sercos EasySlave enables inexpensive activation of I/Os

The automation bus sercos is not only the ideal bus solution for drives. I/O slaves can also be integrated easily. This can be accomplished thanks to the FPGA-based single chip controller EasySlave, for which the technology transfer center Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Systemtechnik (Steinbeis-TZS) has developed an evaluation kit.

EasySlave enables the inexpensive and flexible activation of sercos slave devices, thus making it even easier to connect sensors and actuators. EasySlave is equipped with a real-time channel with one input and one output connection and supports cycle times as low as 31.25 microseconds. The I/O applications are synchronized in the sercos cycle. “sercos EasySlave can be integrated in an application with minimal effort in order to achieve various I/O activations,” Peter Lutz, Managing Director at sercos International, explains.

Facilitating a quick and easy introduction to sercos slave development, Steinbeis-TZS offers an EasySlave evaluation kit that contains all relevant materials and documents for commissioning the EasySlave (evaluation circuit board, Ethernet cable, power supply and documentation). The evaluation kit is based on the FPGA type Spartan-6 XC6SLX9 from Xilinx and can be extended using plug-in modules. “The EasySlave evaluation kit makes slave development easy and effortless. Steinbeis-TZS is happy to provide assistance in the integration and commissioning of EasySlave,” Professor Reinhard Keller from Steinbeis-TZS states.

Licenses for applications are granted via sercos International. Different license models are available; member companies of sercos International receive preferential prices. A license-free variant of the EasySlave with limited functionality as a bitstream is also available under the product name EasySlave-IO.