November 26, 2013
TTTech, the leading supplier of dependable networking solutions based on time-triggered technology and modular safety platforms, has developed a multi-purpose Generic Safety Controller Board with a dual channel Deterministic Ethernet (TTEthernet) communication interface. Based on components designed to address functional safety requirements, this board allows to create customized safety controller units with a large number and variety of safety I/Os for stand-alone use or as part of fail-operational networked control systems.
The pre-certified boards reduce the time-to-market for customized safety controller units intended for networked industrial applications with high availability and safety requirements. The Generic Safety Controller Board enables implementation of safety controller units with multiple safety-related I/O interfaces in various form factors. A customized I/O board in combination with the Generic Safety Controller Board and an appropriate housing forms a safety controller unit.
This rugged board offers RS232, SPI, CAN, and dual channel TTEthernet communication interfaces. The safety controller board contains a dual-core lock-step TMS570 MCU (Hercules™) from Texas Instruments in combination with the "safety companion" chip for power monitoring, CPU watchdog function, and fail-safe code execution. I/O interfaces available for the user’s safety control applications include GPIO (general purpose digital inputs and outputs), analog inputs, PWM outputs, and advanced I/O functions using the NHET unit.
All of these interfaces have diagnostic capabilities according to IEC 61508 SIL 2, making the Generic Safety Controller Board a powerful and flexible building block for complex safety control functions. "With our Generic Safety Controller Board we address various industrial applications with high availability and safety requirements," states Dr. Markus Plankensteiner, Director Sales & Marketing Industrial at TTTech. "The board is intended to be implemented within custom-designed hardware I/O structures satisfying the system integrator’s needs."
The Generic Safety Controller Board comes with safety certifiable firmware, run-time system, and drivers for I/O and network interfaces. A safety manual and certification artifacts for IEC 61508 and related safety standards are available upon request.
