This spring, several CANopen profile documents have been improved, the nonprofit CAN in Automation (CiA) association reports.
The CiA international users’ and manufacturers’ group develops and maintains specifications, recommendations and application notes for Controller Area Networks, the internationally standardized (ISO 11898) serial networks. The association also recently published CANopen specifications. CANopen comprises higher-layer protocols and profile specifications for different devices and applications. Additionally, the profiles for motor starters (CiA 442), spreaders (CiA 444 series), RFID devices (CiA 445), and programmable power supplies (CiA 453) have been updated.
All CiA specifications are going to apply the inclusive language guidelines by international standardization bodies. Especially, the terms “master” and “slave” are substituted by appropriate terms. In CANopen, the terms “manager” “and “server” are used, e.g. NMT manager and NMT server respectively LSS manager and LSS server. This reflects the communication behavior, where the servers only communicate on request of the manager.
CiA also released the CiA 106 technical report. It contains the CANopen connector pin-assignment recommendations from the predecessor CiA 303-1 document, plus references to other pin-assignment specifications and standards. CiA 106 is a single-source reference for CAN connectors independent of the used higher-layer protocols or the application field.
