Saturday, 4 August 2018
Monday, 11 June 2018
Why Soft Skill Training is so Important for Engineers?
What's wrong with India's engineers? Why they are Not Getting Jobs in Core Industry?
More than 1.8 million engineers pass out in India every year but fewer getting hired. WHY?
What Analysts Say?
(1) - According to India Today: [in 2013] - Only 7% Engineering Graduates Employable
“As many as 97% of graduating engineers want jobs either in software or core engineering.
But, only 3% have suitable skills to be employed in software or product market and only 7% can handle core engineering tasks.” [Although this is the 2013 Records]
(2) - According to Times of India: [in 2017] - 60% of Engineering Graduates Unemployed
In 2013 the percentage of Unemployed engineers was 93% and in 2017 it decreases by 33%. Unemployment rate is going down but slowly.
(3) - According to Economics Times: [in 2018] - 94% of Engineering Graduates are Not Fit for Hiring
After spending 4 years in engineering you don’t get job in core industry. The main factor behind this –
1: SYLLABUS NOT UPDATED REGULARLY:
The syllabus and course contents are not updated on regularly basis according to industry requirements and this is one of the big reasons of unemployment. There is a big gap between engineering education and what the market needs. Despite exponential changes in technology in industries, the course is hardly ever updated.
Even when new engineering branches are added, the structure remains traditional and does not work anymore.
2: LACK OF QUALITY TEACHERS
There are more than 35000 engineering colleges in India but there are not enough quality teachers available for all institutes.
3: IMPORTANCE OF COLLEGE NAME
According to the Aspiring Minds report, many companies are visiting to top colleges to recruit potential employees. So, many small or unknown colleges do not get shortlisted.
This is the main reason of deficiency of quality employees as this process ignores a large number of talented students because they do not study in top tier colleges.
4: LACK OF PROPER ENGLISH SKILL
Although the syllabus remains in English but teachers and students doesn’t communicate in same. This is not necessary that every engineering student has English medium background. So it’s taken much time to speak English frequently for a student.
5: FAULTY EDUCATION SYSTEM
“Semester systems and the process of continuous evaluation are not fulfilling their desired roles as the students are not interested in continuous learning-they only want good grades. Unless the specific purpose of such initiatives is properly understood by faculty and students alike, these methods likely would not work.”
NOW WHAT TO DO?
One of the biggest problem that I haven’t written above:
DISREGARD OF ESSENTIAL SOFT SKILLS:
In present industry soft skills has become very important, but it’s routinely ignored by educational institutes. Soft skills courses not only enhance your technical skills but provide the best job opportunity in core industry. These courses always be updated and contents designed according to current industry norms.
This can be the best option for engineers if they are not placed during engineering by colleges. There are many industrial training centers are available in your city. But you should choose them carefully.
At last I am giving a reference of the leading NSDC affiliated industrial training institute (Sofcon India Pvt Ltd). Sofcon is not only an institute but company. This institute provides industrial training for Electrical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Electronics Engineers, Civil Engineers, Computer Engineers and more.
Sofcon ranks under top 10 industrial training institutes in India.
Monday, 28 May 2018
Which is the Best Automation Training Institute in India?
If you are serious about automation training, then this post is only for you. In this post I am going to share the top automation training institute in India which provide the best and advanced automation training according to current industry scenario with 100% placement assistance. Because this institute has latest and modern equipments, team of professionals that have more than 10 years of corporate experience in handling real time PLC & SCADA projects.
Here I am talking about Sofcon Training. Sofcon is one of the best automation training institutes in India. This automation training institute has 11 branches in India. You get Sofcon offices in Noida, Delhi, Gurgaon, Allahabad, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Jaipur, Mohali, Pune and Vadodara. According to your location you can choose nearest branch.
If you are in Noida…
Visit Sofcon Noida branch for automation training in Noida at the following details.
Contact: 9873684099
Email: info@sofcontraining.com, noida@sofcontraining.com
Address: B5, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Near Sector 15 Metro Station, Noida, UP – 201301
Website: http://www.sofcontraining.com/
Monday, 19 December 2016
SCADA system and features of SCADA Software
In early years of industrial automation, PLC system used to function like black boxes. Once you develop a program in PLC programming software, download the program in PLC System, it used to run for years. Problem with this arrangement was that we never knew what is going on inside the PLC system. Today industrial automation systems come with PLC SCADA software. By using PLC SCADA software combination we can have better monitoring and control of the plant, at the same time we can have access to process information. SCADA system enables plant operators, handlers, engineers, managers to view and interact with the working of entire plant operations through mimics/graphical representation.
PLC SCADA software is loaded on a PC and is connected to various PLC systems and other field devices. SCADA system regularly collects data from the plant in real-time, stores and processes the date, analyses and generates alarms and events and displays information to plant handlers, supervisors and managers and also issues instructions to PLCs on the plant floor.
WHAT is TAG in SCADA System?
A tag database consisting of records are called tags. In the tag database you define the data you want SCADA software to monitor. If you have several machines with similar function and they all require the same tags, you can create a folder called M1 and define its tags. To create the tags for M2 you will have to use duplicate Folder command and specify M2 as the folder name. This creates a folder called M2 containing all the tags that are in the folder M1. Tags can be 3 types: digital, analog and string.
Features of SCADA software
Dynamic Process Graphic: Graphics/mimics developed in SCADA software should resemble the actual process equipment. SCADA software generally have good library of symbols for developing the mimics as per requirement. Once the operator sees the SCADA screen he should understand what is going on in the plant.
Real time and Historical Trend the trends play very important role in SCADA Software. Whenever any production batch fails or the plant trips, historical trend data helps production managers/handlers of the plant in analyzing the causes.
Alarms warn the operator when something goes wrong. An alarm indicates that process has stopped operating within acceptable, pre-defined limits or it has broken down. Alarms have important role in PLC SCADA industrial automation. Generally SCADA System has alarm like temperature should not cross 70 deg or lever should be less than 50%, So if the parameter goes beyond Alarm State the operator should be informed with the visual or audio alarm. Alarms are most important part of plant control operations, the operator must know instantly when something goes wrong.
Recipe Management Most of the SCADA software come with this feature. This feature is useful in plants manufacturing multi products. You just have to load the recipe of that particular product, production will be as per the recipe. There are many plants in India today, who receive recipe from their parent plant overseas, days production is based on the recipe.
Security is very critical feature in PLC SCADA Software. You can allow certain access levels to the operator, process handlers, engineering & maintenance dept. for example operators should be able to only operate the system, he should not be allowed to change the application. The design engineers should authority to editing/changing the application.
Device connectivity Today there are scores of manufactures of PLC SCADA Software. SCADA software should be such that it is easily connected to all types of hardware/software. Since a plant/manufacturing unit may have PLC SCADA from multi brand. The best SCADA software is the one which is easily connected to all PLC SCADA brand of multiple manufactures.
PLC SCADA software is loaded on a PC and is connected to various PLC systems and other field devices. SCADA system regularly collects data from the plant in real-time, stores and processes the date, analyses and generates alarms and events and displays information to plant handlers, supervisors and managers and also issues instructions to PLCs on the plant floor.
WHAT is TAG in SCADA System?
