What CANopen Hardware and Software Does NI Offer?

Issue Details

• NI offers a number of CANopen software solutions for various NI CAN and CANopen devices. What CANopen software is available and what hardware can I use with each software offering? What recommendations does NI have as to the use of these software options?
• Can I use a NI-986x module for CANopen communication?

Solution

NI-Industrial Communications for CANopen 

For use with the NI-9881 C Series CANopen Module and the PXI/PCI-8531 CANopen interfaces

• Recommended for new designs and is officially supported by NI
• Provides support for NI CANopen master interfaces
• Complies with the CiA DS-301 standard
• Includes support for:
  • SDOs
  • PDOs
  • Node guarding
  • Heartbeats
  • Emergency messages
  • Network management
  • Batch SDO editor with EDS file integration for configuring slaves at once

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CANopen Engine Reference Example for LabVIEW FPGA

• Not developed by NI R&D, and no guarantee of continued improvement or support
• For use with the NI-9853 C Series CAN Module
• Provides support for NI CANopen master interfaces
• Implements logic on the FPGA and RT Controller (not the module) 
• Includes support for:
  • SDOs
  • PDOs
  • Node guarding
  • Heartbeats
  • Emergency messages
  • Network management

 

CANopen Basics for USB 8473

• For use with USB-8473 devices
• Built on top of the legacy NI-CAN driver, not the NI-XNET driver
• Includes support for:
  • SDOs 
  • PDOs
  • Network management
• Limited functionality (i.e. no support for heartbeats)

 

Using the NI-986x for CANopen 

​Since CANopen is built on the CAN physical layer, it is technically possible to use a CAN module such as the NI-9862 for CANopen communication. However, since NI-XNET hardware is not compatible with the NI-Industrial Communications for CANopen driver, you would need to build the application layer from scratch on top of the XNET driver. This would require extensive knowledge of the CANopen protocol and is not something that NI would be able to support. Therefore, purchasing a dedicated CANopen module to implement this protocol is highly recommended.