Control Software with real-time CANopen Master

The CANopen automation protocol based on CAN communication is widely used and is now supported in real-time under Windows.

The Berlin-based company Kithara Software GmbH announces the CANopen Master as a new extension of their »RealTime Suite«. This way it is possible to implement CANopen control solutions in real-time under Windows the same way as with EtherCAT or Profibus.

The CANopen automation protocol is very reliable and provides a cost effective feasibility for controlling of sensors and actuators. This is the main reason of being in demand in factory automation, for machinery controls and test benches. Especially the cost aspect continues to give CANopen an advantage, even in the time of increased Ethernet-based communication solutions.

When using Windows as an operating system, however, the biggest disadvantage with previous solutions is that the master software itself is implemented on an intelligent CANopen master hardware with its own controlller. Though the application software runs in the normal Windows user context and so there are no real-time conditions.

In the Windows real-time extension »RealTime Suite« of Kithara, the automation part of the application is executed in a real-time context. This enables to use low-cost passive CAN cards as well of different vendors, where currently interfaces of esd, EMS, IXXAT, Kvaser and PEAK Systems are supported.

The CANopen Master of Kithara sends and receives PDOs event-driven, in a synchronized manner as well as on request by the master. SDO exchange can be done with unlimited data length. Additional features are timers, receiving Emergency objects and several Network Management Services (NMT), for example “Node Guarding” or “Heartbeat”.

The real-time application can be implemented in all programming languages which generate native code, for example C/C++ or Delphi. For C#, it is possible to transfer the time-critical parts of the control application into a DLL. Because of the integration of the CANopen Master into the »RealTime Suite«, it is achievable to use different combinations of protocols, like EtherCAT or Profibus.