A tag database consisting of records are called tags. In the tag database you define the data you want SCADA software to monitor. If you have several machines with similar function and they all require the same tags, you can create a folder called M1 and define its tags. To create the tags for M2 you will have to use duplicate Folder command and specify M2 as the folder name. This creates a folder called M2 containing all the tags that are in the folder M1. Tags can be 3 types: digital, analog and string.
Features of SCADA software
Dynamic Process Graphic: Graphics/mimics developed in SCADA software should resemble the actual process equipment. SCADA software generally have good library of symbols for developing the mimics as per requirement. Once the operator sees the SCADA screen he should understand what is going on in the plant.
Real time and Historical Trend the trends play very important role in SCADA Software. Whenever any production batch fails or the plant trips, historical trend data helps production managers/handlers of the plant in analyzing the causes.
Alarms warn the operator when something goes wrong. An alarm indicates that process has stopped operating within acceptable, pre-defined limits or it has broken down. Alarms have important role in PLC SCADA industrial automation. Generally SCADA System has alarm like temperature should not cross 70 deg or lever should be less than 50%, So if the parameter goes beyond Alarm State the operator should be informed with the visual or audio alarm. Alarms are most important part of plant control operations, the operator must know instantly when something goes wrong.
Recipe Management Most of the SCADA software come with this feature. This feature is useful in plants manufacturing multi products. You just have to load the recipe of that particular product, production will be as per the recipe. There are many plants in India today, who receive recipe from their parent plant overseas, days production is based on the recipe.
Security is very critical feature in PLC SCADA Software. You can allow certain access levels to the operator, process handlers, engineering & maintenance dept. for example operators should be able to only operate the system, he should not be allowed to change the application. The design engineers should authority to editing/changing the application.
Device connectivity Today there are scores of manufactures of PLC SCADA Software. SCADA software should be such that it is easily connected to all types of hardware/software. Since a plant/manufacturing unit may have PLC SCADA from multi brand. The best SCADA software is the one which is easily connected to all PLC SCADA brand of multiple manufactures.
For more inquiries, Kindly contact:
For More, visit at http://www.sofcontraining.com
or
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Friday, 9 December 2016
Forces driving innovation in Industrial Automation
We are compelled to thinking about where the automation industry used to be and the forces that will be shaping it in the future.
Past Innovations
In the last few years there has been Industrial automation and control system technological shifts that significantly impacted manufacturing productivity and efficiency:
Internet of Things (IoT)
The impact of Internet of Things (IoT) technology on industrial automation control system is going to be significant in the days to come. Technology is driving for high-performance low-cost processors, low-cost sensors, analytic software, vision camera systems, cloud platform and high performing distributed architecture. This development is going to lead to lower cost and higher performance industrial automation systems.
Based on the past technology adoption pattern it will take time for traditional industrial automation suppliers to incorporate these technologies into their products. IoT technology is going to enable innovation in industrial automation control products, to be developed and commercialized by innovative companies.
The growth of more powerful IoT technology at lower costs is explained by Moore’s Law. The law predicted the number of transistors in a given integrated circuit size doubles approximately every two years thereby increasing processing power and speed.
Forcing Factor - Operational Technology (OT) & Information Technology (IT) Integration
Tighter integration of OT & IT is recognized for improving manufacturing efficiency, enhanced quality, and better flexibility. It is refreshing to see innovative industrial automation suppliers are already providing building blocks to accomplish the vision of the connected enterprise. Industrial Automation is becoming part of the business information loop.
OPC UA technology provides an efficient and secure infrastructure for communications from sensor to business enterprise computing for all industrial automation systems in manufacturing, SCADA, and process control.
Past Innovations
In the last few years there has been Industrial automation and control system technological shifts that significantly impacted manufacturing productivity and efficiency:
- Numerical Control
- PID Control
- Distributed Control System (DCS)
- PLC Control systems
- SCADA systems
- Industrial Networks (i.e. Ethernet, controlnet, DeviceNet, Modbus, Profibus;)
Internet of Things (IoT)
The impact of Internet of Things (IoT) technology on industrial automation control system is going to be significant in the days to come. Technology is driving for high-performance low-cost processors, low-cost sensors, analytic software, vision camera systems, cloud platform and high performing distributed architecture. This development is going to lead to lower cost and higher performance industrial automation systems.
Based on the past technology adoption pattern it will take time for traditional industrial automation suppliers to incorporate these technologies into their products. IoT technology is going to enable innovation in industrial automation control products, to be developed and commercialized by innovative companies.
The growth of more powerful IoT technology at lower costs is explained by Moore’s Law. The law predicted the number of transistors in a given integrated circuit size doubles approximately every two years thereby increasing processing power and speed.
Forcing Factor - Operational Technology (OT) & Information Technology (IT) Integration
Tighter integration of OT & IT is recognized for improving manufacturing efficiency, enhanced quality, and better flexibility. It is refreshing to see innovative industrial automation suppliers are already providing building blocks to accomplish the vision of the connected enterprise. Industrial Automation is becoming part of the business information loop.
OPC UA technology provides an efficient and secure infrastructure for communications from sensor to business enterprise computing for all industrial automation systems in manufacturing, SCADA, and process control.
Call Now Our TOLL FREE No. 1800 - 200 – 4051
Noida +91-9873630785
Delhi +91-9711861537
Gurgaon +91-9873588305
Lucknow +91-9838834288
Allahabad +91-7704003025
Jaipur +91-8058033551
Mohali +91-9873349806
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Tuesday, 6 December 2016
The future of Industrial automation PLC SCADA technologies
Every industrial automation PLC SCADA project starts with the familiar process of counting I/O, selecting vendors, laying out PLC chassis, and distributing requests for quotes. And finally you are commissioning a system built on general standards, repeating the same mistakes as previous systems.
The conversations also repeat during bid review or negotiation meetings when someone points out inconsistent or outdated standards. Technology is changing so fast, and the past few years have brought technical advances that have breathed new life into Industrial automation groups and started great discussions around what the future holds. There is still a lot of work to be done.
Virtualization is a great example. Early adopters saw the benefits, and news spread like wildfire. As SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), manufacturing execution systems, and historian capabilities increased, so did the need for processing power, and virtualization was the perfect answer. Companies now manage sites globally from central locations and deploy engineering resources via remote connections without travel. Replacing broken or failed operator and engineering workstations is as simple as connecting power, video, and network cables. Virtualization is now commonplace in Industrial automation domain. And many are asking what is next. Things like faster scan rates, increased memory, tougher security, and unified communication protocols are great.
The next big thing is waiting to happen. The Industrial Automation technology exists, and it is our job as automation professionals to help push, innovate and stay ahead on these advancements, while pushing industrial automation PLC SCADA vendors to reinvent their product portfolios. Industry has become more demanding asking for virtualized controllers and solution with mobility. but they are easily feasible with existing technology. The success of our industry depends on it.
HMI/PLC SCADA industrial automation applications have already secured their place as key components for any smart factory, collecting and analysing data from machinery on the production floor, right up to traditionally IT-focused applications. Humans by nature are reluctant to give up control; however, fully automated facility does not mean a complete end of human interference on the factory. Considering the huge focus in industrial automation / automated equipment and intelligent HMI/PLC SCADA software, it is important that manufacturers invest in employee training, enabling talented engineers from industrial automation domain to focus on important tasks.
