AN-001

Network Options for DigiFlex Servo Drives

message types improve on this time, but update

Introduction rates close to 1Khz are possible.
ADVANCED Motion Controls®’ DigiFlex®
Performance™ servo drives offer a variety of
RS232 / RS485 (serial)
network options for connecting servo drives in a
multi-axis configuration. Choosing the right The serial drives offer an economical
network depends on a variety of factors such as asynchronous interface. RS232 supports single-
required bandwidth, update rate, performance, axis solutions with reasonable diagnostics better
and cost. The network options supported in suited toward low-bandwidth applications. The
ADVANCED Motion Controls’ DigiFlex DPR series supports RS232/485, and the DPC
Performance servo drives are outlined below. series supports RS232 as a secondary interface.
CANOpen (CAN) RS232
A robust serial protocol that is low cost and offers • Inexpensive hardware
enhanced diagnostic and control capabilities with • Simple 3 wire bus (TX, RX, and GND)
reasonable bandwidth. DigiFlex Performance • Speeds up to 115.2K baud are possible
CANOpen drives also support RS232 as a
secondary communication channel. DriveWare RS485
software can run over the RS232 channel during • Supports multiple nodes (up to 32)
operation to monitor quantities in real time • Speeds higher than RS232 supported,
making system design and commissioning fast. up to 921.6K.
Visit http://www.can-cia.org/ for more • Full-Duplex (RS485 4-wire only) or Half-
information. Some of the strengths of CANOpen Duplex (RS422 2-wire).
are:
• 3-wire bus is all that is needed to How Fast is Serial?
connect drives together (CAN_H, CAN_L
and GND). Serial messages can be longer than CAN. A
• Differential transmission for noise read command to a 16-bit index takes 8
immunity. databytes. The reply is another 12 bytes. The
• Up to 1Mbit/sec speeds possible. serial interfaces are asynchronous, and have a
typical delay of 150uS between master and drive
• Up to 128 nodes per CAN network.
messages.
• Robust message arbitration with collision
detection/prevention built into the
RS232 at 115.2k
physical layer.
8 Bytes Out: 64 bits / 115.2K = 560sec
• Many microcontrollers have built in CAN
Typical Asynchronous Delay =150sec
ports.
12 Bytes In: 96 bits / 115.2kK = 834sec
• CAN Hardware for many different
platforms readily available (Desktop,
PC/104, etc.) Total Time = 1.544msec.
• Many different operating systems
RS485 at 921.6K
supported (Windows, VxWorks, Linnux)
8 Bytes Out: 64 bits / 921.6K = 70sec
• Bi-directional (non-polled)
communication possible. Typical Asynchronous Delay = 150sec
12 Bytes in: 96 bits / 921.6K = 104sec
• PVT – Position,Velocity Time trajectory
interpolated by the drive from points sent
Total Time = 324sec.
by the host. Reduces overhead at the
host. Countless trajectories possible.
• Coordinated motion capabilities. Some drive processes cause the delay between
the messages to increase, particularly those
How Fast Can Messages Be Sent? involving NVM. If synchronous data is required,
The average CAN message is 130 bits, so it consider CANopen or EtherCAT products.
takes 130sec per message PER NODE to
physically send out a message. Different CAN

Release Date: Revision: ADVANCED Motion Controls · 3805 Calle Tecate, Camarillo, CA, 93012
Page 1 of 2
6/12/2018 3.0 ph# 805-389-1935 · fx# 805-389-1165· www.a-m-c.com
 AN-001

Network Options for DigiFlex Servo Drives

EtherCAT® • Off-the-shelf EtherCAT masters

available that implement full language
A high-performance Ethernet based deterministic features of IEC 61131.
network protocol developed by Beckhoff. Visit • Open protocol – Designers can
the EtherCAT Technology Group implement their own EtherCAT master.
http://www.ethercat.org for more information.
• Secondary USB port for direct
Some important features of EtherCAT are:
connection to DriveWare. Can monitor
quantities using DriveWare without
• Transmission rates up to 2x interrupting over EtherCAT.
100Mbit/sec.
• Based off standard Ethernet for
100baseT.
• Real-time down to the I/O level. How Fast Is EtherCAT?
• Multiple topologies possible - Line, Star,
EtherCAT is based off 100BaseT physical layer
Tree, Daisy Chain + Drop Lines. Can be
and can send multiple datagrams per EtherCAT
used in any combination.
packet. Cycle times can reach as low as
• Requires no special Ethernet hardware –
100sec.
Standard Network Interface Cards (NIC)
can be used for EtherCAT.
• CANopen over EtherCAT (CoE) allows
use of CANopen protocol and feature set
over EtherCAT.

Network Options Comparison

CANOpen RS232 RS485 RS485 EtherCAT® POWERLINK

2wire 4wire
Type Serial Serial Serial Serial 100BaseT 100BaseT
Max Speed 1M 115.2K 921.6K 921.6K 2x100M 100M
(bit/sec)
Transfer Mode Half Duplex Half Duplex Half Duplex Full Duplex Full Duplex Half Duplex
Message Time 130 sec 1.54 msec 324sec 324sec ~ ~
Max Nodes 128 1 32 32 65535 240
DigiFlex Part DPCANxx DPRxxxx DPRxxxx DPRxxxx DPExxxx DPPxxxx
Number
Wires To Node 3 3 3 5 2 4
Secondary RS232 N/A RS232 RS232 USB USB
Channel
Relative Cost $$ $ $$ $$ $$ $$

Visit http://www.a-m-c.com to learn more about network options available on DigiFlex Performance series
servo drives.

Release Date: Revision: ADVANCED Motion Controls · 3805 Calle Tecate, Camarillo, CA, 93012
Page 2 of 2
6/12/2018 3.0 ph# 805-389-1935 · fx# 805-389-1165· www.a-m-c.com