Industrial Communication Guide

Fieldbuses

3.7. CAN-BUS

CAN stands for Controller Area Network. It was originally developed for use in the automotive area. CAN is defined in the ISO 11898 standard, which covers the network topology, the data link lay- er and also guidelines in terms of cables and connectors. CAN is used in manufacturing automation, for mobile machines and also in building controls systems. Various manufactures/organization have made additions to enable its use in industry.

For example, Rockwell Automation DeviceNet developed DeviceNet, which applies the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) to CAN. Since Rockwell is an American manufacturer, DeviceNet is mainly used in the USA. DeviceNet is also widespread in Asia, but not in Europe due to the existence of competing systems.

35