The conversations also repeat during bid review or negotiation meetings when someone points out inconsistent or outdated standards. Technology is changing so fast, and the past few years have brought technical advances that have breathed new life into Industrial automation groups and started great discussions around what the future holds. There is still a lot of work to be done.
Virtualization is a great example. Early adopters saw the benefits, and news spread like wildfire. As SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), manufacturing execution systems, and historian capabilities increased, so did the need for processing power, and virtualization was the perfect answer. Companies now manage sites globally from central locations and deploy engineering resources via remote connections without travel. Replacing broken or failed operator and engineering workstations is as simple as connecting power, video, and network cables. Virtualization is now commonplace in Industrial automation domain. And many are asking what is next. Things like faster scan rates, increased memory, tougher security, and unified communication protocols are great.
The next big thing is waiting to happen. The Industrial Automation technology exists, and it is our job as automation professionals to help push, innovate and stay ahead on these advancements, while pushing industrial automation PLC SCADA vendors to reinvent their product portfolios. Industry has become more demanding asking for virtualized controllers and solution with mobility. but they are easily feasible with existing technology. The success of our industry depends on it.
HMI/PLC SCADA industrial automation applications have already secured their place as key components for any smart factory, collecting and analysing data from machinery on the production floor, right up to traditionally IT-focused applications. Humans by nature are reluctant to give up control; however, fully automated facility does not mean a complete end of human interference on the factory. Considering the huge focus in industrial automation / automated equipment and intelligent HMI/PLC SCADA software, it is important that manufacturers invest in employee training, enabling talented engineers from industrial automation domain to focus on important tasks.
For More, visit at www.sofcontraining.com
or
Call Now Our TOLL FREE No. 1800 - 200 – 4051
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Pune +91-7387700416
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Smart Home a future reality
Like
smart phones, smart homes is going to creep into your life. A few years down
the line, when you buy appliances you will be faced with surveillance systems.
To paint your house you will find electronics dissolved in the paint, to
maintain the temperature. To renovate your house you will find that doors and
windows are no longer simple wooden structures but electronically reinforced
super smart security systems. In short you will no longer find devices that you
have to operate but will end up with house full of devices that talk to each
other, manage themselves and ultimately keep you safe and comfortable, too.
Smart
thermostats, smart power sockets, energy management systems, connected home
monitors, automatic garden sprinklers, HVAC Systems, electronics surveillance
systems, connected slow cookers, drones that check who is at the door and more.
Surveillance
and Security systems which mainly deal with communication and collaboration
between sensors embedded in a smart home is going to be reality. As of now you
use alarm clocks, in future a smart alternative could automatically judge how
long it takes you to get ready for work and wake you up accordingly considering
the traffic on your route. Another interesting scenario is that of multiple homes
connected together to form a smart neighbourhood that will have improved
security systems, surveillance systems, energy efficient systems, building
automation systems, HVAC control systems, fire detection & alarm systems,
electronics physical security systems, access control systems CCTV surveillance
system.
Some
wonderful futuristic technologies, right from the door handle. When you arrive
at the house today, you find is a snazzy metallic sheet with small peephole in
it. There is no handle or lock visible on the door. But as soon as the
biometric camera (What you thought was a peephole) has scanned you and
recognised you as authorised person, a door handle pops out of the sheet, as
soon as you touch the handle to pull, it quickly checks your temperature and
heart rate to ensure you are okay. If there are any updates it will be
communicated to you; such as your child is yet to return from school, you have
received a courier and so on. You can also check the whereabouts of other
family members as door syncs to their schedules too.
Let
us step into the kitchen. Based on the stock inside the fridge and depending on
the health parameters collected by the door handle and other connected devices
being used by the rest of your family, this smart device gives you the
suggestions what to cook. Once menu is decided, step by step cooking
instructions are displayed on kitchen counter.
For More, visit at www.sofcontraining.com
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Tuesday, 8 November 2016
A huge opportunity waiting ahead for Embedded system engineers
Recent market survey findings clarify that mostly used micro controller is ARM. This is 32 bit Micro controller comes in different package. ARM Micro controller Processor is used in almost all of the smart phones, ARM controllers are becoming a rage in the market . ARM system-on-a-chip technology with multiple cores is working more efficiently in next gen mobile processors. Low in cost and high in features made them the first choice for the developers. ARM Micro controller with Core Future and is going to be for a joyful ride to the world of 32 bit processors.
There are many industries which work on the ARM Micro controllers, there are job vacancies in both the software and hardware domain but industries prefer fresher with hands-on skill or engineers having undergone embedded system training, AVR /ARM micro controller training.
Future Scope:
Samsung has expanded its facility in Noida that produces Mobile Phones, Refrigerators and LED Televisions. Lava international invested Rs 2,615 Cr in two units to generate capacity of 18 million electronics devices per month. These facilities will also have inhouse hardware research and development laboratories. There is going to be a huge scope for Embedded systems design engineers. Freshers who are trained on AVR & ARM Micro controllers will have preference.
The company plans to hire 64,000 direct and employees for the two plants. Karbonn & WWT Co which are into mobile design, manufacturing & supply are joining hands with an aim to boost local manufacturing. This will give boost to local manufacturing & help in local employment. Make in India vision will also get boost.
Carrier scope:
Lava,Karbonn,Samsung,Intex,Panasonic,LG,Sony,Philpes,Micromax,Intex,Dell,Lenovo etc.
This is going to create huge demand for Embedded Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Electronics Engineers with knowledge of micro controllers, embedded system
There are many industries which work on the ARM Micro controllers, there are job vacancies in both the software and hardware domain but industries prefer fresher with hands-on skill or engineers having undergone embedded system training, AVR /ARM micro controller training.
Future Scope:
Samsung has expanded its facility in Noida that produces Mobile Phones, Refrigerators and LED Televisions. Lava international invested Rs 2,615 Cr in two units to generate capacity of 18 million electronics devices per month. These facilities will also have inhouse hardware research and development laboratories. There is going to be a huge scope for Embedded systems design engineers. Freshers who are trained on AVR & ARM Micro controllers will have preference.
The company plans to hire 64,000 direct and employees for the two plants. Karbonn & WWT Co which are into mobile design, manufacturing & supply are joining hands with an aim to boost local manufacturing. This will give boost to local manufacturing & help in local employment. Make in India vision will also get boost.
Carrier scope:
Lava,Karbonn,Samsung,Intex,Panasonic,LG,Sony,Philpes,Micromax,Intex,Dell,Lenovo etc.
This is going to create huge demand for Embedded Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Electronics Engineers with knowledge of micro controllers, embedded system
For More, Visit at http://www.sofcontraining.com
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Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Embedded Control: Reaching for More
By
, Automation World Contributing Writer, on
Not just reserved for consumer gadgets, embedded systems make use of
advances in computing performance to extend the power of industrial
controls.
