Düsseldorf, Karlsruhe, Germany, November 22, 2011 – Renesas Electronics Europe, a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, and TMG Technologie und Engineering GmbH today announced the availability of the jointly-developed Remote-IO toolbox. The toolbox contains a set of hardware and software modules that together build a base for complete remote-IO products ready to be certified for PROFINET, and to pass Ethernet/IP plugfests and vendor declaration for IO-Link.
The hardware part of the toolbox includes an uplink controller based on Renesas’ microcontroller (MCU) families, either the RX600 or the V850. The MCU operates the software stack of initially either PROFINET RT or Ethernet/IP to interface to the industrial Ethernet network. The MCU also operates the fieldbus integration to interface to the IO-Link master stack and the required tool communication module to interface to the device tool. The downlink interface is based on a stacked SPI protocol to interface to Renesas IO-Link 2ch master devices that build a maximum of 16 IO channels to sensors and actuators. Renesas’ optocoupler families provide the required galvanic isolation. The well-proven Elmos AG IO-Link PHY technology is incorporated in the 2ch IO-Link master devices together with Renesas’ 78K0R16-bit MCU that operates the master stack.
The software part of the toolbox comes from TMG and contains the stack software for PROFINET RT and Ethernet/IP, the tool communication and fieldbus integration and the IO-Link master stacks. In addition, TMG also includes its IO-Link device tool and a soft PLC demo to interface with a software controller to verify functionality.
The toolbox components can be used as a complete IO-package to provide customers a significant time-to-market advantage as the related hardware and software components together have already been used for the certification of PROFINET products, passed Ethernet/IP plugfests and all tests for IO-Link vendor declaration. Alternatively, customers can select those parts that are required from the toolbox to form their individual Remote-IO. It is also possible to modify parts of the software modules in accordance with customers’ own specifications.
All hardware components are supported by and available from Renesas Electronics Europe and all software modules are supported by and available from TMG.
The toolbox can be ordered through Renesas Electronics Europe for evaluation. For production, the software is once licensed through TMG with costs based on a royalty and a one-time fee.
About TMG Technologie und Engineering GmbH
TMG TE is one of the leading service providers in industrial communication technology and focused to PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, PROFIBUS and IO-Link as well as TCI, FDT and EDD. TMG TE is member of PROFIBUS International, ODVA and the IO-Link consortium and is accredited as competence centre for PROFINET, PROFIBUS and IO-Link. TMG TE possesses own basic technology and has already realized various master and device integrations based on own or partners’ technology.
About Renesas Electronics Europe
Renesas Electronics Europe with its Business Operations Centre located in Dusseldorf, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), the world’s number one supplier of microcontrollers and a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontrollers, SoC solutions, secure MCU applications and a broad-range of analog and power devices. Renesas Electronics’ European structure is comprised of three dedicated business groups serving the region’s key markets: automotive, communications & consumer and industrial. The business groups are supported by the Engineering Group, which itself includes the Engineering Design Centre; the European Quality Centre that provides technical support to local customers in Europe; and the European Technology Centre to design leading-edge products specifically for the European market. Further information about Renesas Electronics Europe can be found at: www.renesas.eu.
