Success Story: Quickly creating versatile automation solutions

The Austrian service provider dieEntwickler Elektronik GmbH specializes in hardware and software development in the industrial environment. The company, based in Bad Zell, focuses on industrial communication systems, optical sensors and industrial network devices. Hilscher's official embedded integration partner supports its customers with 19 employees and its own prototype production in the time-efficient development of individual components. dEE accompanies its customers throughout the entire process - from the specification sheet to the transfer into series production.

netX 90 experience since day one

dEE first came into contact with the netX 90 SoC as part of a project in 2017. It involved the development of a very compact motor controller and the best possible networking with PROFINET and EtherCAT. When evaluating the well-known manufacturers of industrial communication technologies, the netX 90 from Hilscher, which was in the beta stage bak then, stood out in particular. As the world's smallest multiprotocol-capable communication controller - with low energy consumption and low temperature development - it was perfectly suited to the application at the time.

netX 90 communication controller mounted on a circuit board.

As part of this project, dieEntwickler were among the first customers to use the netX 90 and implement a finished circuit without prior training. The prototype was even ready before Hilscher's first PROFINET firmware release. The Hattersheim-based communications specialist therefore made the beta version of the software available to its integration partner at an early stage. Immediately after the official firmware release, the motor controller finally passed the PROFINET device certification without any problems. Thanks to its special properties, positive experience and comprehensive chip peripherals, the netX 90 has become the standard SoC for network-compatible components for dieEntwickler over time.

Modular development approach for fast time-to-market

Having implemented a wide range of netX 90 projects, dEE has extensive expertise and executable circuits for a wide variety of hardware requirements. "On the network side, we offer our customers a complete package for product development based on the netX 90," explains Robert Schedlberger, Managing Director at dEE. "It is basically available as a library - including the redundant core and ready-made layouts for various interfaces such as M12 or RJ45. The actual development work is therefore usually limited to adapting the form factor and connecting hardware and peripherals on the application side."

Control cabinet optimization through extensive chip peripherals

With the netX 90, dEE not only implements various projects in record time, but also considerably simplifies network design in industrial environments thanks to its comprehensive on-chip peripherals. Based on their own ideas, dieEntwickler developed a special control cabinet concept as part of a customer project in order to optimize costs, space requirements and susceptibility to errors. In a single device, they combined the gateway functionality of the netX 90's communication processor with all the functions of a conventional control cabinet via the application processor and the chip's internal peripherals. This means that dEE replaces the entire content of the control cabinet - from the head station to various I/O cards, timers, counters and encoder inputs. By consolidating a wide variety of components, the wiring effort is significantly reduced and thus also the susceptibility to errors compared to conventional decentralized series control cabinets.

Innovative light grid based on netX

In addition to various service projects, dEE is also active as a technology leader in the automation sector with its own product. The RAPIDOSCAN is one of the light grids with the highest measuring speed on the market. From parcels and food packaging units to tree trunks, it is used wherever goods are measured during transportation on conveyor belts. To complement this complex high-end version, dieEntwickler have now also developed a significantly cheaper, but only slightly slower version based on the netX 90 - the RAPIDOSCAN 5000.

Go to RAPIDOSCAN website

Two grey devices with black outlets. One device is emitting red rays of light to the top of the picture. The device on the right side is placed with one side on top of the other.
Conclusion: A high-speed return on investment

The combination of in-house hardware and software development and independent prototype construction makes dEE a Hilscher integration partner that can act quickly. "With extensive netX experience from a wide range of projects and expertise across a broad spectrum of protocols, dieEntwickler are the perfect example of the potential of our extensive partner network," explains Oliver Heidl, Vice President Partner Management at Hilscher. Robert Schedlberger adds: "The Hilscher chip and its peripherals enable us to address many industries and application areas beyond classic industrial communication tasks. The flexibility of the netX 90 combined with its unrivaled form factor and high efficiency make the chip a valuable all-purpose weapon for us, which we will continue to use to lead our customer projects to success in the future."

Benefits of netX technology for dieEntwickler and their customers:

  • Reduced development effort thanks to high level of expertise and standardized library concept
  • Short time-to-market and fast return on investment
  • Greatly simplified network setup thanks to comprehensive use of chip peripherals
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Logo of dieEntwickler Elektronik (dEE) in grey and green. Underneath is written "embedded intelligence".
dieEntwickler Elektronik (dEE)

dieEntwickler Elektronik is an Austrian service provider specialized in hardware and software development for various industries. dEE is a competent and versatile integration partner of Hilscher when it comes to implementing netX 90 solutions into customer applications. Learn more and get in touch at their website.

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Smallest multiprotocol SoC

 

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