It's been 50 years since Gordon Moore first articulated his famous law about computing performance, yet his observation continues to withstand the test of time. The semiconductor industry’s ability to continually expand computing power into smaller spaces at lower prices has enabled incredible advances not only in consumer technologies, but industrial as well. Industrial automation is taking advantage of embedded technologies to consolidate electronics and extend the reach of processors to save money and boost productivity.
A case in point is the consolidation of the computing infrastructure inside the Glove Unique Reprocessing Unit (GURU) built by Pentamaster, an automation provider in Penang, Malaysia. The company has halved the number of industrial PCs driving the machine-vision modules in two of the unit’s seven workstations preparing used latex gloves for reuse.
The first vision module processes image data from four cameras in the automatic loading station to help position the gloves properly. The second vision module—in the fourth station, after chemical and thermal decontamination—also receives data from four cameras, but checks for cosmetic defects, reads the unique 2D code on each glove for traceability, and ensures that the glove is in the correct orientation for donning. The remaining three workstations find pinholes, decontaminate the gloves, and robotically package gloves that pass inspection and shred gloves that fail for recycling.
Pentamaster had found it necessary to upgrade the processors in the system to keep up with the evolving capabilities of machine vision. Executing complex algorithms on large data sets requires considerable processing power, and slow processing speeds restrict the number of high-resolution and high-frame-rate cameras that can be connected to an industrial PC.
To get the efficiencies that come with faster processing speeds, Pentamaster replaced the old processors in the vision modules with faster, multicore processors with integrated graphics processing. These third-generation Core i5 processors debuted Intel’s 3D tri-gate, 22 nm silicon architecture, running some important performance enhancements behind the scenes. Turbo Boost Technology 2.01, for example, adjusts processor speed automatically to match the required processing performance. Another example is the Hyper-Threading Technology that allows each processor core to work on two tasks simultaneously.
The enhancements reduced the inspection cycle to less than 2 seconds, boosting the inspection rate from 600 to 900 gloves/hr. The greater processing capability of the Core processor has also let Pentamaster consolidate the four industrial PCs supporting the vision modules to two. That, in turn, has simplified administration and maintenance, and has also reduced energy consumption and lowered the GURU’s operating costs.
Embedded remote diagnostics
The design team is already looking for other improvements, such as adding more testing routines to the set of vision processing algorithms already being used by GURU. Another avenue that the team is exploring is the Active Management Technology (AMT) designed into Intel’s vPro technology inside the Core family of microprocessors. This built-in remote management feature would allow Pentamaster to remotely manage, repair and protect the hardware in GURU’s computing infrastructure.
With this technology, operators or technicians can access outlying embedded systems remotely from their workstations and repair root-level software and firmware problems, including non-operational BIOS images and OS boot problems. To protect software and hardware that are known to be good, AMT allows supervisory users to install software remotely for making periodic updates, installing patches, and detecting and removing malware.
An important benefit of this technology is that a technician can diagnose problems remotely, even if the device containing the embedded system is not actually on, according to Shahram Mehraban, marketing director for Intel’s Industrial and Energy Solutions division. AMT can do this because it works below the operating system, a capability that differentiates it from conventional remote management software.
“Because conventional remote management typically relies on software that runs on an OS, the device must actually be running for someone to be able to remotely manage it,” Mehraban explains. “With AMT, even if the hard drive is corrupted and the device is turned off, you can still work below the OS to manage the device.”
This technology is useful in industrial PCs that run SCADA applications in manufacturing facilities and connect the factory floor to the company’s enterprise network and databases, Mehraban says. “We regularly have to do security and policy updates to various devices in the enterprise,” he says. “With this technology, we can extend this capability to perform them in our network of manufacturing facilities from a central location and administer all these patches at the same time.”
Although this remote technology is most commonly found on industrial PCs, it can be on any computing platform using Intel’s vPro processors. “A number of different applications on the factory floor today run on Intel silicon,” Mehraban notes. “Some high-end PLCs are based on Intel Core i5 and i7 platforms, and we have robotics and machine vision customers who are using our platforms.”
Supporting modular machine design
The ability to consolidate the computing systems within industrial equipment and add remote diagnostics under the operating system is not the only reason that embedded technology has become more attractive to industry in recent years. Another is that it supports a trend among machine builders to design and assemble their products from modular, off-the-shelf components. Because assembling equipment from pre-existing modules lowers design and assembly costs and shortens delivery times, modularity promotes customization and the building of increasingly more complex machines fitted with sophisticated technology.
“The complexity of machines is continuously increasing as end users push builders to increase productivity,” notes Sari Germanos, technology marketing manager for the Ethernet Powerlink Standardization Group. “Manufacturers are trying to do more with machines.”
Not only do they set more stringent internal timing and safety requirements for ever faster machines, but they also want these machines to consume less energy, support preemptive maintenance programs, and communicate with other machinery and inventory management systems, Germanos adds.
Embedded technology helps builders satisfy this demand by providing modular components like drives, inverters, sensors and HMIs with intelligence at relatively low cost. “The components are controlled and sequenced by a central PLC or industrial PC,” Germanos says. “They are connected together by one industrial Ethernet network, the architectural backbone of the machine.”
Intelligent components like drives rely on a mix of analog and digital application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to execute the motion profiles specified by the controlling PLC. In these cases, communications within the machine typically occur by means of industrial Ethernet hardware, advanced software protocols, and timing controlled by high-frequency FPGAs and ASICs.
The more notable advances in embedded technology tend to tighten integration within a machine. An important example is the integration of dual-core ARM processors with FPGAs from Altera and Xilinx. “These devices allow for very fast, low-latency computing within the FPGA hardware, and integrate complex software algorithms on the dual ARM core,” Germanos says.
This integration has allowed automation vendors to introduce highly integrated multi-axis drives at reasonable prices. “In turn, these drives allow machine builders to control several motors at once from one drive, making a machine more cost-efficient with better synchronization,” Germanos notes.
Tighter integration at the silicon level also allows component manufacturers to integrate electronic and mechanical functionality. Take for example an integrated motor like the AcoposMotor module from B&R Industrial Automation. “In this case, the traditional motor, drive, gearbox and encoder are integrated into one package, thus simplifying the logic and computational power required to control all of the components,” Germanos explains. “The PLC communicates with the bundle via a standard API [application programming interface] provided to the master controller in a standard XML format.”
Another example that Germanos offers of this tight integration is a mixed-signal processor from Analog Devices. “Here, an ARM-based processor can handle both analog and digital signals from the same piece of silicon,” he says. “This is ideal for motor control, and it provides a fast digital interface for the open source Powerlink Industrial Ethernet protocol.”
No FPGAs needed
Yet another form of integration rooted in silicon embeds real-time communication accelerators for standard network protocols like Ethernet Powerlink, EtherCAT and Profinet. A notable development here is the Industrial Communication Sub-System (ICSS) that Texas Instruments (TI) puts in its Sitara family of ARM Cortex-A series processors.
This embedded peripheral has helped developers eliminate either dedicated, fixed-function ASICs or FPGAs that they would otherwise have to use for embedding the protocols for linking to deterministic, extremely low-latency industrial networks. “Pairing an FPGA with any general-purpose processor is common for implementing some communication protocols or low-latency I/O expansion when those features aren’t available on the host processor,” notes Adrian Valenzuela, TI’s marketing director.
