STMicro has announced the EVLIOL4LSV1 IO-Link actuator board, an STM32G071CB Cortex-M0+ MCU-based reference design for commercial manufacturers with a built-in protocol stack and application software.
Aimed at industrial beacons and home-appliance alarms, the EVLIOL4LSV1 combines the L6364Q dual-channel IO-Link transceiver (communications) and IPS4260L intelligent low-side power switch (for driving industrial loads). The EVLIOL4LSV1 IO-Link actuator board is powered by an STM32G071CB Arm-Cortex-M0+ microcontroller that hosts the proprietary stack and application software and communicates with the transceiver and low-side power switch.
The evaluation board can be used to test the IPS4260 and L6364Q ICs. It features a 4-pin M12 connector for an IO-LINK master and a 5-pin SWD connector for programming. It can also directly interface with signaling systems, ranging from smart tower lights in factory automation to funnel alarms for quantity monitoring.
The onboard transceiver is protected against electromagnetic interference and supports COM2 and COM3 speeds. It offers multiple modes of operation: single-byte, multibyte, and transparent mode, in which the MCU takes control of IO-Link communications via a UART interface.
The IPS4260L low-side power switch features four outputs for driving loads connected to a supply voltage. It supports a wide operating voltage range of 8V to 50V, a programmable current range per output from 0.5A to 3A, and includes built-in protections against overload and overheating for each channel. Additionally, the actuator board incorporates ST’s SMBJ30CA TVS diode to protect the supply rail from surge pulses with 2 coupling.
Renesas had previously released a similar solution with the ZSSC3286 evaluation board for its IO-Link ICs.
EVLIOL4LSV1 specifications:
- Microcontroller – STMicro STM32G071CBT6 ‘mainstream’ Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 64MHz with 128KB flash, 36KB RAM
- Peripherals
- IO-Link Class-A interface based on the L6364Q dual channel IO-Link device transceiver
- 4x low-side output channels based on the IPS4260L (intelligent low-side power switch)
- Connectivity – M12 4-pin connector, 5-pin SWD connector
- Input – 4x buttons used as digital input channel
- Operating Voltage – 18V to 30V DC
Tomisin is a writer specializing in hardware product reviews, comparisons, and explainers. He is very passionate about small form factor and single-board computers.
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I got to use the EVLIOL4LSV1 about several months back when I was working as intern student. The IO-Link device software stack is the demo version of TEConcept’s Stack. I ended up writing my own open-source IO-Link device stack as my internship project.
I don’t work in the industrial area and I’ve never seen one of these M12 connectors before. Interesting.