Bueno Electric(BE) made solution for the Sub Sea Project in Norway. In the project, BE offers the Industrial Ethernet Switch with fiber optic interface and CAN to Ethernet Converter. The IP cameras and other intelligent devices are connected to BE industrial Ethernet switches and then transmit via the fiber optic cables under the sea to the control center.

The new Central Station 60213 from Märklin Digital, the hardware for which was designed and manufactured by Kontron, uses CAN as a uniform field-bus for connecting peripherals. With the launch of the station, CAN command semantics have been laid open for users and third party suppliers. The platform, which was introduced in September 2008, is a model railway control system containing over 37 individual components from the leading digital railway system. In addition to existing components it contains a new graphical control interface for adjusting signals and points.
The control station is the central interface for the entire model railway, even for older locomotives. For complex layouts there is cascading and distributed control via mobile control units (company’s Mobile Station 60652). The station has two integrated throttles for independent and simultaneous control of two locomotives. Depending on the decoder type, the locomotives register automatically, are selected from an integrated database or are set-up manually. The information on the locomotive can be transferred from smart cards via a reader. Operation is eased thanks to the user interface that incorporates all the familiar digital control elements associated with Märklin. A physical display panel monitors the points represented with red and green buttons. The intuitive interface enables users without any technical knowledge to understand and use the system.
The station is operated via touch screen and soft keys and is based on processor technology that is also used in PDAs (personal digital assistant). The hardware platform is based on the Marvell PXA270 processor with typical power input of 500 mW. Graphic performance is sufficient for 3D games and video playback, enabling a graphic interface with a resolution of 800 pixels × 400 pixels without time lags. The operating system is a modified Gentoo Linux system. System interfaces allow connection of all the digital equipment developed from the company since introduction of digital technology 24 years ago. The system supports company’s proprietary S88 and 6017 busses as well as four CAN-based field-bus interfaces. It also provides USB and Ethernet interfaces.

Bueno research on industrial Ethernet shows that half of respondents expect to spend more and be more productive in the next 12 months. Ethernet is highly integrated with controls, automation, and instrumentation, according to 40% of respondents. See more Ethernet research details.

The outlook for Ethernet spending is increasing, along with anticipated productivity gains, according to recent Bueno research on mobility, Ethernet, and wireless. Bueno , part of CFE Media, performed the research, in part, to better understand how users of automation, controls, and instrumentation are integrating Ethernet communications (which can support mobility and wireless technologies). These technologies are key components in plant to enterprise integration, industrial Internet, Internet of things (IOT), big data analytics, and manufacturing optimization.

In the next 12 months, nearly half of survey respondents expect to spend more on Ethernet and increase productivity by about the same amount. An additional 40% expect to spend about the same on Ethernet products. The most common products used, specified, and purchased include switches, wire or cable, networks, connectors, and routers. When asked how integrated Ethernet is with controls, automation, and instrumentation, “highly integrated” was the most common answer.

Bueno surveyed readers in October. Survey results from 200 respondents, analysis, and graphics comprise the November report on mobility, Ethernet, and wireless technologies. The summary results below focus on Ethernet. The survey results specific to mobility and wireless will be addressed in a later article.

In this Bueno research on Ethernet:

•46% of respondents see Ethernet as highly integrated with controls, automation, and instrumentation, and 40% see Ethernet as somewhat integrated.

•Around 60% of what’s spent on Ethernet goes to products. Services get somewhat less.

•Among those working on Ethernet-related projects, operations/engineering and business IT were the most common, with manufacturing IT, system integrators, and consultants working on Ethernet somewhat less.

•Ethernet, industrial mobility, and wireless technologies are used 77% on the plant floor or operations areas, and half of respondents use these technologies to interconnect the plant floor with the enterprise.

•Most used Ethernet protocols among respondents were EtherNet/IP, TCP/IP and UDP, Modbus TCP, Profinet, and EtherCAT.

•Around 40% of respondents said Ethernet was easy to install; about the same described it as more challenging to implement.

•Data access is the greatest technology benefit of Ethernet, cited by 63% of respondents.

•Security along with lack of training, education, and support are among major adoption challenges.

