Safety is a terminology that defines the level of safety standards with certification bodies such as TUV, VDE, etc. It’s an upward trend to implement Functional Safety IEC 61508, with SIL3 and HFT=1 architecture to cover both factory automation and process automation in the industrial automation world. Customers recognize the importance but usually face multiple bottlenecks in the safety area due to the complexity of design and the necessary process to follow throughout the design, development, and certification journey.
Renesas has been involved in many safety application projects around the globe and NexCOBOT Co., Ltd. has brought us one of their success stories for their latest generation safety digital input/output modules and safety controllers.
NexCOBOT's Product
NexCOBOT's NEIO-1103-S and NEIO-1203-S are compact palm-sized safety digital input/output modules that offer functional safety compatibility with SIL3/HFT=1 and PL=e/Cat.3. The NEIO-1103-S includes 8 channels of digital input (4 dual-channel inputs with Cat.3 compatibility) for receiving signals from external sensors or devices. These received signals are then transmitted to the safety controller via Functional Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE). On the other hand, the NEIO-1203-S features 4 channels of digital output (2 dual-channel outputs with Cat.3 compatibility) for controlling external safety devices, providing a 24VDC output. The safety controller can easily manage these outputs through FSoE.
“Renesas functional safety provides a comprehensive solution.” According to NexCOBOT General Manager Jenny Shern, “With the support from Renesas, it is not only to save 1/3 of development schedule for us but also minimized overall cost from a system point of view, and most importantly, to reach SIL3, HFT=1, PL e, Cat.3, and FSoE in a one-stop shop was our critical needs”.
The story doesn’t end here. NexCOBOT shared their list of experiences with Renesas IEC 61508 functional safety solutions throughout their journey.
| What was your impression after using Renesas’ IEC 61508 functional safety software (SW) and reference solutions? | |
|---|---|
| Renesas Deliverables | NexCOBOT Benefit |
| Self-test SW SIL3 System SW | NexCOBOT didn’t need to spend additional efforts (time and money saver) to develop diagnostic measures to detect failure of MCU/MPU and to develop the software architecture of using two MCU/MPU to fulfill the requirements of SIL3. |
| Reference document |
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| Renesas support team | The optional Annual Support program allows faster development time. Safety experts who could discuss safety-related issues, helped NexCOBOT to solve safety-related issues. |
Would you like to know more? In the upcoming public event, the 2023 International Robot Exhibition (nikkan.co.jp), you will be able to see the product exhibited and Renesas is inside. Please find us at West4 Hall Booth No. W4-17.
Functional safety in Renesas is no more specific to the RX family today but also extended to the Arm® product family of MCUs such as the RA and RZ families. We’ll continue the investment to spread functional safety solutions as one of the essential spirits of Renesas products and look forward to a safer world tomorrow.
Learn more at IEC 61508 Functional Safety for Industrial Applications | Renesas
I hope you enjoyed the 2022 blog posts.
If you missed my past posts and/or looking for more academic ones, you can find them below.
[1] Your Most Trusted Partner for Industrial Functional Safety
[2] Accelerate Functional Safety Deployment with Renesas Electronics
[3] Meet the Risk Buster: Functional Safety in Industries
[4] Introductory blog: Accelerate Your Functional Safety Design by Leveraging Renesas’ Portfolio of Certified SIL3 Solutions