Testing CANopen Lift interoperability

On September 6, 2022, CAN in Automation (CiA) members tested interoperability of their CANopen Lift devices. The lift host controller companies tested the devices of the lift device manufacturers in a one-to-one session.

CiA organized the 20th CANopen Lift plugfest on September 6, 2022 in Nuremberg (Germany). The companies Böhnke + Partner, Georg Kühn Steuerungstechnik, and Thor Engineering (all three from Germany) arrived with their lift host controllers and tested individually the devices of the lift device manufacturers such as Cedes (CH), Elgo Batscale (LI), Epic Power Converters (ES), and Wittur Austria. The most of the participating companies are regular attendees of the plugfest who refine their implementations, fix issues, test new functions, and provide their feedback as an input for CiA 417 specification improvement, explained CiA.

The position supervising units from Cedes and Elgo as well as the car door controller from Wittur Austria and energy converter from Epic Power Converters were tested for their interoperability with the host controllers. Among other tests the position supervising unit’s test modes were tested. According to the participants, the one-to-one session between one host controller and one device remains the most efficient way to test interoperability.

Plugfest background

On request, CiA organizes plugfests for its members. The purpose of these events is to test and to improve the interoperability of CAN (FD or XL) components or CANopen (FD) devices. This helps component, device, and system designers to provide products compatible to CiA specifications and other standards. System designers get a better understanding of the problems occurring during component respectively device integration, explained the organization.

According to CiA, the participants learn from each other and together can solve interoperability issues. They share their experiences regarding functionality of CAN components, CANopen devices, and CAN-based network systems. The results of plugfests are a valuable input for improving of the related CiA specifications. CANopen Lift plugfests focus on interoperability testing of the controllers, sensors, and actuators implemented according to the CANopen application profile for lifts (CiA 417).

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