Key factors in product development today are availability, product quality and time-to-market. The latter in particular is steadily gaining in importance, leading to shorter product life cycles and accelerated development of new products. The trend is therefore moving away from individual developments for dedicated products toward a flexible, modular platform strategy.
The KUNBUS industrial communication solution, together with the AM64x and AM243x processor family from Texas Instruments, offers you a new holistic and future-proof approach to equipping your devices for industrial real-time communication.
Currently the following protocol stacks are supported
IO-Link and fieldbus communication on a single processor
The integrated IO-Link gateway interface ensures that data can be exchanged easily between fieldbus and IO-Link level. This allows devices to be integrated into a network simultaneously as an IO-Link master and as a fieldbus device. The individual communication protocols run independently of each other on the different cores of the AM64x and AM243x processors, which ensures the best possible performance and flexibility.
Interprocessor communication
The interprocessor communication and the physical as well as software separation of communication and application not only ensures the best possible performance, but also the greatest possible flexibility in the selection of processors for the respective application. The so-called transport layer not only serves as a unified interface for communication between the individual cores of the AM64x and AM243x processors, but can also be used as an interface to separately deployed application processors.
Use case on AM64x
In this use case, the application and communication run on an AM64x processor. While the application runs on the Arm Cortex-A53, up to 4 Arm Cortex-R5F cores are available for communication. Different communication protocols can run simultaneously on these R5F cores, e.g. PROFINET and IO-Link or PROFINET and EtherNet/IP.
Use case on AM243x
In this use case, an AM243x handles the communication, while a separate processor is responsible for the application. Since the AM243x has up to two dual-core Arm Cortex-R5F cores, different communication protocols can run simultaneously, e.g. EtherCAT and EtherNet/IP or PROFINET and EtherCAT. The independent application processor communicates with the AM243x via the transport layer.
Easy licensing model thanks to One-stop shop approach
Thanks to the revolutionary one-stop shop approach by Texas Instruments, it has never been simpler to get started. The protocol stacks are already included by default in the official Texas Instruments SDKs for the AM64x and AM243x processors. The licenses of the integrated industrial communication protocols required for later productive use, are already part of the processor`s purchase price. To put it another way, customers can order directly their processors from Texas Instruments and don`t have to worry about separate stack licensing - Simple as that.
If you require extended support or integration services for the integration of the AM64x or AM243x processors into your devices, please contact us without obligation.
The advantages of AM64x and AM243x processor family
System on a Chip
Application and communication on a single processor, but on different cores allows a compact hardware footprint while maintaining high and stable performance.
Scalable
The AM64x and AM243x processors are available in different versions and performance classes and thus cover a broad range of applications.
Future-proof
As one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world, TI has inventory and manufacturing strategies in place to allow them to offer products that exist for a decade or more. Further information
Related links to the SDKs from Texas Instruments
Info about Software Development Kit for AM243x Microcontroller
Info about Software Development Kit for AM64x Processor.