CANnector

Thanks to a powerful Linux platform, CANnector is able to execute complex applications and data manipulations directly on the device. The support of DBC files also makes it possible to work at signal level. By using ‘Wake-up on CAN’ and the option to disable the CAN TX function, the device can be used in applications that are battery powered or where the (measurement) system is absolutely not allowed to influence the CAN channels.

The system features up to 8 CAN channels, of which up to 6 are CAN FD. It also features 2x LIN, 1x Ethernet (10/100 Base-T), 2x digital I/O, 1x USB 2.0 device port, and 2x USB 2.0 host ports.

CANnector is available with up to eight CAN channels, partly also CAN FD channels, two LIN channels, Ethernet, USB, two digital I/Os, and optionally one Ethercat slave interface. USB expansions for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are available as an option.

Freeware version

The Advanced Configuration Tool Free is the entry-level version of Ixxat’s ACT software for Windows^® 10 and 11. It allows users to create gateway configurations for CANnector, FRC-EP, and Mobilizer devices using an intuitive drag & drop interface.

The freeware version is ideal for a large group of users and offers all of the modules listed below.

Gateway

The gateway is the main application of every configuration being executed on the CANnector, Mobilizer or FRC-EP series. It is not only providing the data transfer from one CAN bus to another, it also allows to connect logical bus systems – like user code, data logger, Matlab/Simulink, etc. – to the overall data exchange. With this strategy it is possible to route every frame, PDU or signal individually from source to destination. This can be operated directly or for example via customized user code to manipulate the data on the fly.

Ixxat Automotive Configuration Tool (ACT) - Gateway

This is possible by using the Gateway view of the ACT tool and using drag & drop to define the relationship between source and destination. Just drag the desired data from the source bus and drop it on the destination - irrelevant whether this is a real bus system or the user code, logger or something else. At the end, the created configuration can be loaded on an Ixxat embedded platform and run stand-alone.

Ixxat Automotive Configuration Tool (ACT) - Gateway

FlexRay, CAN, CAN FD & LIN

A bus description file can be provided for physical FlexRay, CAN, CAN FD and LIN bus systems. With the signal-based gateway, it is thereby possible to combine signals from different source messages into one target message.

• Free selection of send triggers and possible default values
• Optional automatic signal transformation – if the signal description of the source and target signal deviate from each other
• Cycle time adaptation of the sent messages to relieve the recipient connected to the target bus.

Analog & digital I/O

The FRC-EP and CANnector devices also provide analog or digital I/O ports. With ACT you can use these signals like any other signal in your configuration.
After configuring the data direction, range of values, conversion rules and units, the I / Os can be mapped easily via drag & drop. This makes it possible to map trigger inputs/outputs of the logger or to fill in vehicle signals based on analog inputs.

• Different IOs supported depending on the used embedded platform
• Easily added to the gateway as a virtual bus

Virtuele bus

By means of ACT you can add the virtual bus to your configuration. The virtual bus can be used to define your own “variables” (environment variables) in the configuration. These variables can be mapped via the drag & drop concept to/from any other bus system. This allows – for example – to calculate such a variable by your C user code module and then use it in any other bus system

DBC-generator

One functionality of the gateway is to generate DBC Files based on the mapping of the different physical and logical buses – for CAN, CAN FD, Generic Ethernet, virtual CANonEthernet, CAN@net.

Datalogger

Use ACT's data logging functionality to add data to the configuration. The logger bus is a 'logical' bus within ACT that can only receive data.

Any signal within the configuration - CAN (FD), LIN, FlexRay signal / frames, UserCode, etc. - can be assigned to the logger bus via drag & drop and then recorded to mass storage device, or the cloud, for later analysis . The logger supports:

Ixxat Automotive Configuration Tool (ACT) - Data logger

• Register data in CSV, ASC, BLF or MDF format
• Using multiple recording groups to group the data that belongs together
• Using trigger signals to decide what to record and when
• Using a ring buffer system to also include data "before" a particular trigger occurs
• Decide whether to record a triggered event, cyclically or upon a signal change
• Use of analog and/or digital I/Os for manual triggering
• Use of the logger functionality alone or in combination with any other functionality running in parallel on the CANnector or FRC-EP series device
• Access the logger via web sockets in a browser

Trigger

The trigger is a further logical bus which can be added to the ACT configuration. When added, every signal within the configuration can be mapped to the trigger bus by means of the drag & drop concept and being used as input signal. The trigger engine can be designed in a graphical manner. Several functional blocks can be used:

Ixxat Automotive Configuration Tool (ACT) - Trigger

• Timer
• Counter
• Thresholds
• Flip-flops
• Logical combinations

By connecting these blocks, you are enabled to define a trigger logic which is then resulting in trigger signals as output of the trigger engine. These outputs are normal signals like any other signal in the configuration. They can be used to:

• Trigger the data logger
• Drive the digital outputs of the CANnector or FRC-EP series device
• Trigger the transmission of a certain message
• Steer a binary signal on any physical bus system
• Steer a certain functionality in your UserCode

Visualization

The signal visualization is added as a virtual bus to the gateway configuration. It enables easy display and stimulation of all mapped signals via the integrated web server. Any device (PC, smartphone, tablet) can be used as a display device. The only basic requirement is an HTML5-capable web browser. HMS provides a generic HTML page for this. This can be adapted by the user to suit their own requirements. The visualization device is connected via USB, Ethernet or WLAN.