“Seeing this trend in industrial automation increasing, we’ve implemented on-chip, low-latency accelerators specifically designed for replacing FPGAs,” he continues. Eliminating this external device not only saves between $2 and $10, but it also reduces the complexity of the system and development time.
TI has put the ICSS into its ARM-based Sitara processors because of the popularity of the fast, low-power ARM processor. “A modern device can contain a dual-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A15 yielding 10,500 DMIPS [Dhrystone million instructions per second],” Valenzuela says, noting that TI has a growing portfolio of ARM-based devices that will be released in the future in both 32- and 64-bit configurations.
Another benefit of having an embedded communications accelerator like ICSS is that it brings a measure of modularity to the implementation of communications protocols. Users and vendors of industrial automation strive to adhere to communications standards to promote safety, but often find that getting and maintaining certifications for these standards as they evolve can be costly and time-consuming. Even worse, the continuing effort can impede time to market.
ICSS solves this problem by encapsulating several protocols into a Lego-like module that can be pre-certified. “This allows developers to focus their development time on the application,” Valenzuela says.
Juggling operating systems
Embedded technology makes another contribution to integrating the intelligent components in a piece of equipment and consolidating computing resources. Real-time operating systems (RTOSs) running on multicore embedded processors can execute specialized graphical and textual machine-control languages based on the IEC 61131 standard for PLCs. These RTOSs should also comply with the IEC 61508 standards to offer the redundancy required for ensuring a safety integrity level (SIL) of 3, according to Germanos.
Here, virtualization seems to have found an industrial application in helping the limited computing resources typically found in embedded systems to run several concurrent instances of operating systems, including RTOSs. Vendors are developing virtualization schemes that address the concerns over latency and reliability that have made industrial users reluctant to embrace virtualization in the past.
“The first generation of embedded virtualization was very difficult to implement,” Intel’s Mehraban notes. “We’ve come a long way in the past two or three years though. More of our customers are building multicore-based solutions that use hardware-based virtualization acceleration.”
Emerson Process Management, for example, has based the virtualization in its DeltaV controllers on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX shared infrastructure platform. To avoid any latency problems, the system uses Intel’s fast Xenon processors on up to four computing nodes along with Intel Virtual Technology (VT). A software arbiter known as a hypervisor assigns hardware to each guest OS according to a default scheme or to the user-defined rules. Intel’s Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) technology also helps by offloading interrupt management from the hypervisor.
“Because virtualization can consolidate the workflows of multiple operating systems, it can consolidate things like an HMI, a soft PLC, and maybe a motion controller on a single platform,” Mehraban says. “Consolidation reduces the number of devices you have to maintain and service, and it increases the overall reliability and uptime.” In many cases, it can also reduce cabling and other installation costs.
Besides consolidating platforms, virtualization can contribute to network security by creating a partition to isolate the core of the system software. On the other side of the partition, the system software acts like a guest firewall that communicates with the outside world. Only specific information can cross the partition.
A case in point is the consolidation of the computing infrastructure inside the Glove Unique Reprocessing Unit (GURU) built by Pentamaster, an automation provider in Penang, Malaysia. The company has halved the number of industrial PCs driving the machine-vision modules in two of the unit’s seven workstations preparing used latex gloves for reuse.
The first vision module processes image data from four cameras in the automatic loading station to help position the gloves properly. The second vision module—in the fourth station, after chemical and thermal decontamination—also receives data from four cameras, but checks for cosmetic defects, reads the unique 2D code on each glove for traceability, and ensures that the glove is in the correct orientation for donning. The remaining three workstations find pinholes, decontaminate the gloves, and robotically package gloves that pass inspection and shred gloves that fail for recycling.
Pentamaster had found it necessary to upgrade the processors in the system to keep up with the evolving capabilities of machine vision. Executing complex algorithms on large data sets requires considerable processing power, and slow processing speeds restrict the number of high-resolution and high-frame-rate cameras that can be connected to an industrial PC.
To get the efficiencies that come with faster processing speeds, Pentamaster replaced the old processors in the vision modules with faster, multicore processors with integrated graphics processing. These third-generation Core i5 processors debuted Intel’s 3D tri-gate, 22 nm silicon architecture, running some important performance enhancements behind the scenes. Turbo Boost Technology 2.01, for example, adjusts processor speed automatically to match the required processing performance. Another example is the Hyper-Threading Technology that allows each processor core to work on two tasks simultaneously.
The enhancements reduced the inspection cycle to less than 2 seconds, boosting the inspection rate from 600 to 900 gloves/hr. The greater processing capability of the Core processor has also let Pentamaster consolidate the four industrial PCs supporting the vision modules to two. That, in turn, has simplified administration and maintenance, and has also reduced energy consumption and lowered the GURU’s operating costs.
Embedded remote diagnostics
The design team is already looking for other improvements, such as adding more testing routines to the set of vision processing algorithms already being used by GURU. Another avenue that the team is exploring is the Active Management Technology (AMT) designed into Intel’s vPro technology inside the Core family of microprocessors. This built-in remote management feature would allow Pentamaster to remotely manage, repair and protect the hardware in GURU’s computing infrastructure.
With this technology, operators or technicians can access outlying embedded systems remotely from their workstations and repair root-level software and firmware problems, including non-operational BIOS images and OS boot problems. To protect software and hardware that are known to be good, AMT allows supervisory users to install software remotely for making periodic updates, installing patches, and detecting and removing malware.
An important benefit of this technology is that a technician can diagnose problems remotely, even if the device containing the embedded system is not actually on, according to Shahram Mehraban, marketing director for Intel’s Industrial and Energy Solutions division. AMT can do this because it works below the operating system, a capability that differentiates it from conventional remote management software.
“Because conventional remote management typically relies on software that runs on an OS, the device must actually be running for someone to be able to remotely manage it,” Mehraban explains. “With AMT, even if the hard drive is corrupted and the device is turned off, you can still work below the OS to manage the device.”
This technology is useful in industrial PCs that run SCADA applications in manufacturing facilities and connect the factory floor to the company’s enterprise network and databases, Mehraban says. “We regularly have to do security and policy updates to various devices in the enterprise,” he says. “With this technology, we can extend this capability to perform them in our network of manufacturing facilities from a central location and administer all these patches at the same time.”
Although this remote technology is most commonly found on industrial PCs, it can be on any computing platform using Intel’s vPro processors. “A number of different applications on the factory floor today run on Intel silicon,” Mehraban notes. “Some high-end PLCs are based on Intel Core i5 and i7 platforms, and we have robotics and machine vision customers who are using our platforms.”
Supporting modular machine design
The ability to consolidate the computing systems within industrial equipment and add remote diagnostics under the operating system is not the only reason that embedded technology has become more attractive to industry in recent years. Another is that it supports a trend among machine builders to design and assemble their products from modular, off-the-shelf components. Because assembling equipment from pre-existing modules lowers design and assembly costs and shortens delivery times, modularity promotes customization and the building of increasingly more complex machines fitted with sophisticated technology.
“The complexity of machines is continuously increasing as end users push builders to increase productivity,” notes Sari Germanos, technology marketing manager for the Ethernet Powerlink Standardization Group. “Manufacturers are trying to do more with machines.”
