Journal of Robotics, Networking and Artificial Life
Vol. 7(1); June (2020), pp. 1–6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/jrnal.k.200512.001; ISSN 2405-9021; eISSN 2352-6386
https://www.atlantis-press.com/journals/jrnal

Research Article

Design and Application of Intelligent Networking Integration
System with CANopen Protocol for Tool Machine
Production Line
Chau-Chung Song1,2,*, Yu-Wei Ho2,3, Yu-Kai Chen1, Chung-Wen Hung4
Department of Aeronautical Engineering, National Formosa University, Huwei, Yunlin, Taiwan
Smart Machine and Intelligent Manufacturing Research Center, National Formosa University, Huwei, Yunlin, Taiwan3Institute of Aeronautical and Electronic Technology, National Formosa University, Huwei, Yunlin, Taiwan
4Department of Electrical Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin, Taiwan
12ARTICLE INFOABSTRACTArticle History

In this paper, the intelligent networking integration system is designed and constructed by applying the Controller Area Network(CAN)open profiles as communication protocol for tool machine production line. While the basic network management anddata transmission is followed by the dictionary objects in CANopen CiA301 protocol, the axial motor of tool machine needs toimplement with the motor motion control specification subjected to the CANopen CiA402 protocol. The monitoring supervisory
control and data acquisition system communicates with each node with CANopen protocol through CAN Bus to complete thetask of constructing and managing the entire network system.

Received 24 October 2019
Accepted 19 February 2020
Keywords
Production line
CANopen protocol
networking integration system
tool machine© 2020 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

1. INTRODUCTIONIn the industrial system, the numbers and categories of electric circuit and sensing element contained are becoming more and more
complicated. The control network becomes the key technology inthe industrial system [1]. Controller Area Network (CAN), thiscommunication bus has the advantages of high noise immunity, fasttransmission speed and easy installation. CAN in Automatic (CiA)
organization released CANopen communication protocol for CAN
application layer [2]. The basic CANopen device and communication profiles are given in the CiA301 specification released by CiA.
The monitor system is mainly responsible for the controlling thenodes states and function in the network and displaying the data
posted back from the nodes for the convenience of our testing whole
set of network system platform. The tool machine operation controlof production line is tested and realized to evaluate and verify thefeasibility and performance of CANopen networking system [2].

interconnection model shown in Figure 1. Many manufacturers
define CAN frame by themselves for their products. However,when different manufacturers need to integrate the system,
it often wastes time and costs more. Therefore, the biggestintention of CANopen is to unify the definition CAN application layer.

2.1.1. Communication object
The CANopen standard frame divides the 11-bit CAN-frame id intoa 4-bit function code and 7-bit CANopen node ID. In CANopen,
the 11-bit ID of a CAN-frame is known as communication object
identifier, or COB-ID. COB-ID is shown in Table 1 [3].
According to communication features, CANopen divides communication objects into four categories as below:(i) Special function objects

2. COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLOF PRODUCTION LINE
2.1. CANopen
International Organization for Standardization series specifies
the data link layer and physical of the CAN in open systems
Corresponding author. Email: ccsong@nfu.edu.tw*•• Synchronization objects•• Emergency objects•• Time stamp objects(ii) Network Management Objects (NMT)(iii) Process Data Objects (PDO)(iv) Service Data Objects (SDO)C.-C. Song et al. / Journal of Robotics, Networking and Artificial Life 7(1) 1–6

2

Figure 1 | Network reference model.
Table 1 | Configurations of COB-ID [4]ObjectNMTSYNC
Time stampEmergency
TPDO1
RPDO1
TPDO2
RPDO2
TPDO3
RPDO3
TPDO4RPDO4SDO(tx)SDO(rx)NMT error control

Figure 2 | NMT state machine [4]. The numbers are represent the statetransition and work flow of NMT state machine in CANopen protocol.
Table 2 | States and communication objects [4]Function code

Resulting COB-ID

0000
0001
0010
0001
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1110

080h
100h
81h-FFh
181h-1FFh
201h-27Fh
281h-2FFh301h-37Fh
381h-3FFh
401h-47Fh
481h-4FFh
501h-57Fh
581h-5FFh
601h-67Fh
701h-77Fh

2.1.2. Object dictionary
CANopen devices must have an object dictionary which is used forconfigure device parameter and communication with the device.
The complete Object Dictionary (OD) consists of the six columns
shown below:(i) Index: 16-bits object address.

