CAN interfaces for harsh environments

Kvaser AB announced a Rugged family of controller area network (CAN) to USB interfaces that are designed to operate in the harshest environments, including water submersion. Kvaser’s Rugged interfaces have been designed to meet the needs of engineers performing remote diagnosis or network troubleshooting in applications such as automotive, mining, marine, military, oil and gas exploration, military, industrial and heavy machinery, the company said.

All models within Kvaser’s Rugged interface range have a lightweight, yet highly durable, corrosion resistant aluminum alloy housing, the company said. A heavy-duty polyurethane coating that seals the unit and cabling to IP67 standard for water and dust ingress provides further protection. Vibration, shock and drop proof, Kvaser’s Rugged range operates over an expanded temperature range from –40 C to 85 C. 

Commenting on the announcement, Lars-Berno Fredriksson, president of Kvaser AB, said: “With the Rugged product line, we have interfaces that meet the demands of field engineers working in tough real-life environments, not the laboratory. Our Rugged interfaces are light and easy to use, yet are far more durable than competitor products, which often look tougher than they really are.”

Rugged versions of Kvaser’s popular Leaf Light, Leaf SemiPro HS and Leaf Professional HS one channel CAN to USB interfaces are among the units available. The Leaf Light is perhaps the easiest way to connect a computer to a CAN bus by means of the USB 2.0 compliant connector and 9-pin D-SUB connector. Capable of time-stamping CAN messages to a 100 microsecond precision and handling up to 8000 messages per second, Leaf Light has made its name as the work-horse of USB to CAN interfaces.

Leaf SemiPro Rugged HS and Leaf Professional Rugged HS also reportedly offer MagiSync clock synchronisation, enabling users to easily connect several MagiSync-equipped interfaces to a PC. Leaf SemiPro Rugged HS reportedly handles up to 15,000 messages per second, whilst Leaf Professional Rugged HS has a 20,000 per second capacity. Both models support silent mode for analysing tools such as AFT MARC I, ATI Apollo, ATI CANlab, ATI Vision, Kvaser CanKing and National Instruments DIAdem.

The Leaf Rugged range is complemented by Kvaser’s Memorator R SemiPro combined data logger. Notably, by soldering the SD-disk to the PCB the vibration resistance of the Memorator R SemiPro has reportedly been further enhanced to ensure error free operation, even when exposed to severe shocks.

https://www.controleng.com/new-products/industrial-networks.html

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