Communication solutions for production and test benches

Our automotive products support CAN (both 2.0 and CAN FD), LIN and FlexRay. In addition, preparations are underway to also support Automotive Ethernet, CAN XL and Sent in the future.

HMS products enable access to vehicle communication networks. In addition to the purely physical layer, the products interpret message catalogs and diagnostic data (e.g. software updates). To start up communication, residual bus simulations can be easily created. In addition, the products can be connected to PCs and controllers.

The CANnector family represents the economical standard class in the vehicle world. It allows simple gateway applications to be implemented between CAN- and LIN-based in-vehicle networks, PCs and controllers. At the same time, logging and visualization tasks are supported. The FRC-EP series completes our offering in the performance area with FlexRay, Matlab/Simulink and residual bus simulation support.

A residual bus simulation is required when nodes in an in-vehicle network are not available as real control devices, but signals from them have to be simulated. The remaining, non-physical part of the network (the remaining bus) must therefore be simulated. The creation of a residual bus simulation can be accomplished within a few minutes with our products using existing message catalogs.

Message catalogs such as DBC, Fibex, ARXML or A2L are description formats for the complete communication within an in-vehicle network. These files are used to describe communication settings, data formats (messages, coding of signals within the messages, etc.), security regulations and timing of the participants (control devices) for a complete network.

Due to the use of high-voltage components, electromobility places higher demands on the electrical protection class for the communication products used. Voltages in the range between 400 V, 800 V or even 1000 V, with which HV storage and drive systems operate, can, in extreme cases, induce potential shifts on communication lines and thus destroy communication components. In addition to a precise grounding concept, protection can be achieved by an increased galvanic isolation of the communication interface, e.g. by using galvanically isolated CAN repeaters. As ballasts, these can protect expensive installations from damage.

Depending on the application, different control buses are used. For example, in the area of ​​test bench automation EtherCAT is often used, while in the area of ​​manufacturing and end-of-line testing, automation is dominated by PROFINET, EtherCAT or EtherNet/IP.

In principle, all vehicle data (i.e. the communication between the control units) can be logged. There are different types of logging: message-based and signal-based logging. With message-based logging, all data within the recorded messages is recorded as raw values. With signal-based logging, the messages are decoded before logging and the corresponding physical signal values ​​are recorded according to the definitions within the message catalog.

The engineering tool ACT is the heart of our automotive products. With the tool gateway applications are created, residual bus simulations are configured, and visualizations are described, compiled and loaded onto the products of the FRC/CANnector families, in which the applications then run standalone. The ACT was developed with a high level of user-friendliness in mind, so that simple and targeted creation of configurations is possible with the greatest possible flexibility.

The proportion of software in modern vehicles is continually increasing. This makes it easy to perform improvements and corrections to vehicle components both in development and in production or even at the customer. If an FRC-EP190 or a CANnector is already in use in production, no separate VCI is required to apply software updates. In addition to a diagnostic protocol support (such as DoIP, XCP and similar), the products can also be used as “remote interface” and support at this VCI functions in parallel to gateway functions.