Initialization
PDOSDOSYNC
Time stamp
EMCY
Boot-upNMT√

Pre-operation Operation√√
√
√

√
√
√
√
√

√

√

Stopped√Figure 3 | CANopen SDO frame.

2.2.2. Service data objects
According to data transfer direction is divided into upload anddownload methods. Data frame of SDO consists of COB-ID, lengthand 2–8 Bytes data. Within 8 Bytes, Byte 0 is Command Specifier(CS) which is data length of the object, Bytes 1 and 2 are index ofthe object within OD, Byte 3 is sub-index of the object, and Bytes
4–7 are parameter of the object. SDO frame is shown in Figure 3.

(ii) Object name: Particular index within the OD.
(iii) Name: Simple textual description of the function of that particular object.
(iv) Type: Information as to type of the object.
(v) Attribute: Defines the access rights for a particular object.
(vi) M/O: Defines whether the object is mandatory or optional.

2.2.3. Process data objects
Process data objects transmission priority is higher than SDO,
so PDO is often used to transfer data in real time. PDO divided
into Transmit PDO (TPDO) and Receive PDO (RPDO). TPDO istransmitted from the node to the master. In contrast, RPDO is thenode to receive messages from the master. Before using PDO, set
PDO Communication Parameter and PDO Mapping Parameter
through SDO to complete mapping.

2.2. CANopen Communication Objects
2.2.1. Network management objects
In CANopen, the NMT mainly focuses the network states of monitoring nodes as well as the function similar to the control of nodeoperation. Figure 2 depicts the network statement of device node.
Communication objects may only be executed if the devices
involved in the communication are in the appropriate communication states. Table 2 shows the communication objects and states.

2.3. Device and Motion Control of CANopen
Controller area network in automatic released CiA402 protocol,
and it is the standardized CANopen device profile for digital controlled motion products. Establishing device states machine formanage device. The state machine describes the device status andthe possible control sequence of the drive shown in Figure 4. Within
OD, Controlword (index: 6040h) could switch device status.
Statusword (index: 6041h) could store device current status.

C.-C. Song et al. / Journal of Robotics, Networking and Artificial Life 7(1) 1–6

3Table 3 | PDO mapping scheduling table
PDO
name

Mappedobject #1

RPDO1
RPDO2
TPDO1

Controlword Mode of operation 6040h, 6060h 3 Bytes
Target position Profile velocity
607Ah, 6081h 8 Bytes
Statusword
Modes of6041h, 6061h 3 Bytes
operation display
Position6064h4 Bytes
actual value
Digital inputs
60FDh
4 Bytes
RFID UID
C000h4 Bytes

TPDO2
TPDO3
TPDO4

Mappedobject #2Index

Datalength

Figure 4 | Device state machine [5]. The numbers are represent the state tran­
sition and control sequence of the device state machine in CiA402 protocol.

Figure 6 | Monitoring interface: SCADA system.
Figure 5 | Architecture of network system.

3. SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
3.1. System Networking Structure
The designed CANopen network structure is shown in Figure 5.
The main network has one monitoring mode and two tool machine(six motor nodes). The main function of monitoring node is tomonitor the whole CANopen network states. All equipment nodes
possess CANopen protocol to establish the whole set of CANopen
network system.

3.2. CANopen Controller Design
The controller firmware is designed to meet the specifications ofCANopen standard agreement. CANopen communication applications are mainly based on CiA301 specification which describes
NMT, SDO and PDO. This proposed controller needs to implementwith the motor motion control specification subjected to the CiA402
protocol. It is also additionally equipped with a motor-specific incremental encoder to receive the motor feedback signal, so as to realize
the motor speed control and high-precision positioning control [6].

