Hilscher supports netMOTION-based motion control
NXHX-DH adapter piggyboard plug-in module,
PCB reference designs available for KiCad EDA


Hillscher announced on the 1st that it has expanded its strategy of supporting multiple real-time network protocols through netMOTION into the motion control area.

Hilscher offers a wide range of plug-in modules as add-on accessories, including adapters for digital Hall and quadrature encoders, BiSS/EnDat/SSI encoders, PROFIBUS-DP and CANopen network interfaces.

The NXHX-DH adapter Piggy-Board plug-in module for the NXHX 90-MC board provides analog filter circuitry for digital Hall inputs. It can also convert RS-422 (5V differential) and TTL (5V single-ended) quadrature encoder signals to 3.3V inputs for the netX 90, and provides a 5V supply voltage to the encoder.

Push-In connectors for up to two quadrature encoders and three digital Hall sensors facilitate interconnection of industrial motors with position feedback. Board schematics and layout files for the NXHX-DH and NXHX 90-MC, including the BOM component list, are available for download and can be used as a PCB reference design for KiCad EDA.

The netX Studio CDT example projects provide different entry points depending on your project requirements and can be used to start developing your application.

Hilscher is working with Eonas, a motor control component design and development consultancy. Accordingly, we provide an example that combines the protocol stack interface and our cifX API, which periodically exchanges data using the Ionas MCL API and iDPM for speed control of a 3-phase PMSM (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor).

This example demonstrates how to initialize and configure a basic communication protocol stack via iDPM to connect a device to a real-time Ethernet network, which serves as a starting point for developing a customer-specific vendor application profile.

Additionally, the PROFIdrive application class example combines the Ionas MCL API for 3-phase PMSM speed control and the Hilscher cifX API for cyclic data exchange with the protocol stack interface to iDPM, and the vendor-neutral application class 1 open source code for PROFIdrive devices officially provided by Siemens for PROFINET.

This example describes how to set up and configure a network of devices using a PROFIdrive PLC, which serves as a starting point for application class 4-based development.