The technology evening was once again hosted virtually and this time it was the turn of Albert Louw from ifm electronic, presenting on the topic: Systems for mobile machinery.
One could ask the question, why would one need specialised hardware for mobile control applications? The answer is that for mobile control one needs a compact design that must adhere to certain standards, for instance, conformance to CAN protocols. These systems can be used on vehicles ranging from construction machines and municipal vehicles, to mining and agriculture.
Controller Area Network or CAN was developed by Bosch in 1983 and production vehicles have featured CAN-based network systems since the late 80s. Albert went further and gave an overview of the various CAN protocols.
CAN messages are manually sent and received by control units and are completely defined by the user. Furthermore, CANopen, a communication protocol describing layers 3 to 7 in the ISO/OSI reference model, was discussed. CANopen allows communication between products from multiple vendors. A typical application might be communication between a controller or display and multiple sensors, a joystick, drives and even remote control, making CANopen a perfect choice for mobile machinery applications.
Looking ahead
The branch plans to host the following exciting events in 2021:
• Training days – throughout the year.
• Ladies celebration – Friday 20 August.
• Golf day – Friday 8 October.
• Year-end function (quiz night) – Wednesday 10 November.
SAIMC: Cape Town branch April 2021, SAIMC
, SAIMC
We had an interesting presentation last month given by Allan Pead from Microsoft on the open source platform from Microsoft Azure Sphere – a secure IoT platform.
Allan is currently an Xamarin ...
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch April 2021, SAIMC
, SAIMC
Members and visitors were treated to a Zoom presentation that had the understated title: Introduction to ultrasonic flow measurement, by Marco Lopes of NIC KZN. Marco was ably backed up by Howard Lister, ...
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch March 2021, SAIMC
, SAIMC
The branch held its first virtual technology meeting of the year on 10 February, where John de Castro (a long-time friend of the Durban SAIMC) gave us some insight into his experiences working abroad. ...
Read more...SAIMC: Vaal branch March 2021, SAIMC
, SAIMC Vaal University of Technology: new qualifications and phasing out of others
Since 1994 the South African education sector has gone through many transformative and structural changes. These have focused ...
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch March 2021, SAIMC
, SAIMC
As 2021 begins, we at the Johannesburg branch are looking forward to the year as there has been a great response to our available technology evenings, which are completely full. The branch has decided ...
Read more...SAIMC: From the office of the CEO March 2021, SAIMC
, SAIMC
In my last letter, I committed to talking to you about the various outcomes for which applicants would need to provide evidence in order to qualify with ECSA for certification in mechatronics.
But ...
Read more...SAIMC: From the office of the CEO April 2021, SAIMC
, SAIMC
The skills shortage is always a topical subject. It is also complex because the diverse nature of our economy leads to many different points of view. So, in my next few correspondences, I’d like to share ...
Read more...SAIMC: Cape Town branch February 2021, SAIMC
, SAIMC
What an interesting year 2020 was and we are looking forward to an exciting 2021.
The branch recently held its annual AGM and elected new branch management team. This event was a hybrid meeting where ...
Read more...SAIMC: Vaal branch February 2021, SAIMC
, SAIMC
The branch held its AGM on 13 January, where various topics were discussed, including: • Continuation of the online technical evenings in 2021 with the possibility of face-to-face meetings subject to ...
Read more...SAIMC: Durban Branch February 2021
, SAIMC
The branch held its annual general meeting via Zoom on 27 January. Secretary, John Owen-Ellis, welcomed everybody and gave a brief review of 2020 which, with the death of branch general manager Hennie ...
printer friendly version