3.3. PDO Mapping Schedules
In order to implement the real-time monitoring of the production line on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
system, the PDO mapping is planned for each axis controller ofmachine devices. The PDO mapping scheduling table is shown inTable 3. Since each axial operation of tool machine is controlled
by the corresponding motor, all the mapping and communication
parameters of CANopen TPDO and RPDO are set in accordance

Figure 7 | Infixed chopsticks and parts.

with the CiA402 profiles. The Controlword (6040h) and Mode ofOperation (6060h) of RPDO mapping can set for the device status
and device operating mode at the same time, while Target Position(607Ah) and Profile Velocity (6081h) can simultaneously deliver
the commands of target position and motor speed. In addition,
TPDO is used to receive the current equipment status, operating
mode, actual motor position and digital inputs on SCADA system.

3.4. Monitoring System Design
The SCADA system is the main monitoring of the Bus, whichmonitors the entire CANopen and the network status of each node,and displays the real-time CAN data below the SCADA systeminterface. Its function can be divided into four tabs, Initialize,NMT, Line. The interface of SCADA system is shown in Figure 6.

4. SYSTEM INTEGRATION
AND APPLICATION
4.1. Application Field of Production LineIn this study, the heterogeneous infixed chopsticks are selected
as the product of production line. The infixed chopsticks aremainly made of stainless steel in the front section, and plastic
or acrylic in the rear section, as shown in Figure 7. The production

4C.-C. Song et al. / Journal of Robotics, Networking and Artificial Life 7(1) 1–6

process of infixed chopsticks is mainly completed by threemajor steps: (1) chamfering: reaming, (2) gluing: fixing, and(3) infixing: molding.

4.2. Design and Construction ofProduction LineThe production line system consists of the incoming inspection
platform, two machine tools and a set of handling robot. The systemarchitecture of the production line is depicted in Figure 8. The controllers of the two tool machines are operated in accordance withthe CiA protocol. The handling robot is controlled by I/O ports onhost controller.

Figure 10 | GUI interface of SCADA system.

The field planning of infixed chopsticks production line is shownin Figure 9. It presents that each machine of the working platform isquite close, and the location of each machine is mainly determinedby the arm working range of Selective Compliance Assembly Robot
Arm (SCARA) handling robot. The production line layout isplanned according to the environmental space.

4.3. SCADA Monitoring System
The SCADA system of production line is mainly used to displaythe real-time situation and screen on the monitoring interface, as
shown in Figure 10. In order to clearly indicate the conditions ofeach hole on the fixture, 144 holes on the fixture are simulated anddisplayed. Different icons are illustrated according to the current
processing status of the infixed chopsticks at the workstation. The
programming Graphical User Interface (GUI) is designed withfunction buttons of various situations to give commands to eachworkstation.

Figure 11 | RFID sensing module and operations.

Figure 12 | Automated optical inspection system.

4.4. Incoming Inspection Platform

Figure 8 | System architecture of production line.

The incoming inspection platform is the starting station of production line and responsible for managing whether the fixture enters
the station and detecting whether the incoming is suitable forprocessing. The incoming inspection platform includes an Radio
Frequency IDentification (RFID) sensing module and an automated optical inspection system. The RFID sensing module is used
to determine whether the fixture has entered the station, as shownin Figure 11. The automatic optical inspection system is introduced toinspect the processing materials, eliminate the bad incoming materials, and reduce the wear of the drilling cutter, as shown in Figure 12.

4.5. Chamfering and Gluing Machine

Figure 9 | Application field of production line.

The chamfering and gluing machine is a kind of flexible manufacturing equipment with the chamfering and gluing functions in theproduction processes of infixed chopsticks. First, the machine completes the setting of Controlword and Mode of Operation via RPDO1
to switch the device status and operation mode. The real-time statusof the machine can be viewed and checked through TPDO1. Next,the machine is switched to Homing Mode operation mode to set theC.-C. Song et al. / Journal of Robotics, Networking and Artificial Life 7(1) 1–65

Table 4 | Related objects of Homing ModeIndex

ObjectName

Type607Ch6098h
6099h
609Ah

VAR
VAR
ARRAY
VAR

Home offset
Homing method
Homing speeds
Homing acceleration

INTEGER32
INTEGER8UNSIGNED32
UNSIGNED32

Table 5 | Related objects of Profile Position Mode

Figure 15 | Infixing and molding process.