Ixxat Automotive Configuration Tool (ACT) - Signaalvisualisation

You can individually select which signals shall be visualized and whether they shall be displayed in textual or graphical form. Such a visualization configuration can be stored either on the CANnector/Mobilizer/FRC-EP series or the visualization device. This allows to store views individually or to define by the person having done the configuration what is allowed to be seen.

Ixxat Automotive Configuration Tool (ACT) - Signaalvisualisatie example

Do you want to have a specific visualization? If the default visualization is not sufficient, you can easily add your own HTML5 based visualization. You just need to connect to the standardized data exchange stream.

Development tool (UserCode)

ACT allows for many different configurations, but of course does not offer all possible functionality. In that case, a configuration can be extended with its own C user code.
An Eclipse-based development environment is available for the development of your own applications. Using this development environment, user code can be created for the extension of an ACT solution or for completely separate applications. ACT generates a C user code template that contains all the API to connect functions to the rest of the system. This is supported by the integration into the ACT project, the handy editor, cross compiler, as well as a high-level language debugger. The developed applications can be run stand-alone or on the Ixxat embedded systems.

Ixxat Automotive Configuration Tool (ACT) - Development tool

Functional modela

For some users, the development of C code is too complex or there are already finished models from other projects. The integration of these models is possible via an API based on the user code bus. Similar to the user code, a Matlab/Simulink model can then access the mapped signals/messages.

• Easy implementation of own functions, e.g. for control of digital outputs or implementation of complex trigger modules for the logger
• User code bus added as a virtual bus to the the gateway configuration
• IO signals for own code mapped via drag & drop from and to all other bus systems
• User code application written in standard C and may represent also specific algorithms
• Eclipse-based SDK incl. remote debugger for developing and testing the application

Ixxat Automotive Configuration Tool (ACT) - IxAdmin

IxAdmin

IxAdmin is the PC based administration tool for the FRC-EP Series, Mobilizer and CANnector platform which can be connected via USB, Ethernet or WiFi.

• Up-/download of configurations
• Management of multiple configurations
• Execution of device updates
• Update firmware/board support package
• Runtime license management
• General settings
• Access to the web-based dashboard
• Access to logger files
• Also available as command line tool

Ixxat Automotive Configuration Tool (ACT) - Vehicle Editor

Vehicle Editor

The basis for most solutions are bus description files such as CANdB, DBC, LDF, FIBEX or AUTOSAR-XML. Normally, the descriptions contain a lot of information, but are missing important details like CRC, checksum or alive counter algorithms which are needed to generate e. g. a Residual Bus Simulation (RBS).

The Vehicle Editor allows to create a complete vehicle description database containing all information needed. In case of changes during the life cycle of your testing application (e. g. new vehicle integration levels), a new variant of such a vehicle description database can be created which then allows then an easy porting of existing residual bus or gateway configurations. This saves time and reduces the risk of introducing errors into already verified testing configurations.

Ixxat canAnalyser 3 Mini

For simple testing purposes and start-up canAnalyser Mini - a free CAN bus monitor - is installed with the VCI. This monitor can be used to display CAN messages with time stamp, message identifiers and data using the CANnector. A logging function enables the data received to be recorded directly to hard disk. CAN messages are transmitted via a list wherein CAN messages are entered. Installed interfaces are displayed with the available CAN controllers, the current bus load and the controller status.
canAnalyser Mini also support CAN-FD and LIN in combination with interfaces supporting these protocols.

Ixxat canAnalyser Mini

Ixxat CAN Interface Driver

Two different drivers are available for the software interfacing of the CANnector: the universal driver "(Virtual Communication Interface" (VCI) for Windows^® and the “Embedded Communication Interface” (ECI) for Linux, INtime, RTX, VxWorks and QNX. The drivers can operate all CAN channels and all CAN interfaces - even different types - within one PC.

These powerful driver packages support all CAN boards, regardless of their PC interface, with a uniform programming interface (API). This means that applications based on VCI-API can be used with all Ixxat CAN boards without modifying the application program. The drivers support multi CAN-channels and/or multiple boards – even different types – to arrange the desired amount of channels.