Not only do they set more stringent internal timing and safety requirements for ever faster machines, but they also want these machines to consume less energy, support preemptive maintenance programs, and communicate with other machinery and inventory management systems, Germanos adds.
Embedded technology helps builders satisfy this demand by providing modular components like drives, inverters, sensors and HMIs with intelligence at relatively low cost. “The components are controlled and sequenced by a central PLC or industrial PC,” Germanos says. “They are connected together by one industrial Ethernet network, the architectural backbone of the machine.”
Intelligent components like drives rely on a mix of analog and digital application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to execute the motion profiles specified by the controlling PLC. In these cases, communications within the machine typically occur by means of industrial Ethernet hardware, advanced software protocols, and timing controlled by high-frequency FPGAs and ASICs.
The more notable advances in embedded technology tend to tighten integration within a machine. An important example is the integration of dual-core ARM processors with FPGAs from Altera and Xilinx. “These devices allow for very fast, low-latency computing within the FPGA hardware, and integrate complex software algorithms on the dual ARM core,” Germanos says.
This integration has allowed automation vendors to introduce highly integrated multi-axis drives at reasonable prices. “In turn, these drives allow machine builders to control several motors at once from one drive, making a machine more cost-efficient with better synchronization,” Germanos notes.
Tighter integration at the silicon level also allows component manufacturers to integrate electronic and mechanical functionality. Take for example an integrated motor like the AcoposMotor module from B&R Industrial Automation. “In this case, the traditional motor, drive, gearbox and encoder are integrated into one package, thus simplifying the logic and computational power required to control all of the components,” Germanos explains. “The PLC communicates with the bundle via a standard API [application programming interface] provided to the master controller in a standard XML format.”
Another example that Germanos offers of this tight integration is a mixed-signal processor from Analog Devices. “Here, an ARM-based processor can handle both analog and digital signals from the same piece of silicon,” he says. “This is ideal for motor control, and it provides a fast digital interface for the open source Powerlink Industrial Ethernet protocol.”
No FPGAs needed
Yet another form of integration rooted in silicon embeds real-time communication accelerators for standard network protocols like Ethernet Powerlink, EtherCAT and Profinet. A notable development here is the Industrial Communication Sub-System (ICSS) that Texas Instruments (TI) puts in its Sitara family of ARM Cortex-A series processors.
This embedded peripheral has helped developers eliminate either dedicated, fixed-function ASICs or FPGAs that they would otherwise have to use for embedding the protocols for linking to deterministic, extremely low-latency industrial networks. “Pairing an FPGA with any general-purpose processor is common for implementing some communication protocols or low-latency I/O expansion when those features aren’t available on the host processor,” notes Adrian Valenzuela, TI’s marketing director.
“Seeing this trend in industrial automation increasing, we’ve implemented on-chip, low-latency accelerators specifically designed for replacing FPGAs,” he continues. Eliminating this external device not only saves between $2 and $10, but it also reduces the complexity of the system and development time.
TI has put the ICSS into its ARM-based Sitara processors because of the popularity of the fast, low-power ARM processor. “A modern device can contain a dual-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A15 yielding 10,500 DMIPS [Dhrystone million instructions per second],” Valenzuela says, noting that TI has a growing portfolio of ARM-based devices that will be released in the future in both 32- and 64-bit configurations.
Another benefit of having an embedded communications accelerator like ICSS is that it brings a measure of modularity to the implementation of communications protocols. Users and vendors of industrial automation strive to adhere to communications standards to promote safety, but often find that getting and maintaining certifications for these standards as they evolve can be costly and time-consuming. Even worse, the continuing effort can impede time to market.
ICSS solves this problem by encapsulating several protocols into a Lego-like module that can be pre-certified. “This allows developers to focus their development time on the application,” Valenzuela says.
Juggling operating systems
Embedded technology makes another contribution to integrating the intelligent components in a piece of equipment and consolidating computing resources. Real-time operating systems (RTOSs) running on multicore embedded processors can execute specialized graphical and textual machine-control languages based on the IEC 61131 standard for PLCs. These RTOSs should also comply with the IEC 61508 standards to offer the redundancy required for ensuring a safety integrity level (SIL) of 3, according to Germanos.
Here, virtualization seems to have found an industrial application in helping the limited computing resources typically found in embedded systems to run several concurrent instances of operating systems, including RTOSs. Vendors are developing virtualization schemes that address the concerns over latency and reliability that have made industrial users reluctant to embrace virtualization in the past.
“The first generation of embedded virtualization was very difficult to implement,” Intel’s Mehraban notes. “We’ve come a long way in the past two or three years though. More of our customers are building multicore-based solutions that use hardware-based virtualization acceleration.”
Emerson Process Management, for example, has based the virtualization in its DeltaV controllers on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX shared infrastructure platform. To avoid any latency problems, the system uses Intel’s fast Xenon processors on up to four computing nodes along with Intel Virtual Technology (VT). A software arbiter known as a hypervisor assigns hardware to each guest OS according to a default scheme or to the user-defined rules. Intel’s Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) technology also helps by offloading interrupt management from the hypervisor.
“Because virtualization can consolidate the workflows of multiple operating systems, it can consolidate things like an HMI, a soft PLC, and maybe a motion controller on a single platform,” Mehraban says. “Consolidation reduces the number of devices you have to maintain and service, and it increases the overall reliability and uptime.” In many cases, it can also reduce cabling and other installation costs.
Besides consolidating platforms, virtualization can contribute to network security by creating a partition to isolate the core of the system software. On the other side of the partition, the system software acts like a guest firewall that communicates with the outside world. Only specific information can cross the partition.
Source : - http://www.automationworld.com/embedded-control/embedded-control-reaching-more
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Embedded Networking With CANopen
By Olaf Pfieffer, first published in Circuit Cellar
When it comes to Embedded Networking, Embedded Internetworking seems to be a trend and the only topic around these days. Although the idea of having all our embedded devices accessible via the Internet is tempting, for many embedded applications, Internet access does not solve the real communication requirements often set within the device.
Selecting a Communication Protocol
The requirements for more internal communication come from another trend: adding more intelligence to many machines, appliances and other devices. The side effect of this trend is, that more communication between I/O points or distributed control systems is required. For machine internal communication, TCP/IP is usually a complete overkill, especially if the embedded controllers are on the low end of the performance scale. More cost efficient solutions are serial protocols. Standard serial interfaces like UARTs, I2C or CAN are available on-chip with many microcontrollers in the 8-bit and 16-bit arena, allowing for an easy connection of several nodes.
One of the problems with implementing Embedded Networking solutions based on these serial protocols is, that by themselves they do not have a standardized application layer specifying how the data exchanged is structured and how or when it is exchanged. They usually just cover the Physical and Data Link Layers of the standard communication reference model.
That leaves anybody implementing an Embedded Network with these protocols most likely ending up with a proprietary solution. An internal communication specification has to be generated and most likely all the network nodes are built in-house. Outsourcing is difficult, due to the lack of available communication standards. Without higher layer communication standards it is not easily possible for third parties to build efficient off-the-shelf plug-and-play components.
