Multi-protocol Card Series Expanded Enabling PCs to Communicate on PROFINET IRT Fibre Optic

Phil Black - PII Editor 06/12/2016

126 2 minutes read

Listen to this article

HMS Industrial Networks expands the IXXAT INpact multi-protocol card series with a PCIe mini variant for PROFINET IRT Fibre Optic. Designed for secure data transmission in harsh environments

The IXXAT INpact enables easy implementation of a PROFINET IRT Fibre Optic Slave interface and can be used in compact industrial PCs as well as in mobile devices.

Typical use cases are coupling of subsystems with superordinate networks, visualisation of process data on human machine interfaces (HMIs) as well as data acquisition in PC-based process devices. IXXAT INpact is fully compliant with the requirements of the AIDA (Automation initiative of German automobile manufacturers) for a PROFINET interface.

PROFINET IRT via fibre optic meets the highest requirements for interference immunity and data transmission. It is often used in critical areas in the automotive field, e.g. in robotic cells for car body construction, in automated welding systems and other areas with high electromagnetic interferences.

Hardware concept of the IXXAT INpact multi-protocol card series

The new PROFINET IRT Fibre Optic card is the newest member of the IXXAT INpact series which supports a variety of Industrial Ethernet and fieldbus protocols, such as PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, Powerlink, Modbus-TCP and PROFIBUS. The multi-network capability of INpact is based on the proven Anybus CompactCom technology from HMS – used within millions of devices globally.

The FPGA-based Anybus NP40 network processor includes all functions required to handle the communication between the Industrial Ethernet or fieldbus network and the PC-based customer application. The FPGA has a low latency and a deterministic real-time behaviour, making it ideal for demanding industrial applications.

The PROFINET IRT FO connection is made via SC-RJ connectors. Other network standards are supported by corresponding Sub-D9 or RJ45 Ethernet interfaces.

The IXXAT INpact is offered as a dedicated version for each network with pre-installed network protocol. Furthermore, INpact is also available as a Common Ethernet version, a highly flexible and open version in which the desired industrial Ethernet protocol can be flashed by the user.

Connection to the customer application

The IXXAT INpact is supplied with a comprehensive driver package for Windows and Linux, which allows a fast and easy development of customer-specific applications, regardless of the used card type or protocol.

Thanks to a universal programming interface, users can change between INpact cards and protocols without changing the customer software, which leads to increased flexibility and a significant reduction of the development costs. Support for real-time operating systems such as RTX, Intime, VxWorks and QNX is available on request.