CANopen

What is CANopen?

CANopen is an internationally recognized bus protocol based on the seven-layer ISO/OSI reference model. It was developed by the organization “CAN in Automation” (CiA), an association of users and manufacturers. CANopen has been standardized as the European standard EN 50325-4 since late 2002.

The protocol uses layers 1 and 2 of the CAN standard (ISO 11898-2), which was originally designed for the automotive industry, as its transmission technology.  The bus system allows each participant to send messages (multi-master capability). Messages on the bus are received by every bus participant (broadcast communication). Each bus participant decides whether and how to process the received messages based on its local intelligence.

What can you expect from CANopen?

• Various methods for configuring bus devices
• Error Detection and Handling
• Provision of relevant device data in the electronic data sheet (EDS file)
• Additional functions such as cam switches, limit switches, and speed data
• CANopen is suitable as an interface for both dynamic applications and use in complex control networks

What else we offer:

• Temperature and speed information
• Statistical functions for uptime
• Definition of working areas and zero-point offset
• Optional internal bus termination
• The EMC characteristics of our CAN sensors are optimized for use in mobile applications