway, I/O module, etc.) and many others. The products, which also include software, literature and services connected with CANopen can also be looked up by their name or by their manufacturer's name. As a special service they are also listed by their conformance to the CiA device and application profiles.
Extensive information on worldwide sales and technical company contacts are included in a company-specific section. Ample of information on CANopen, the standardized embedded network, and on the CiA device and application profiles is provided. The CANopen Product Guide is available at CiA's web site (www.can-cia.org/products/pg2004) or can be ordered online at www.can-cia.org/services/order.html. The CANopen Product Guide will be distributed at national and international fairs as well as exhibitions and also at CiA training events worldwide.
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The MultiCAN module -Two CAN were not enough
nfineon introduced the TC1130 micro-controller, a new member of the TriCore family, capable to run a full-featured ready made Linux operating system for industrial and communication applications. This micro-controller provides a 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet interface, a USB interface and four CAN interfaces. The chip is designed for use in industrial systems as well as for specialized interface and communication architectures. The integrated FPU and MMU also support the use of the Linux or real-time operating systems. Like all TriCore-based micro-controllers, the chip combines the real-time capability of a micro-controller, the math performance of a DSP and the programmability of a RISC architecture. The TriCore architecture is broadly supported with development and programming tools from leading embedded system suppliers. The Linux System has kernel 2.4.19 with bash shell. One of the focus points of the micro-controller is communication. As a communication controller it provides the scalable MultiCAN module, which can support a CAN controller with up to eight CAN interfaces, with an optional fully hardware supported TTCAN controller (level 1 & 2, which has not been implemented on the TC1130). The CAN controllers can receive and transmit CAN messages standard frames as well as extended frames. The number of message objects can be up to a total of 256.
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Stand-alone CAN controller with eight channels
AN, which was originally designed for use in automotive applications, has spread into many different areas. Still the component technology is driven from the high volume automotive sector, where CAN is used in the control, networking and management of electronic systems. For an automotive application very often a specially tailored piece of silicon is developed. In order to save cost, the designer tries to put as many functions as possible into a micro-controller. Devices with five or six separate CAN channels have been developed, all of them incorporating besides the CAN controllers a micro-controller core, timers, A/D converters and other peripherals.
What does that mean in the industrial or smaller volume reality? It means that if you want to use these CAN controllers, you also have to use the attached micro-controller core. You have to program it, you need the tools, you need the support for the controller, and you have to use a device, which is usually designed for a totally different application. An easy way out of this problem is the use of a stand-alone CAN controller with several channels. But stand-alone CAN controllers very often have just one or two channels. Sometimes they also have a specific interface, which make them only suitable for the connection to specific micro-controller. For example there is no easy way to connect a CAN controller with a multiplexed data/address interface to a micro-controller with a non-multiplexed memory interface.
In case several CAN nodes are to be connected to one micro-controller, the easiest solution would be a stand-alone CAN controller such as the TeeCAN8 by Thales (www.ultratronik.de) with several channels and a common memory interface to the micro-controller.
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Testing of CAN network characteristics
CUs in modern vehicles are all linked together via various communication interfaces. The information, which each ECU needs to function correctly is received from other system components. For example, an instrument cluster can read the current speed or engine RPM from gearbox and engine ECUs. In addition, the ECU puts data about its own status on the network for reception and evaluation by other control units. The CAN bus, in its high-speed and low-speed varieties, is the most common data network in modern vehicles. However, as the trend moves towards an increasing number of ECUs per vehicle, the LIN bus has found its way into new vehicle designs. The LIN bus is a sub-system of the CAN network and is used to relieve the bus load of the supervising CAN network and to reduce overall cost. During each stage of development and production (eg. prototyping, manufacturing, burn-in/run-in and reliability testing) ECUs are subjected to various functional tests. To functionally test an ECU it must be installed in a realistic vehicle environment to provide the input and output information it needs to perform its control tasks. Therefore, the test system must accurately simulate the vehicle environment. In general, only part of the overall vehicle communication interface is implemented in any particular test system. This is usually because (at least at an elementary level) the test system has to provide only those bus nodes required to give and receive the specific information needed by the ECU under test.
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