Posted to News on 12th Oct 2015, 13:39
Standardised access to CANopen services from IEC 61131
CAN in Automation (CiA) is releasing the CiA 314 specification, which partly replaces the CiA 405 specification. Other parts of CiA 405 have already been moved to the CiA 302-4 (network variable and process image) and the CiA 306-3 (electronic datasheet) documents.
The CiA 314 document specifies CANopen-specific function blocks, e.g. write or read SDOs (service data objects), query NMT (network management) state or CANopen kernel state. Other function blocks are dedicated for transmitting and receiving EMCY information (emergency messages) as well as for creating object dictionary entries.
Providers of CANopen devices programmable in IEC 61131-3 languages and related Soft-PLCs may implement these function blocks to make the application software portable to other platforms. This increases the re-usability of application programs. CANopen devices programmable in IEC 61131-3 languages are used in factory automation, machine control systems, "intelligent" drives as well as displays, and increasingly in mobile machines.
To learn more about the CiA 314 specification please go to www.can-cia.org.
