About Industrial Automation Systems
4. Small package size
When package size is the primary concern, MSP MCUs deliver a wide range of options as well. The portfolio includes many chips in a 4-mm × 4-mm configuration. But in some factory automation applications this may not be small enough. In our system, some sensor nodes may need to be as thin as the communication wires on which they communicate. The MSP430FRx FRAM MCU series includes a packaged device as small as 2 mm × 2 mm to accommodate these types of communication and control applications. Combined with analog integration and the ability to take over the functionality of external EEPROM with FRAM, MSP MCUs can offer the perfect fit for small form-factor designs (Figure 4).
Full solutions
TI offers many resources for using MSP MCUs in industrial automation environments. There are many TI Design reference designs available that offer holistic and detailed solutions, many of which would help implement the systems described earlier. In fact, many designs are geared toward industrial communication solutions for various protocols or sensing solutions of various types.
View a summarized list of designs in Figure 5.
Conclusion
The system we used to demonstrate the ability of MSP MCUs to meet the prevalent challenges in factory automation is a very simple example.
Especially with the latest trends toward full automation in factories, systems that require MCUs are growing larger and more complex. As they grow, they demand more and more from microcontrollers. Texas Instruments’ MSP MCU portfolio offers ultralow-power and high-performance options that can meet the application demands of lower power, increased performance and integration, higher operating temperatures and smaller system size.
When package size is the primary concern, MSP MCUs deliver a wide range of options as well. The portfolio includes many chips in a 4-mm × 4-mm configuration. But in some factory automation applications this may not be small enough. In our system, some sensor nodes may need to be as thin as the communication wires on which they communicate. The MSP430FRx FRAM MCU series includes a packaged device as small as 2 mm × 2 mm to accommodate these types of communication and control applications. Combined with analog integration and the ability to take over the functionality of external EEPROM with FRAM, MSP MCUs can offer the perfect fit for small form-factor designs (Figure 4).
Full solutions
TI offers many resources for using MSP MCUs in industrial automation environments. There are many TI Design reference designs available that offer holistic and detailed solutions, many of which would help implement the systems described earlier. In fact, many designs are geared toward industrial communication solutions for various protocols or sensing solutions of various types.
View a summarized list of designs in Figure 5.
TI Design | Reference # | Application | Details | Featured MCU |
Data isolation for loop-powered applications | TIDA-00245 | Communications | 4–20mA | MSP430FR5969 |
NFC logger with FRAM | TIDA-00230 | Communications and datalogging | NFC | MSP430FR5969 |
Low-power micro-stepper motor driver using FRAM MCU | TIDM-LPSM | Motor control | CTPL utility | MSP430FR5969 |
Thermocouple AFE with RTD CJC | TIDA-00168 | Sensors | RTD | MSP430FR5949 |
Inductive proximity BoosterPack (LDC1101) | TIDA-00460 | Sensors | Proximity | MSP430F5528 |
Turnkey IO-Link sensor transmitter | TIDA-00188 | Sensors & communication | RTD & IO-Link | MSP430FR5738 |
RTD temperature transmitter current loop systems | TIDA-00095 | Sensors & communication | RTD & 4–20mA | MSP430G2513 |
Isolated thermocouple transmitter 4–20mA | TIDA-00189 | Sensors & communication | RTD & 4–20mA | MSP430F5172 |
Small form factor RTD sensor, 4–20mA | TIDA-00165 | Sensors & communication | RTD & 4–20mA | MSP430FR5738 |
Single-chip temperature transmitter | TIDA-00247 | Sensors & communication | RTD & 4–20mA | MSP430F2274 |
Hall-based proximity switch sensor with SIO interface | TIDA-00244 | Sensors & communication | Proximity & SIO | MSP430FR5738 |
Linear Hall-based proximity sensor with SIO interface | TIDA-00286 | Sensors & communication | Proximity/Temp & IO-Link | MSP430FR5738 |
Conclusion
The system we used to demonstrate the ability of MSP MCUs to meet the prevalent challenges in factory automation is a very simple example.
Especially with the latest trends toward full automation in factories, systems that require MCUs are growing larger and more complex. As they grow, they demand more and more from microcontrollers. Texas Instruments’ MSP MCU portfolio offers ultralow-power and high-performance options that can meet the application demands of lower power, increased performance and integration, higher operating temperatures and smaller system size.
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About Will Cooper
William Cooper manages marketing, applications and systems teams in the Integrated Power Management organization at TI. He previously focused on the strategic development and positioning of MSP430™ microcontrollers with ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM... >>
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