Digital factories can dynamically adjust the production line on the fly, based on new or changing requirements. To achieve complete industrial convergence, automated equipment must also possess self-diagnostic and optimization capabilities. Go-IO pushes intelligence closer to the edge, enabling active monitoring and communication of equipment status and health information, as well as increased performance and productivity. The reference design also meets the increasingly stringent size and power requirements of PLCs, providing a solution that is 10 times smaller with 50% less power consumption compared to its industry-leading predecessor, the Pocket IO.
Go-IO contains the following technologies:
• MAX14819: Dual-channel, low-power IO-Link® master transceiver with sensor/actuator power supply drivers
• MAX22192: 8-channel octal digital input with isolated Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), wire break detection, and precise inrush current limiters in a 6mm x 10mm package. The MAX22192 was announced today as part of Maxim's expanded Digital IO portfolio (read the digital input press release here: www.maximintegrated.com/digital-input-pr)
• MAX14912: 8-channel digital output driver with 640mA high-side (HS) switches or configurable push-pull outputs, capable of achieving switching speeds of 200kHz while providing fast and secure patented inductive backfeed protection against degaussing.
• The MAXM22511 integrates a 2.5kVRMS isolated power and digital isolated RS-485 transceiver module supporting data rates of 25Mbps with +/- 35kV ESD protection in a compact 9.5mm x 11.5mm package. (See the press release dated October 31, 2018)
• The MAX14483/MAX14130 is a 6-channel, 3.75kVRMS low-power digital galvanic isolator in a compact 20-pin SSOP package. The SSOP is a 4-channel, 1kVRMS digital galvanic isolator in a small 16-pin QSOP package.
• The MAXM15462 Himalaya uSLIC™ voltage regulator ICs and power modules are designed for cooler, smaller, and simpler industrial power supplies.
The flexible, robust, and open-source Go-IO reference design is ideal for industrial automation, building automation, and industrial robotics applications. It features 12 highly integrated ICs, 17 IOs supporting multiple digital IO configurations, a 4-channel IO-Link master to provide a universal IO interface for both analog and digital sensors, and a robust, isolated 25Mbps RS-485 communication channel that provides a reliable multipoint data network for quickly uploading status and health information to a local data lake or the cloud.
Key Benefits
• Increased productivity: Enriches automated factory equipment with real-time health and status information, enabling factory teams to quickly isolate and resolve issues to maintain high uptime levels.
• Decentralized control: Shifts control and intelligence from a central command center to each automated piece of equipment, allowing equipment to adapt on the fly to changes in product specifications or manufacturing needs.
• Small size, low power consumption: Packs more intelligence into a smaller space—10 times smaller (less than 1 cubic inch) and 50 percent less energy-efficient than its predecessor.
Comment
“Implementing industrial IoT requires increasing the number of connected smart sensors and PLCs within state-of-the-art factory equipment. Solutions that aim to accelerate the adoption of these devices should prove valuable for manufacturing products as diverse as automobiles, cosmetics, and sporting goods,” says Robbie Galoso, principal research analyst at IHS Markit.
“As factories and manufacturing plants collect data from an increasing number of automated machines, PLCs need to be smaller to fit on a sub-assembly line or a complex machine. Go-IO promotes industrial convergence with a next-generation industrial IoT solution that increases productivity and provides machine-level health and status information for critical, real-time decision-making,” says Jeff DeAngelis, managing director of the Industrial and Healthcare Business Unit at Maxim Integrated.
Availability and prices
Go-IO is available as MAXREFDES212# on Maxim's website for $495. The reference design consists of an application processor, a motherboard, and the Go-IO module.
