In Brief

• CAN in Automation has submitted its CiA 402 CANopen device profile for electric drives and motion control to the IEC for global standardisation. The well-established 402 profile has been enhanced to make it easier to configure drives via a CANopen network, and to add extra cyclic synchronous modes for position, velocity and torque. The aim is to publish the profile as part of IEC 61899-7.

• Mathsoft is integrating its Mathcad calculation software with National Instruments` LabView graphical development environment, to create an integrated design, measurement, analysis and reporting environment. Engineers will be able to use Mathcad to trigger data capture and measurement in LabView, and then export the values back to Mathcad for further analysis and reporting. The alliance builds on a previous collaboration dating back to 2003. Mathcad is said to be used by two million engineers worldwide, of whom 200,000 also use NI software.

• US-based FabulaTech has released an application which allows network-enabled serial devices to connect to any PC application via a local network or the Internet. The Serial Port Redirector creates a virtual serial port and redirects all data and signals to a specified TCP/IP address and port.

• Profibus International has established a Research and Education working group aimed at strengthening co-operation with universities and technical colleges to improve teaching about Profibus and Profinet.

• Daikin Industries, which supplies about 40% of Japan`s air-conditioning systems, has chosen an integrated inverter module developed by Fairchild Semiconductor for use in all of its inverter-based air conditioners. The Motion-Smart Power Modules combine up to 16 discrete devices, such as chips and IGBTs, into a compact package, saving space and simplifying designs. Fairchild expects to supply 400,000 of the modules to Daikin this year.