17.10.2014

Multi-protocol connectivity for RX64M RENESAS


Renesas and its partner Port GmbH have announced connectivity solutions for CANopen, and industrial Ethernet protocols stacks for the RX64M MCU series. This includes associated design tools.

Solutions for Ethercat and Powerlink are also available as an on-demand option. The solution ensures that the product series is tailored to applications in the manufacturing, automation and process industries.

WORKING WITH PORT GmbH (GERMANY), RENESAS HAS PORTED CANopen, Profinet, and Ethernet/IP software stacks to its latest RX controller. The RX64M is the German company’s 32-bit micro-controller series. It provides a platform for implementing fieldbus and communication technologies. It offers RAM of up to 512 KiB, up to 4 MiB of embedded flash, up to three CAN channels, and two integrated Ethernet MACs.

The MCU series comprises 112 products that all include high-speed flash memory clocked at 120 MHz. They are based on the RXv2 CPU core, which provides a 4,25 Core Mark/MHz performance. “The evolution and connectivity of industrial equipment in manufacturing and building automation have prompted significant growth in products that include comprehensive communications technologies,” explained Bernd Westhoff, Product Manager at Renesas Electronics Europe. “Our RX64M products are a response to this trend, as well as to the need for a large memory capacity to support Ethernet, CAN, USB, and many other communications functions.”

Combined with the extended CPU core architecture, they produce total computing power of over 240 DMIPS when executing code from integrated zero-wait state flash memory. The MCUs also provide processing performance for computing operations, due to their integrated 32-bit multiplier, a single-precision floating-point unit (FPU), and an extended 32-bit barrel shifter.

The stacks and drivers provided by Port meet stringent coding and documentation rules, which were developed by the company itself. These rules ensure that CANopen only needs a small amount of memory while enabling high execution speeds and easy-to-read code. The company also offers active support for device certification (CiA, EPSG, PNO, etc.).