However, the availability of off-the-shelf components for Embedded Internetworking becomes presently more and more important. In all industries we do feel the constant pressure to further shorten the development time and to cut the development costs.
Instead of developing all components from scratch a manufacturer of any machine could choose off-the-shelf sensors and actuators with a standardized networking interface, allowing the development focus to be on system integration and development of the components that bring the companies true IP into the product.
From all the on-chip communication interfaces available with many microcontrollers these days, CAN is the one that gets us closest to the scenario outlined above. Existing standards based around CAN allow for the availability of off-the-shelf components like generic analog and digital I/O devices and can still provide the network designer with enough freedom to optimize the overall system to best meet the communication requirements of a specific application.
One of the problems with implementing Embedded Networking solutions based on these serial protocols is, that by themselves they do not have a standardized application layer specifying how the data exchanged is structured and how or when it is exchanged. They usually just cover the Physical and Data Link Layers of the standard communication reference model.
That leaves anybody implementing an Embedded Network with these protocols most likely ending up with a proprietary solution. An internal communication specification has to be generated and most likely all the network nodes are built in-house. Outsourcing is difficult, due to the lack of available communication standards. Without higher layer communication standards it is not easily possible for third parties to build efficient off-the-shelf plug-and-play components.
However, the availability of off-the-shelf components for Embedded Internetworking becomes presently more and more important. In all industries we do feel the constant pressure to further shorten the development time and to cut the development costs.
Instead of developing all components from scratch a manufacturer of any machine could choose off-the-shelf sensors and actuators with a standardized networking interface, allowing the development focus to be on system integration and development of the components that bring the companies true IP into the product.
From all the on-chip communication interfaces available with many microcontrollers these days, CAN is the one that gets us closest to the scenario outlined above. Existing standards based around CAN allow for the availability of off-the-shelf components like generic analog and digital I/O devices and can still provide the network designer with enough freedom to optimize the overall system to best meet the communication requirements of a specific application.
Higher Layer Protocols
A variety of standardized higher layer protocols are available based on CAN. Today, the most significant ones are DeviceNet and CANopen. DeviceNet was developed for factory automation and is strongest in the arena of material handling. Although it offers a very high level of off-the-shelf plug-and-play product availability, there is a price to pay: DeviceNet does leave only minimal room for customization, optimization and other tweaking of the network. For all applications where customization is desired, CANopen is the better alternative.
CANopen
The basic idea behind CANopen is simple: CANopen standardizes the way the communicated data is structured and exchanged. In addition several Device Profiles for CANopen are standardized and new ones get constantly added. Device Profiles specify the data sets and communication models supported by modules such as Generic I/O, Encoders, Drives, etc. The way the CANopen standards work, it also supports building off-the-shelf modules for plug-and-play system configurations, however it leaves plenty freedom for customizing nodes and communication paths. This allows manufacturers of devices with internal Embedded Networking to take advantage of off-the-shelf components where suitable, and still be able to tweak the system for optimized price/performance of the system to be able to keep a competitive edge.
The Object Dictionary Concept
The core of any CANopen node is the Object Dictionary, a lookup table with a 16-bit index and an 8-bit sub-index. This allows for up to 255 sub-entries at each index. Each entry can be variable in type and length.
All process and communication related information/data is stored as entries in pre-defined locations of the object dictionary. Unused entries do not need to be implemented.
All process and communication related information/data is stored as entries in pre-defined locations of the object dictionary. Unused entries do not need to be implemented.
From the network, object dictionary data of any node can be accessed in a point-to-point communication mode by issuing read or write requests to the node's object dictionary. Messages that contain requests or answers to/from the object dictionary are called Service Data Objects (SDO). As both process and configuration data are part of the object dictionary, this communication scheme immediately allows for configuring nodes and/or getting access to the process data.
Point-to-Point? Variable length? More than 8 bytes?
Those of you familiar with CAN probably have these questions after reading the previous paragraphs, as CAN itself does not really support these features - so how does CANopen do it?
Any message sent on CAN is a broadcast to all nodes. Which message IDs get used by which node is not part of the CAN specification and is usually determined by the application.
To allow for peer-to-peer communication, CANopen introduces a node ID that gets embedded into the SDO requests to the object dictionary. Each CANopen module on the network must have a unique node ID in the range from 1 to 127.
The default scenario is, that any node has two CAN identifiers reserved for SDO requests to and SDO replies from the object dictionary. The default CAN ID for the Receive Service Data Object (RSDO - used to send requests to a node) is a base address of 600h plus the node ID number. The ID for the Transmit Service Data Object (TSDO - used by a node to reply to requests) is a base address of 580h plus the node ID number. In this scenario, RSDOs may only be used by one node (usually the master, sometimes a configuration tool), to avoid conflicts/collisions arising from multiple nodes potentially trying to access a specific object dictionary at the same time.
The master or configuration tool can now scan for connected devices by sending 127 RSDO requests for the identity object - one to each potential node. All nodes present will respond with their TSDO containing the identification data from their object dictionary.
In case an object dictionary entry does not fit into one message (CAN has a limit of 8 bytes per message), the data transfer gets automatically fragmented. In this case, the first data byte is used as a control byte for handling the fragmentation. The remaining 7 bytes can be used for data transmitted with each fragment.
Any message sent on CAN is a broadcast to all nodes. Which message IDs get used by which node is not part of the CAN specification and is usually determined by the application.
To allow for peer-to-peer communication, CANopen introduces a node ID that gets embedded into the SDO requests to the object dictionary. Each CANopen module on the network must have a unique node ID in the range from 1 to 127.
The default scenario is, that any node has two CAN identifiers reserved for SDO requests to and SDO replies from the object dictionary. The default CAN ID for the Receive Service Data Object (RSDO - used to send requests to a node) is a base address of 600h plus the node ID number. The ID for the Transmit Service Data Object (TSDO - used by a node to reply to requests) is a base address of 580h plus the node ID number. In this scenario, RSDOs may only be used by one node (usually the master, sometimes a configuration tool), to avoid conflicts/collisions arising from multiple nodes potentially trying to access a specific object dictionary at the same time.
The master or configuration tool can now scan for connected devices by sending 127 RSDO requests for the identity object - one to each potential node. All nodes present will respond with their TSDO containing the identification data from their object dictionary.
In case an object dictionary entry does not fit into one message (CAN has a limit of 8 bytes per message), the data transfer gets automatically fragmented. In this case, the first data byte is used as a control byte for handling the fragmentation. The remaining 7 bytes can be used for data transmitted with each fragment.
Device Profiles
Although the object dictionary concept allows for structuring the data that needs to be communicated, there is still something missing: Which entry in the dictionary is used for what? The dictionary is far too big that we could allow the master to take "wild guesses" and simply try to access certain areas of the dictionary to see if they are supported.
The solution is simple: First of all, there are a few mandatory entries that all CANopen nodes must support. These include the identity object with which a node can identify itself and an error object to report a potential error state. Additional entries are specified by device profiles. Device profiles describe all the communication parameters and object dictionary entries that are supported by a certain type of CANopen modules. Such profiles are available for generic I/O modules, encoders and other devices.