Index

ObjectName

Type6064h
607Ah
6081h
6083h
6084h

VAR
VAR
VAR
VAR
VAR

Position actual value
Target position
Profile velocity
Profile acceleration
Profile deceleration

INTEGER32
INTEGER32
UNSIGNED32
UNSIGNED32
UNSIGNED32

used to complete the homing position return. Then the machine isswitched to Profile Position Mode. The SDO, RPDO1 and RPDO2
are used to set continuously the movement target position, so thatthe motor of each axes is rotated to the correct position to achieve
the infixing and molding process shown in Figure 15.

5. CONCLUSION

Figure 13 | Chamfering process.

In this paper, the CANopen node controller and the integration ofintelligent production line is studied and developed by applying theCANopen protocol. The CAN bus is used to serve as the communication backbone by using CANopen as the high application-layer protocol. Moreover, the SCADA system communicates with each nodethrough CAN Bus to complete the task of constructing and managing the entire network. Further, the control commands are released
and the effective data transmission and reception processing is performed on all the nodes, so that the operator can immediately monitor the condition of the production line. In summary, the functional
testing of application field is performed to evaluate the system performance of the entire system network monitoring and management.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.
Figure 14 | Gluing process.

homing speed, homing acceleration and homing method, as shownin Table 4. The machine tool must complete the homing action toensure that the starting position of each axis is correct.
Then Profile Position Mode is selected to rotate the machine tothe specified position according to the setting speed of user. SDO
is used to set the acceleration and deceleration, while RPDO2 isused to set the target speed and target position, as shown in Table 5.
TPDO1 and TPDO2 is used to confirm whether the machine has
been turned to the set target position. Through RPDO2, new target
positions can be set continuously to move the three rotation axes ofthe chamfering and gluing machine, and cooperate with the actionof the pneumatic valve to complete the chamfering or gluing process, as shown in Figures 13 and 14.

4.6. Infixing and Molding Machine
The infixing machine implements the infixing process of infixedchopsticks. Same as the chamfering machine, SDO and RPDO1 areACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by the Ministry of Science andTechnology, Taiwan, R.O.C. under Grant: MOST 107-2218-E-150001 and 107-2218-E-150-007.

REFERENCES
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A. Lekidis, M. Bozga, S. Bensalem, Model-based validation ofCANopen systems, 2014 10th IEEE Workshop on Factory Com­muni­cation Systems (WFCS), IEEE, Toulouse, France, 2014, pp.
1–10.
M. Farsi, M.B.M. Barbosa, CANopen implementation: applications
to industrial networks, Research Studies Press Ltd., England, 2000.
CAN in Automation, CANopen specification, 1996.
CiA-301, CANopen application layer and communication profile, 2002.
CiA-402, CANopen device profile drives and motion control, 2002.
SERVOTRONIX, EtherCAT and CANopen Reference Manualsversion 6.4, 2017.

C.-C. Song et al. / Journal of Robotics, Networking and Artificial Life 7(1) 1–66AUTHORS INTRODUCTION
Prof. Chau-Chung SongHe received the M.S. degree in Control
Engineering in 1994 and the PhD degree
in Electrical and Control Engineeringfrom National Chiao Tung Universityin 2001 at Taiwan. He is currently a distinguished professor in Departmentof Aeronautical Engineering, NationalFormosa University. His research interests include the analysis
and control of nonlinear systems the integration application ofnetworking information system, the UAV technology, and thecloud network and Cyber-Physical system (CPS).

Dr. Yu-Kai Chen
He received the PhD degree in ElectricalEngineering from National Chung Cheng
University, Chiayi, in 1999. In 2015 and2019, he received the outstanding industry
collaboration awards from National Formosa
University. His research interests include
modeling and control of power converters,
design of solar panel-supplied inverters forgrid connection, and MCU-based application systems with fuzzy and robust controls.

Dr. Chung-Wen Hung

Mr. Yu-Wei HoHe received his Bachelor’s degree from theDepartment of Aeronautical Engineering,
National Formosa University, Taiwan
in 2017. He is currently a Master course
student in National Formosa University,Taiwan.

He received the PhD degree in ElectricalEngineering from National Taiwan
University in 2006. Currently, he is anassociate professor in National Yunlin
University of Science & Technology.
His research interests include IoT, IIoT,
Power Electronics, Motor Control, and AI
Application.