Low-Profile CAN Board Suits Small Embedded Systems

Commented Michael Odälv, Director Marketing & Sales at Kvaser AB: “This piggyback CAN board is our smallest form factor yet, measuring a mere 30 mm x 51 mm. Many fleet management applications require a single CAN channel to monitor key parameters such as fuel economy, engine speed, braking and accelerator pressure, and gearshift patterns.However, other applications such as industrial control systems and robotics will also benefit from this.”

The Kvaser Mini PCI Express HS board has a low profile connector that complies with the mini PCI Express standard, which connects via a cable to a DSUB connector (or other type) at the computer housing. With just the CAN communication link itself exposed, this arrangement protects total system EMC performance because all the electronics remain inside the computer housing. In car or truck applications, this can be particularly important. Notably, this add-on board complies with EN 61000-6-2:2005, specifying EMC immunity for industrial environments and also operates over the industrial temperature range of -40 to +85 °C.

Other features of this device include a bit rate from 40 to 1000 kbit/s and a CAN transfer rate up to 20000 messages/s. The time stamp accuracy is 25 µs. Kvaser’s free of charge CANLIB SDK can be used to develop software for the Mini PCI Express HS board. Programs written in CANlib will be fully compatible with present and future hardware from Kvaser. Support for Linux, in the form of drivers and a dedicated SDK, are available as a separate download.