Connectivity in network for applications of high exigencia
The NP40 has support for all the networks Fieldbus and industrial Ethernet more important. This means that an alone platform of hardware can bear a lot of different networks only downloading the new firmware. In consequence, is not necessary to begin a project of development for each new network. The new technology does the easiest life for the manufacturers of devices since they can install an interface of communication inside the product and simply download the firmware that need before his products arrive to the final customer.
Performance: for demanding applications, allows movement and synchronisation
The NP40 allows a very low latency, of some microseconds. Practically, the demora is invalid between the network and the guest API, what makes possible to bear applications of high exigencia that require profiles of movement or synchronisation.
“What have observed during the last years is that industrial Ethernet now requires a greater performance and a new architecture”, says Jörgen Palmhager, director of operations in HMS. “The new networks industrial Ethernet specialise increasingly and more, what demands a lot to a processor of network, that has to handle the “translation” between the different networks and protocols. In the NP40, HMS combines a powerful core ARM Cortex M3 with a structure FPGA in the same chip, allowing so much the fast transfer of data like the synchronisation in real time in hardware/FPGA. The technology of the NP40 awards to the users the best of both worlds. They benefit with the speed and precision that need for applications demandantes, and the flexibility to adapt to different networks only downloading a new firmware. The solution bases in the technology SmartFusion (intelligent fusion) of Microsemi, but integrates the only blocks of HMS, like our RTATM (accelerator in real time, by his acronyms in English) for the industrial communication”.
Inside the NP40
The Anybus NP40 is an only chip processor of network that includes a core ARM of high performance and a structure FPGA (of the English, Field-Programmable Gate Array). The core ARM commissions of the protocol and of the applications, whereas the structure FPGA uses to implement several interfaces Ethernet in real time. A switch in real time is integrated cheese cheese inside the structure FPGA and bears cycles synchronised of messages in networks of real time such as Profinet IRT, Powerlink, EtherCAT and Sercos III. Since the processor of network is based in flash, can reprogramar for big quantity of networks different industrial Ethernet.
The NP40 is built with the technology of Microsemi Inc., and his architecture is designed to combine performance, under consumption of power and flexibility in a design of only chip.
Availability
The NP40 already is improving the connectivity of network for industrial devices in pilot installations. The processor of network will be presented in numerous meetings, such as SPS/IPC/Drives in Germany and the Fair of Automation of Rockwell in United States in next autumn. The greater presentation of the processor of network like part of the integrated cheese cheese solutions of Anybus will take place during 2013.
The NP40, in combination with the application software and the protocol Anybus, conforms the solution C40 of Anybus CompactCom.
