Manufacturing

One of the first CAN non-automotive applications was a control system for textile machines. Today, CAN is used in a broad variety of manufacturing industries, mainly as embedded control network. The different requirements of the manufacturing industries have lead to different solutions. Applications areas are:

• Embedded machine control systems

  CAN is used as an embedded network for industrial machine control for example in textile machines, printing machines, injection molding machines, or packaging machines. These embedded control networks link single devices (e.g. I/O modules) as well as sub-systems. Many of these applications are motion control-oriented.

• Factory automation systems

  In factory automation CAN is used to interconnect machines, add-on control units and production sub-systems. Typical applications include conveyors, production data recording, and other end-user configurable systems. In these applications there is a high demand for off-the-shelf plug-and-play capability.

• Process automation systems

  CAN networks are used in process automation systems, e.g. in the manufacturing of glass. Rather than hard-wire sensors, drives, and controllers to each process point, the network connects these devices and enables easier control and diagnostics. Some of the process automation systems require an intrinsically safe physical layer as specified in CiA 103.

• Power generation systems

  In power generation systems, CAN networks are used as embedded network e.g. for pitch control systems for wind power systems, photovoltaic control systems, fuel-cell systems, battery back-up systems, and other electrical power generations systems (e.g. diesel engine, block heat and power plant, biogas plant, heat pump). CAN may also be used as power management system in residential houses, small company facilities, and farms.