System-on-Chip offers Ethernet and fieldbus connectivity.
Press Release Summary:
With available network stacks, netX System on Chip (SoC) can be Master or Slave for Ethernet and fieldbus technologies in industrial control products that require built-in network connectivity. Product can also be used as network co-processor, leveraging protocol stacks and interfacing to host via dual port memory, USB, or serial. Along with various peripherals, SoC features processors that can be programmed to interface to virtually any network physical layer and protocol.
Original Press Release:
Hilscher Releases 1st System on Chip with Built-In Real-Time Ethernet and Fieldbus Networks for Industrial Control Products Requiring Connectivity
July 17th, 2006 - Lisle, IL - Hilscher North America Inc. is pleased to announce the release of netX; a System on Chip (SoC) for many industrial control products that require built in network connectivity. With the available network stacks, netX can be a Master or Slave for all the major industrial Ethernet and field bus technologies; Ethernet/IP (with CIP SYNC), PROFINET (RT & IRT), EtherCAT, ETHERNET POWERLINK, SERCOS III, PROFIBUS, InterBus, DeviceNet, AS-I, CAN, Ethernet, and Serial.
netX has built in peripherals including; 3-UART's, I/O, USB port, Color LCD controller, real time clock, PWM Inverter, Encoder input, A/D Converter, I2C interface, SPI and status LED's. Applications can be developed for netX in LINUX, Windows CE, RCX (a real time OS) and soon VxWorks. With its ability to run an application program and its extensive list of built in peripherals, netX is the ideal SoC solution for most network enabled control products including; I/O blocks, drives, MMI's, PLC's, Scales, Bar Code readers, network gateways, etc. In addition, netX can be used as a network co-processor, leveraging Hilscher's protocol stacks and interfacing to the host via dual port memory, USB or serial.
The netX series of chips utilizes a patented arraignment of processors that can be programmed to interface to virtually any network physical layer and protocol from simple serial protocols to high speed networks such as 100 Mbit Ethernet. netX 500 offers four communication channels, two of which may be used as Ethernet or fieldbus and the remaining only for fieldbus's. The two Ethernet Channels are also interconnected with a switch or hub functionality that can utilize the IEEE 1588 Timer Function that is the basis for all the real time Ethernet technologies.
netX 100 and netX 500 are currently available along with four development boards for; HMI applications, simple I/O, a communications co-processor or basic control products. Development tools such as the JTAG Debugger Tantion and the HiTOP Software suite is available from Hitex.
Value Proposition for OEM's:
Due to the continuing proliferation of industrial networking technologies, many product manufacturers use third party communications co-processors to maintain broad network connectivity without dedicating significant engineering resources to the many network technologies available in the market today. This co-processor architecture essentially doubles the cost of many control products. With netX; manufacturers can continue to outsource the engineering of communications protocols while integrating their products into a single chip solution thus significantly reducing manufactured costs. In addition, one board design can now be used for all network versions thus increasing production volume and lowering manufactured costs.
Pricing for netX 100 including a license to RCX and a network slave stack is $27.50/1,000 chips. Master stacks are also available but licensed and sold separately.
About Hilscher:
The Hilscher group of companies are a 100+ person strong ISO 9001 certified manufacturer of fieldbus products headquartered in Germany with subsidiaries in; Italy, France, Switzerland, Japan and the United States. We offer products with master and slave technology for PROFIBUS, DeviceNet, InterBus, AS-I, ModbusTCP, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, SERCOS, SERCOS III, Modbus Plus, Modbus, CANopen, AS-I, ControlNet, etc. Our product architecture is truly scalable with a single driver interface for both master and slave interfaces of all networks and all form factors. A single configuration tool SYCON.net is used to configure all our products. Drivers are available for all versions of Windows, QNX, Linux, and RTX, VxWorks, etc. With a Staff of over 100, the Hilscher family of companies are global leaders in field bus technologies.