CAN in an earthmoving grader and dozer

The GradeStar V5.0 by Leica Geosystems is a 3D earthmoving machine automation grader and dozer system for the construction industry with CAN network. The grader V5.0 has been improved in both hardware and software as compared to previous versions. The system is interchangeable between Leica’s Survey Total Stations and GPS positioning sensors. Its software utilizes the Windows XP operating system as well as a CAN network. The GSM5 a consolidated sensor module is an addition to this version of the grader. It is designed to be a central communications point between positioning sensors and the grader’s interface. GSM5 can also have an internal GPS. The component design allows removal for exchange between machines. The company’s Program Director, Andrew McCleave, said GradeStar V5.0 enables earthmoving operations to be streamlined providing cost and time productivity advantages. The dozer is upgradeable from Leica Geosystems 1D and 2D systems, and from indicate guidance systems to full control and automated systems. It can be used on various machine types, allowing operators to approach different projects in the same way. GradeStar is designed to be moved between machine types (dozer to grader), and allows interchanging with Survey Total Stations or GPS systems .

CAN protocol specification

CAN Specification 2.0 describes the base frame format (using 11-bit CAN-identifier) and the extended frame format (using 29-bit CAN-identifier).

In order to distinguish base and extended frame format the identifier extension (IDE) bit in the control field of the CAN message, as it is defined in CAN Specification 2.0 Part A, is used. This is done in such a way that the frame format in CAN Specification 2.0 Part A is equivalent to the base frame format and therefore is still valid. Furthermore, the extended frame format has been defined so that messages in base format and extended format can coexist within the same network.

The extended frame format has some trade-offs: The bus latency time is longer (in minimum 20 bit-times), messages in extended format require more bandwidth (about 20%), and the error detection performance is lower (because the 15-bit CRC is optimized for frame length of about 80 bit).

This CAN Specification 2.0 consists of two parts, with

• CAN 2.0 Part A (pdf) describing the CAN base frame format;
  
  
• CAN 2.0 Part B (pdf) describing both base and extended frame formats. 
  In order to be compatible with the CAN Specification 2.0 it is required that a CAN implementation is compatible with either Part A or Part B.
  
  
• CAN 2.0 Addendum (pdf)

Implementation guide for the CAN protocol

The Controller Area Network protocol specification document describes the function of the network on the whole. Additionally, Bosch provides a Reference CAN Model to the CAN licensees, supporting the protocol’s implementation into the licensees’ CAN controller nodes.

NOTE: The official CAN specification has been released by ISO as 11898-1 (CAN data link layer protocol). There are two CAN physical layers standardized by ISO (11898-2: CAN high-speed transmission; and ISO 11898-3: CAN fault-tolerant transmission).

Advanced functionality with an easier setup: Creating a product that can be described with that phrase is the Holy Grail for just about every type of technology-dependent industry these days, and the increased demand for faster project completion and plant start-up have made it a necessity in manufacturing. The digital plant that seemed so futuristic just a few years ago is providing operators with functionality that most manufacturers never had before. There are still many strides that need to be taken, however, before faster and easier project completion—and therefore faster plant start-up—becomes normal.

One of the more recent advancements that stands to make significant inroads toward solving this problem is in the area of marshalling cabinets for field wiring, which for years have been used to connect signals from thousands of field devices to a control system in a logical and reliable way. This practice is very effective at grouping signals together according to I/O type, but it can be time consuming. Project schedules, however, are continuously being compressed, leading users to search for alternative methods of connecting the field signals to the control system.

Mounting I/O remotely in the field is one application that has particularly driven changes in marshalling practices. One such change is the concept of universal channel technology and universal cabinets that eliminate the need for marshalling by allowing any signal type, analog or digital, input or output, to be landed on any terminal and configured through software.

At first glance, this emerging approach appears to earn the elusive advanced-but-simple award, as simplifying field-to-control-room architecture can shave weeks and even months off project schedules while still delivering the advanced functionalities in high demand today.

Marshalling concepts

The approach for connecting field signals to process controllers follows a common formula: the field signal wiring is first brought to local junction boxes, which are then consolidated into more centralized junction boxes, which are then grouped into multi-core cables, often with common characteristics like low or high voltage, or analog or discrete. These multi-core cables are then brought into marshalling cabinets, where a variety of methods are used to connect the output of the marshalling cabinet to the control system. The goal of this philosophy is to bring all of the instruments into the control system in an orderly, maintainable, and robust manner that is still cost-effective from an installation and lifecycle standpoint. Three common methodologies for marshalling are half-knit, fan-out, and cross-wire.

