LISLE, IL – Hilscher North America, Inc. announces immediate availability of the netRAPID Communications Module, a fully functional network controller that delivers simple fieldbus integration with low-cost and modular design. With a 32 mm X 32 mm footprint, netRAPID is soldered directly on a printed circuit board to integrate fieldbus and Real-Time Ethernet slave communications in compact automation devices.
For device manufacturers, netRAPID combines the best of both worlds: the cost-sensitive solution found in the chip world with the fully functional design and integration delivered by a custom module. Built on Hilscher?'s flexible netX chip, which supports all popular network protocols, netRAPID takes advantage of tried-and-tested protocol stacks, development kits and support services. Development time for network integration can be reduced from months to weeks, which speeds up product time-to-market while minimizing the need for in-house integration expertise.
The netX chip carrier includes all essential components of a communication board: network controller, transformer and driver components, RAM and flash memory, and the isolation of the bus. Hardware development involves connecting the LEDs and address switch on the stamp-size module, with connection to the automation device via a flexible dual-port memory interface or fast 50 MHz Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus. Software development involves programming the dual-port memories or the SPI connection, and can be performed with the netRAPID Evaluation Board. The evaluation board includes all necessary documentation and the slave protocol stack is available as loadable firmware, a linkable object module or as source code. The netRAPID family will support all popular fieldbus and industrial Ethernet protocols, including PROFIBUS, PROFINET, CC-Link, EtherCAT, DeviceNet, EtherNet/IP, CANopen, Modbus, Sercos and Ethernet POWERLINK.
About Hilscher GmbH and Hilscher North America
Hilscher Gesellschaft für Systemautomation mbH specializes in products, technologies and services at the leading edge of industrial communications. Core products include gateways, PC cards, embedded modules, chips, controllers and supporting software stacks. Hilscher?'s netX system-on-a-chip solution is a highly integrated network controller optimized for communication and maximum data throughput. netX provides support for more than 20 different master and slave stacks for industrial protocols, including DeviceNet, PROFIBUS, CANopen, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, Modbus TCP and EtherCAT, among others. With universal network connectivity, netX is the backbone of the company?'s extensive family of network interface products and custom solutions.
Hilscher North America, based in a Chicago suburb, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hilscher GmbH.
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