A master or configuration tool can read-access the identity object of any slave node using a SDO. As a reply, it receives a SDO with the information about which device profile a module conforms to. Assuming the master knows which object entries are defined for a particular device profile, it now knows which object dictionary entries are supported and can access them directly.
CANopen is open! If an application requires the implementation of non-standardized, manufacturer specific object dictionary entries, then that is not a problem. Adding entries that disable/enable a certain functionality that is not covered by one of the existing device profiles can be implemented to any device, as long as they conform to the structural layout of the object dictionary.
The solution is simple: First of all, there are a few mandatory entries that all CANopen nodes must support. These include the identity object with which a node can identify itself and an error object to report a potential error state. Additional entries are specified by device profiles. Device profiles describe all the communication parameters and object dictionary entries that are supported by a certain type of CANopen modules. Such profiles are available for generic I/O modules, encoders and other devices.
A master or configuration tool can read-access the identity object of any slave node using a SDO. As a reply, it receives a SDO with the information about which device profile a module conforms to. Assuming the master knows which object entries are defined for a particular device profile, it now knows which object dictionary entries are supported and can access them directly.
CANopen is open! If an application requires the implementation of non-standardized, manufacturer specific object dictionary entries, then that is not a problem. Adding entries that disable/enable a certain functionality that is not covered by one of the existing device profiles can be implemented to any device, as long as they conform to the structural layout of the object dictionary.
Electronic Data Sheets
Electronic Data Sheets (EDS) offer a standardized way on specifying supported object dictionary entries. Any manufacturer of a CANopen module delivers such a file with the module, which in layout is similar to the ".ini" files used on Microsoft Windows operating systems.
A CANopen master or configuration tool running on a PC with a CAN card can directly load the EDS into its set of recognized devices. Once a device is found on the network, the master or configuration tool will try to find the matching EDS. Once found, all supported object dictionary entries are known by the master / configuration tool.
Figure 2 shows the relation between Device Profiles and Electronic Data Sheets. The Device Profile specifies the minimum entries that need to be supported by a device conforming to the profile. In addition, the EDS might specify objects that are specific to a certain manufacturer or sub-type of modules.
A CANopen master or configuration tool running on a PC with a CAN card can directly load the EDS into its set of recognized devices. Once a device is found on the network, the master or configuration tool will try to find the matching EDS. Once found, all supported object dictionary entries are known by the master / configuration tool.
Figure 2 shows the relation between Device Profiles and Electronic Data Sheets. The Device Profile specifies the minimum entries that need to be supported by a device conforming to the profile. In addition, the EDS might specify objects that are specific to a certain manufacturer or sub-type of modules.
Increased Performance With Process Data Objects
So far, we structured the configuration and process data in a way, that a master could easily access it. From the process point of view, the following operating mode would be possible: polling all inputs, work on the data and then write to all outputs. For most applications, this would not be an efficient communication model. As CAN supports the multi-master concept (any node could send a message at any time, collisions are resolved by ID priority), we can expect a more direct, higher priority access to the process data.
PDO mapping
A Process Data Object (PDO) is a "shortcut" to the process data in the object dictionary. Via PDO mapping (all done through object dictionary entries), any dictionary entry can be mapped to data in a PDO, to a maximum of 8 bytes per PDO.
Let's have a look at the example of figure PDO Mapping: A CANopen input node supports 2 digital inputs of 8-bits each and 2 analog inputs of 12-bits each. In conformance with the Device Profile for Generic I/O modules, an object dictionary entry at 6000h stores the 2 digital inputs of 8-bits each and an entry at 6401h stores the 2 analog inputs as 2 words.
The object dictionary entry at 1A00h specifies the PDO mapping - which bits of which object dictionary entries are used in the Transmit PDO 1 (TPDO1), filling the TPDO bit-by-bit. Note that this mapping can really be done on a bit-level. Each entry starts using the first available, free bit in the PDO and occupies as many bits as it requires.
The first sub-index entry at 1A00h maps object 6000h, sub-index 1, 8 bits to the first bits of the TPDO1. The next sub-index entry at 1A00h maps object 6000h, sub-index 1, 8 bits to the next free bits of the TPDO1, and so on. In this example the remaining bits of TPDO1 (data bytes 6-8) remain unmapped and unused.
Let's have a look at the example of figure PDO Mapping: A CANopen input node supports 2 digital inputs of 8-bits each and 2 analog inputs of 12-bits each. In conformance with the Device Profile for Generic I/O modules, an object dictionary entry at 6000h stores the 2 digital inputs of 8-bits each and an entry at 6401h stores the 2 analog inputs as 2 words.
The object dictionary entry at 1A00h specifies the PDO mapping - which bits of which object dictionary entries are used in the Transmit PDO 1 (TPDO1), filling the TPDO bit-by-bit. Note that this mapping can really be done on a bit-level. Each entry starts using the first available, free bit in the PDO and occupies as many bits as it requires.
The first sub-index entry at 1A00h maps object 6000h, sub-index 1, 8 bits to the first bits of the TPDO1. The next sub-index entry at 1A00h maps object 6000h, sub-index 1, 8 bits to the next free bits of the TPDO1, and so on. In this example the remaining bits of TPDO1 (data bytes 6-8) remain unmapped and unused.
Which PDOs are predefined and what default mapping is used is also specified in the Device Profile. If the mapping does not change during operation we call that static mapping. Dynamic mapping is the process of re-mapping a PDO during run-time. Obviously, dynamic mapping is more complex and adds more overhead to the PDO processing time.
PDO Triggering
Now that we have a shortcut to several dictionaries entries in one message, what are our options to trigger a PDO? CANopen supports a total of 4 trigger modes:
- Event driven: If the input device recognizes a change-of-state (COS) on any of its inputs, it updates the data in the object dictionary and the PDO and transmits the PDO. This mode allows for some of the fastest response times.
- Time driven: A PDO can be configured to transmit itself on a fixed time basis, for instance every 50 milliseconds. This mode helps to make the total busload more predictable.
- Polling: Using a regular CAN feature, the remote request frame, a PDO only gets transmitted if the data was specially requested by another node.
- Synchronized: A special mode allowing for a synchronized polling as required by many motion control applications.
PDO Linking
When it comes to the communication partners involved, we have a similar arrangement as with the SDOs. The default is that the master is the only node that receives Transmit Process Data Objects (TPDO). And only the master may send Receive Process Data Objects (RPDO) to the slaves. In other words, we ensure that a pre-defined connection set is usable by default, as we assign unique CAN message identifiers to each supported PDO - one unique ID for each TPDO and one for each RPDO.
During the initialization and configuration cycle, the PDO linking can be changed. A master could inform one or multiple output modules that they should directly listen to a specific TPDO of an input module. Again, a TPDO correlates to a unique CAN message identifier. So we basically just inform a node to which message frames it should listen and which ones it can ignore.
Once these new linking settings are made and the network goes into the operational mode, the master would not need to get involved into the process data communication and could focus on other things like network management.
Once these new linking settings are made and the network goes into the operational mode, the master would not need to get involved into the process data communication and could focus on other things like network management.
Source :- http://www.esacademy.com/en/library/technical-articles-and-documents/can-and-canopen/embedded-networking-with-canopen.html
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