Half-knit

Half-knit marshalling performs the scrambling on the system side. Courtesy: Honeywell Process SolutionsHalf-knit marshalling performs the scrambling on the system side. The field cables are terminated on marshalling blocks in pair order, making this very efficient and easy to maintain. This type of marshalling arrangement is suitable in several situations:

•Where cross-wiring is done in a remote instrument enclosure (RIE) or on site. In this case, the scrambling done between the marshalling blocks and I/O terminals is completely contained within the RIE.

•Where marshalling and I/O terminals are in the same system cabinet. Like the RIE example above, the scrambling done between the marshalling blocks and I/O terminals is completely contained within the cabinet.

•Where marshalling and I/O terminals are in different system cabinets, but the cabinets are permanently joined together.

It is less suitable when the marshalling and I/O terminals are in separate cabinets that are assembled in different places, or must be connected to conduct a FAT (factory acceptance test), then disassembled and reconnected when shipped to site. Once delivered on site, the connections between the marshalling and I/O terminals must be redone.

Fan-out

Fan-out marshalling is best where cabinets are connected for testing but disconnected for shipping. Courtesy: Honeywell Process SolutionsFan-out marshalling is appropriate for systems where marshalling cabinets and system cabinets are connected during system staging and FAT, but need to be disconnected and shipped separately. The shipping dates may be different depending on construction schedule; often, marshalling cabinets are required several months earlier than system cabinets.

In this arrangement, field wiring is not terminated in pair order, and a custom termination is required per cable. Any spare pairs are left in the duct, increasing the risk of using those spare cores later in the operational lifecycle of the plant.

After FAT, the cables are disconnected from the system cabinets and coiled up in the bottom of the marshalling cabinets. On site, the cables are connected back to the system cabinets. Care must be given to the connectors, which can be damaged in a construction environment. The cable length must also be known during manufacture, which is much earlier in the process.

Cross-wire

Cross-wire marshalling combines elements of half-knit and fan-out marshalling schemes. Courtesy: Honeywell Process SolutionsFrom a high level, cross-wire marshalling combines elements of the half-knit and fan-out marshalling schemes. Cross-wire marshalling takes field cables and terminates them in pair order. Scrambling is done to the disconnects, fuses, or termination assemblies. Common prefabricated cables are used between the disconnects and system cabinets.

This solution is suitable when using separate marshalling and system cabinets. As different cable lengths are available with the prefabricated cables, the final room layout does not need to be known until much later in the process. Additionally, fuses, relays, or isolators can be installed between the field signals and the I/O terminals.

This marshalling scheme has the advantage of being easier to maintain, and it reduces the total amount of installation time on site since it is just a matter of plugging in prefabricated cables on either end of the solution. It has the obvious drawback of requiring additional cabinet space.

China's "One Belt and One Road" strategy, an initiative to promote economic and cultural ties with neighboring countries, will create opportunities for everyone involved, leaders of foreign media organizations agreed on Thursday.

Media leaders also vowed a deeper cooperation to boost cultural exchange and understanding.

Addressing the media leaders' round-table discussion at Boao Forum for Asia, Jiang Jianguo, minister of the State Council Information Office, said the "One Belt and One Road" strategy will benefit all the countries and the media should serve as a bridge to introduce the concept to the world.

"The strategy needs comprehensive introduction from the media in every country. Media cooperation will promote the strategy, which is good for the regional economy and cultural exchange," Jiang said.

China plans to revive the ancient trade routes that connect Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh with western Europe. The country exports a wide range of products, from high-speed railway technologies to labor-intensive manufacturing sectors, to the markets hungry for development along the routes.

More than 80 percent of the media executives attending the forum from countries including China, Russia and the United States, agreed that the strategy will bring more opportunities than challenges to all the economies.

Kazi A.U. Ahmed, director-general of Bangladesh Betar, a radio station in the southern Asian country, said: "With China's economy growing so quickly, deeper economic, military and cultural ties with China will help Bangladesh to increase its regional influence."

The demand for China-related reports is also rising. Ye Maoxi, chairman of UK-based Propeller TV, said: "A large number of Chinese immigrants and people who are interested in the world's second largest economy will bring a new audience to the media."

Cho Joong-shik, editor of business and technology at South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, said the 21st Century Silk Road initiative should also bring opportunities to East Asian economies that have many resources to offer but are not directly on the Silk Road route.

Echoing Cho's view, Tsutomu Ihiai, foreign news editor of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, said: "The open attitude from China, the initiator of the strategy, will help eliminate misunderstandings and create a win-win situation."