Modular Installation of Mobile Machines
Unlike industrial installation technology, the installation of I/O technology in mobile machines has not yet reached a standardized modular, decentralized level. There are two methods that are more widely practiced, but they present a series of challenges that will not be sustainable in mobile machine systems in the future.
The First Way
The usual wiring system in series machines for the mobile segment is the single-wire harness adopted from the automotive world. What works well in the engine compartment of a truck often proves unsuitable for construction, municipal, or agricultural machinery. The materials are incompatible with the operating media, and the unprotected single-wire seals cannot withstand high-pressure cleaning. In order to achieve a certain protection for the sensitive wire insulation, cable harnesses must be elaborately bandaged, braided, or laid in protective hoses. This incurs costs and makes routing in the machine more difficult.
The Second Way
Other machine builders use industrial terminal box technology (max. IPx5), or even domestic installation technology (IPx4) as an alternative to the cable harness, and mix these with automotive connectors and single wires by necessity. Unfortunately, such assemblies are often incompatible and must be helped with sealing compound, heat shrink tubing, or insulating tape and creativity. The installation of the boxes is time-consuming, and a large number of individual parts and tools are also required. An additional, and significant, drawback is the high space requirement of terminal boxes; because mobile machines have extremely limited space, this problem cannot remain unsolved without jeopardizing other required functionalities.
The Third Way
A key goal for Data Panel is to address the issue of installation systems in mobile machines by providing full support to machine builders in the planning, installation, and commissioning of their machines. This is achieved, among other things, by means of a standardized, pluggable modular system consisting of coordinated and, above all, extremely robust components. This kind of modular system can also harmonize the industrial and automotive installation worlds instead of relying on one-size-fits-all solutions.
xtremeDB Active
Active xtremeDB fieldbus modules with proven DT connection technology form the center of the Data Panel solution. The modules are available for SAE J1939, CANopen, or CAN Layer 2-B communication protocol. The Motor vehicle type approval (E-approval) for on road usage will be available in Q2/2021.
These robust modules offer eight ports for input or output signals and can be individually parameterized. Sensor signals can be read in digital, analog, or as frequency/counter/encoder signals. Outputs are available as digital, ratiometric, pulse width modulated PWM(I), or PVG-compatible signals.
With xtremeDB, series machines benefit on a modularly designed, pluggable extension level, opposed to the limitations of relying solely on wiring harnesses. Option management, evolving customer requirements, and future function expansions can be mapped much more easily in a flexible component-based system. Smaller machines, which only work with a display control, can be easily expanded with full-fledged I/O’s using xtremeDB modules.
