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System Board 5976
MAXREFDES63#: 8-CHANNEL DIGITAL OUTPUT MICRO
PLC CARD
DETAILS
MAXREFDES63# System Board
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Introduction
Industry 4.01 marks the fourth industrial revolution, characterized by distributed, intelligent
control systems. Breaking from a past with large, centralized programmable-logic
controllers, Industry 4.0 allows for highly configurable, highly modular factories, which
accept an ever increasing number of sensor inputs, while operating at a higher output than
ever before. The ultra-small PLC, or MicroPLC, lies at the heart of the Industry 4.0 factory,
providing high performance with ultra-low power consumption, in an ultra-small package.
MAXREFDES63# is Maxim Integrated’s Micro PLC octal-channel, digital output card.
The MAXREFDES63# reference design (Figure 1) features eight-channel digital outputs
with isolated power and data. The design integrates a 600VRMS data isolation
(MAX14850); a STM32F1 microcontroller; a FTDI USB-UART bridge; a high-efficiency DC
-DC converter (MAX17515); and isolated/regulated +22V, and +5V power rails
(MAX17498C). The entire system typically operates at less than 400mW and fits into a
space roughly the size of a credit card.
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Figure 1. The MAXREFDES63# reference design block diagram.
Features
•
•
•
•
Applications
Isolated power and data
Micro PLC form factor
Device drivers
Example C source code
• Industrial control and automation
• Process control
• PLC
Detailed Description of Hardware
The power requirement is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Power Requirement for the MAXREFDES63# Reference Design
Power Type
Input Voltage (V)
Input Current (mA, typ)
On-board isolated power
24
15 (All LEDs on) + Load Current
Note: STM32 and FTDI are powered by USB separately.
The MAX14900 (U400) is an octal power switch with per-channel configuration feature.
The ultra-efficient MAX17498C (U102) generates the isolated +22V, and +5V rails from a
24V supply. The MAX14850 (U301) digital data isolators provide data isolation. The
combined power and data isolation achieved is 600VRMS.
The MAX17515 (U101) step-down DC-DC converter converts the +5V supply from the
USB to +3.3V and powers the STM32 (U1) microcontroller and FTDI (U201) USB-UART
bridge.
Detailed Description of Firmware
The MAXREFDES63# uses the on-board STM32F1 microcontroller to communicate with
the octal power switch. The user enters configuration data through a terminal program and
the digital outputs will be updated. The simple process flow is shown in Figure 2. The
firmware is written in C using the Keil µVision5 tool.
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Figure 2. The MAXREFDES63# firmware flowchart.
The complete source code is provided to speed up customer development. Code
documentation can be found in the corresponding firmware platform files.
Quick Start
Required equipment:
• Windows® PC with a USB port
• MAXREFDES63# board
• 24V power supply
Procedure
The complete source code is provided to speed up customer development. Code
documentation can be found in the corresponding firmware platform files.
1. Turn off or keep off the 24V power supply.
2. The MAXREFDES63# utilizes the FTDI USB-UART bridge IC. If Windows cannot
automatically install the driver for the FTDI USB-UART bridge IC, the driver is
available for download from www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm.
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3. Connect the negative terminal of the 24V power supply to the PGND connector on
the MAXREFDES63# board. Connect the positive terminal of the 24V power supply
to the +24V connector on the MAXREFDES63# board.
4. Turn on the 24V power supply.
5. Connect the USB cable from the PC to the MAXREFDES63# board.
6. Open Hyperterminal or similar Terminal program on the PC. Find the appropriate
COM port, usually a higher number port, such as COM4, or COM6, and configure
the connection for 921600, n, 8, 1, none (flow control).
7. The MAXREFDES63# software will display a menu (Figure 3)
8. Press any key in the terminal program to start the output configuration.
9. Enter the Configuration Byte in hex format.
10. Enter the desired output data in hex format.
11. Verify the output status by observing the 8 green LEDs under connectors J400 and
J401 on the board. These LEDs are connected to the digital outputs of the card.
Figure 3. Terminal program main menu.
Lab Measurements
Figure 4 and Figure 5 shows the status of the LEDs with the output configuration byte set
to 0xFF and the output data byte set to 0xAA.
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Figure 4. Test setup.
Figure 5. Test outputs.
Reference
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1. The new generation of manufacturing production is called Industry 4.0 in Germany
and Smart Manufacturing System elsewhere. See, Securing the future of German
manufacturing industry, Recommendations for implementing the strategic
initiative INDUSTRIE 4.0, Final report of the Industrie 4.0 Working Group,
Industry 4.0 Working Group, Acatech National Academy of Science and Engineering,
April 2013,
www.acatech.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Baumstruktur_nach_Website/Acatech/root/de/Material_fuer_Sonderseiten/
Industrie_4.0/Final_report__Industrie_4.0_accessible.pdf. Henceforth cited as
Industrie 4.0. Although the Industrie 4.0 report is focused on Germany, the
implications of the German research and findings are recognized for industry in other
countries. See also Ferber, Stefan, “Industry 4.0 – Germany takes the first steps
toward the next industrial revolution,” Bosch Software Group, Blogging the Internet
of Things, October 16, 2013, http://blog.bosch-si.com/industry-4-0-germany-takesfirst-steps-toward-the-next-industrial-revolution/.
There are many sources for Smart Manufacturing Leadership. An interesting
summary report of issues and topics can be found at the Smart Manufacturing
Leadership Coalition Committee Working Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.,
Thursday, October 20, 2011, https://smart-processmanufacturing.ucla.edu/workshops/2011-workshop/presentations/SMLC%2010-2011v3.pdf. Also see, Implementing 21st Century Smart Manufacturing, Workshop
Summary Report, Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition, June 24, 2011,
https://smart-process-manufacturing.ucla.edu/about/news/Smart%
20Manufacturing%206_24_11.pdf. A simple web search on the topic will reveal
considerably more references.
Windows is a registered trademark and registered service mark of Microsoft Corporation.
http://www.maximintegrated.com/en/design/reference-design-center/system-board/5976.html
12/8/2014