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EtherCAT is by far the fastest industrial Ethernet technology. In particular in the rapidly growing application areas of Automation 4.0, the Internet of Things and M2M communication, EtherCAT results in higher precision if the right components are used, to increase throughput and with this also to lower costs in all areas of automation and controlling. Therefore, Acceed has incorporated the latest EtherCAT components from the manufacturer Adlink in its portfolio, including the master controller Talos 3012 and the modular slave system EPS with a large variety of modules including analogue and digital I/Os, motion controllers, communication and measurement modules.

The protocol defined in IEC Standard 61158 forms the basis for real time applications in automation technology. Through outstanding synchronisation precision and extremely short reaction times, the transitions between individual process steps are accelerated and applications overall considerably more efficient. Neither switches nor hubs are required and there are practically no restrictions when selecting the bus topology and the number of nodes. EtherCAT has already been used successfully for several years, also for robot applications, production systems, manufacturing machinery, test stands, measurement systems, interlinked machines and for building control.

Adlink Technology is a member of the EtherCAT Technology Group, the fieldbus association with the most members and which is the most active worldwide. The EtherCAT products from Adlink form a package consisting of specialised hardware via middleware up to software for configuration, controlling and monitoring.

The merely palm-sized master controller Talos-3012 works with an Atom E3845 quad core processor (1.9 GHz), supports 10,000 I/O pixels in the slave system and up to 64 axes. With the help of the LinkMasterPro software, the controller is able to recognise slave systems and I/O modules independently and to establish the configuration without additionally necessary settings. The controller can easily be integrated into existing EtherCAT slave systems and remains open for further expansions. The Talos-3012 enables the transfer of old PLC controllers to modern, PC-based, high-performance and quickly availabnle automation applications.

The hot swap-compliant modules simplify the operation, servicing and changes to the configuration. Assembly and exchange are possible with minimal time required. Similarly, remote monitoring of the performance of all the slave systems and modules, diagnosis and automatic reporting are supported. All EtherCAT devices from Acceed are developed for industrial requirements and harsh environmental conditions and can be used under temperature conditions from -20 to +60°C.

PCs for installation in vehicles must be robust, vibration-free and impact-resistant and designed for direct connection to the vehicle’s battery. The new PC for vehicles, the Nuvo-2510VTC from Acceed, meets these criteria, additionally providing an integrated CAN bus (2.0A und 2.0B) in addition to two GigE ports with 25 watts output as well as the option to add two 3G/4G modules and also a WiFi module.

The Nuvo-2510VTC is a fanless PC for vehicles and has a powerful E3845 quad core Atom processor from Intel. The highly compact PC is equipped with two gigabit Ethernet ports which can be ideally used as interfaces for PoE cameras. The CAN bus, which is also integrated, simplifies all communication connections in the vehicle, saving time and cost-intense use of complicated wiring harnesses. The CAN bus supports data rates up to 1 Mbps and both frame formats 2.0A and 2.0B.

The Nuvo-2510VTC accepts a broad range for input voltage and can therefore easily be operated using the vehicle’s battery. Operation can be coupled with the ignition and can switch independently from this by setting delay times. The battery voltage is monitored simultaneously. Certification of the controller for use in vehicles is being prepared. Following completion, the Nuvo-2510VTC will be awarded the ECE mark of conformity.

In addition to both PoE interfaces, the PC has a USB 3.0 port, four serial interfaces as well as three USB 2.0 ports. The Nuvo-2510VTC an be equipped with two 3G/4G modules with USIMs or a WiFi module for communication purposes. Both the Mini PCI Express slots used for this purpose can alternatively be used for other cards and tasks. With this large number of fast interfaces and expansion options, it is possible to realise the most varied vehicle applications. The housing design which was specially developed for use in vehicles ensures safe heat dissipation and also enables the fanless computer to function stably, even under harsh conditions.

Two of the serial interfaces, the audio connections, the DVI/HDMI output and the CAN bus port are placed on the back panel of the very compact housing with its dimensions of 205 (W) x 146 (D) x 44 (H). The further serial interfaces, all the communication interfaces and the input for the voltage range as well as a VGA socket are located on the front side. The SIM card plug-in at the side of the housing is easily accessible. The special shock-absorbing assembly option, for which a patent has been filed, stabilises the operation of the installed Sata HDD. Operation with SSD is permissible at an ambient temperature range from -25 to +70°C with a humidity of 10 to 90%.

High processor performance, robust, service-free casing, a compact construction as well as a large number of interfaces which are already integrated: the Nuvo-2500 has everything which an efficient embedded PC needs for all-round use. In particular its already installed interfaces as possible PCI / PCIe extensions make this controller interesting in the current Internet of Things (IoT) and Automation 4.0 application range.

The economical but high-performance Intel Celeron Bay Trail J1900 quad core processor forms the core of the fanless Nuvo-2500. The working memory can be extended to 8 GB DDR3 RAM, a SATA HDD slot and an mSATA socket are available for mass media. The compact and robust chassis is designed for harsh industrial use at a temperature range from -25 to +70°C.

It is comprehensively equipped with standard interfaces: these include two gigabit Ethernet ports, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, 4 COM ports, DIO as well as 4 analogue inputs which are provided. With its four extension slots (1 x PCI, 1 x PCIe, 2 x Mini-PCIe), the Nuvo-2500 can be equipped flexibly for different tasks and is easy to integrate in vision systems, automation or machine communication applications as well as for motor control and remote servicing.

The patented expansion PCI / PCIe slot cassette simplifies the installation of specialised cards and also accommodates three-level heat management. At the first level, the insulated cassette ensures that the system’s heat load is not or only slightly increased by an additional card. The made-to-measure heat sink immediately conducts the heat to the surface of the chassis. The option to integrate an intelligent fan directly in the housing is available for particularly powerful expansion cards and special environmental conditions.

The internal I/O interface incorporates 4 insulated digital inputs, 8 insulated digital outputs, 6 PWM outputs (pulse width modulation), a quadrature encoder input and 2 analogue to digital converters. This enables controlling motors, positioning mechanisms and a large number of other peripheral devices directly with the integrated hardware without occupying an expansion slot. Thus, flexible servo motors, stepper motors and DC motors can be controlled flexibly by the Nuvo-2500.

The Mini PCIe slot with an USIM socket extends the network compatibility with the option to integrate wireless communication technologies such as 3G, LTE, WiFi and BT directly.