Features and benefits

• Common application programming interface (API) for all supported operating systems and interfaces
• Simultaneous support of multiple CAN channels and interface boards
• Standard  (11 bit, CAN 2.0A), extended protocol (29 bit, CAN 2.0B) and CAN-FD¹
• Support of protocol-switching on interfaces with low-speed CAN¹ or LIN¹
• Slim communication interface while supporting all required mechanisms for an easy operation of the interface
• Detection and display of error frames on the bus
• Measurement and display of the bus load (only with active CAN cards)
• Possible operation in "Listen only mode"
¹ For interfaces that support these protocols

VCI Driver

Ixxat VCI API

The VCI API (Application Programming Interface) is a powerful software library that enables developers to easily communicate with industrial network interfaces, particularly within CAN- and/or LIN-based systems. This API forms an abstraction layer between applications and hardware, allowing developers to avoid working directly with device-specific drivers and instead utilize a uniform and standardized interface.

VCI Driver Model and common API

With the VCI API, applications can send and receive CAN messages in both standard and extended formats. Additionally, the API enables the detection, configuration, and management of connected Ixxat devices. Developers can choose between event-driven communication or polling mechanisms, depending on their application requirements. Thanks to built-in buffering and filtering capabilities, data can be processed efficiently, which is particularly important in real-time environments.

The API is primarily available for programming languages ​​such as C and C++, with additional support for .NET languages via wrappers. This makes the VCI API widely applicable within both low-level and high-level development environments.

• Are CAN terminating resistors built into the CANnector?

  There are no built-in CAN terminating resistors, and there is no provision for one. If necessary, terminating resistors can be installed across the CAN connections, for each desired CAN channel. Alternatively, we offer the PCAN-Adapter D-Sub to Screw Terminals as an accessory.

• Which Ixxat CAN analysis software is best suited to my use case?

  The canAnalyser is a versatile analysis tool for the development, testing and servicing of CAN, CAN FD and LIN based systems. The software package is based on a modular concept and available in three versions - Mini, Lite, and Standard - with a different set of functions and modules.
  The Mini version is included free of charge with the VCI driver. It is ideal for quick diagnostics or hardware testing, for example. The Lite and Standard versions are both comprehensive, professional software packages designed for development, debugging, simulation, or testing of CAN, CAN FD and/or LIN-networks.

  Each version of the canAnalyser 3 is intended for typical use case. The table below provides a handy overview of all the differences.

  Functions	Module	canAnalyser3 Mini	canAnalyser 3 Lite	canAnalyser 3 Standard
  Measurement configuration
  Supported bus controllers		1	1	64
  Number of function modules per bus controller (multi-start)		1	1 per function
  Transmission
  Transmitting messages in layer 2 format via broadcasting lists (one-off/cyclic)	Transmit	Max 5
  Transmitting signals based on underlayed databases	Signal/Transmit
  Transmitting sequences in layer 2 format using simple commands for control	Sequencer
  Reception and display
  Display received messages - Scroll view - Overwrite mode	Receive
  Filtering during reception	Receive
  Signal reception and interpreted online display based on databases (overwrite/scroll)	Signal		Max 5
  Graphical display of received signals over the time axis	Signal		Max 5
  Display of statistical values (e.g. bus load, number of error frames)	Signal
  Logging of value range overflows	Signal
  Graphical display of frequency distribution of received messages	Histogram
  Recording/Playback
  Recording on hard disk - Maximum size	Trace	1 GB
  Filter and trigger functions during recording	Trace
  Recording on hard disk for later analysis, including filter and trigger functions	Trace
  Playback of recordings on the buses and/or modules for analyzing	Replay
  Adaptation and Extension
  Development of measurement/analysis functions using C# and Visual-Basic .NET scripts	Scripting/Host
  Open interface for expansion by customer-specific modules (.NET modules)	customized
  Protocol Interpreter
  Display of CANopen messages according to CANopen specification	CANopen
  Display of SAE J1939 messages according to SAE J1939 specification	J1939

• Does this computing gateway support CANopen or J1939?

  Yes, the CANnector works with all CAN messages, including CANopen and J1939

  However, the CAN messages are not interpreted as CANopen or J1939.

• Can I order on account?

  Yes, that's definitely possible! Most customers place their orders through a Purchase Order.
  First request a quote and then send the purchase order (PO) by email, simply from your own purchasing system. For first time buyers, we may ask additional questions in order to perform a credit check. Please contact us if you require our company details for registration in the purchasing system.
  
  For security reasons, customers located in, or wishing to ship to, countries outside the Benelux must always pay in advance.

• Why are all prices available upon request?

  The online webshop is still under construction. As soon as it is available, all prices will naturally be visible.

  However, everything is of course available, and we would be happy to inform you about prices and delivery times. Please contact us or give us a call. We have over 30 years of experience with CAN. We are happy to help you and offer you immediate practical advice or support.