To keep pace with the rapid evolution of Industry 4.0, industrial IoT system developers rely on smart, secure connected devices to automate factories and buildings. Electric motors in particular are a cornerstone of today's factory and automation processes, and motor control equipment represents a substantial segment of today's automation market.
Multi-axis industrial drives, Ethernet-based time-sensitive networking (TSN) communications and industrial automation control system (IACS) security are critical technologies for automation applications. Because of their complex motor drive, communications and security requirements, these industrial applications can be challenging to develop without optimized processing platforms. Intelligent industrial IoT (IIoT) systems must communicate, share data and interact with both users and other machines—and handle all of these tasks securely.
To address these Industry 4.0 application needs, NXP has announced the i.MX RT Industrial Drive Development Platform to enable system designers to develop and test industrial use cases on a single, all-inclusive platform, speeding time to market while maintaining a secure-by-design approach. NXP's i.MX RT Industrial Drive Development Platform provides a comprehensive, modular solution that brings together essential technologies that will redefine the next era of secure IIoT devices and drive the transition to truly smart factories.
Start planning your next project with this flexible and modular platform.
Designed to simplify IIoT development, the platform supports multi-axis motor control, deterministic TSN communications, human machine interfaces (HMI), machine-to-machine (M2M) interfaces and cyber-resilient industrial security required for Industry 4.0. Target applications include robotic arms, mobile industrial robotics, 3D printers, motor drives, multi-axis machinery and AC and servo drives. Although optimized for industrial applications, the platform can also be used for building automation such as HVAC and elevator/escalator motor control and for consumer applications such as white goods (e.g., large appliances with motors including refrigerators, washing machines and dryers).
NXP has unified the latest Industry 4.0 technologies into a comprehensive hardware and software platform to enable smart, secure industrial IoT application development. The flexible, modular i.MX RT Industrial Drive Development Platform supports multi-motor control and deterministic TSN communications while providing a solid foundation for standards-compliant industrial cybersecurity. The platform hardware is built on the i.MX RT1170 crossover microcontroller (MCU) family and EdgeLock® SE05x secure element.
Leveraging the 800 MHz performance of the industrial-qualified i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU, the i.MX RT Industrial Drive Development Platform showcases the i.MX RT1170 MCU's capability to control up to four permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) simultaneously. In addition to handling advanced motor control algorithms, the i.MX RT1170 device has bandwidth to spare to support displays, deterministic Ethernet TSN, data logging, fault detection and a security approach that will be certified to meet the ISA/IEC 62443-4 SL3 standard. Together with the on-board EdgeLock SE05x secure element, the platform provides a ready-to-go, multi-board solution that accelerates the evaluation and validation of today's industrial applications.
The industrial drive development platform consists of three main boards: a daughter card, which integrates a single i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU device, a digital board, which acts as the expansion peripheral board for the daughter card, and a power stage board, which handles 200W output power to control sensored and sensorless motors. Depending on application specifications, developers can add from one to four power stage boards to the system, providing added flexibility for unique design requirements.
Let's take a closer look at some of the key features and functions you can explore with the development platform:
A typical approach to a multi-axis system in a factory shop floor uses several single motor drives connected through a real-time communications protocol. The latest platform provides a more efficient approach for multi-axis applications. Controlling up to four motors with a single MCU device helps reduce the amount of drives, cables and networking components required for a factory automation application. The platform demonstrates and guides how to leverage MCU peripherals and gate drivers for single, dual, triple or quad motor control.
Today, it is very rare to find an industrial device deployed in a standalone mode, i.e., not connected to a network. Deterministic communication is essential to support the evolution toward Industry 4.0, and Ethernet TSN is becoming the backbone of that communication. For end node devices, especially those controlling actuators such as motors, it is a key requirement to support TSN and seamlessly integrate with the operational technology (OT) network.
Every industrial device in the field should be able to detect and react to various system faults. Ranging from current spikes, abnormal voltages, high temperatures or external signals coming from other sensors, the device must be able to enter into a fail-safe mode until the fault is removed. This functionality is included in the industrial drive development platform, leveraging instant interrupt services within its comprehensive software architecture.
Production data, user access, alarms, errors and faults are all essential for monitoring, analyzing and auditing the normal operation of a factory or building. Recording a comprehensive log is a key capability for field engineers who need to determine how to get industrial systems to an optimal state. The industrial drive development platform can provide a reference point for developers to design and integrate their own data log subsystem within their IIoT devices.
The IoT revolution has brought us hyper-connected homes, buildings and factories. Most of the data being transferred has a monitoring purpose, from full digital twins to SCADA systems. The realization of these examples is only possible by ensuring reliable remote monitoring of IoT devices in the field. The i.MX RT Industrial Drive Development Platform guides developers on how to establish a secure channel between the end device and a monitoring system (e.g. a laptop, server or other field machine).
Industrial devices must only interact with trusted users or other machines. Leveraging the NXP security-by-design approach, the industrial drive development platform enforces security policies that are commonly required in factories that manage critical infrastructure. Only after a proper authentication and verification will the platform allow trusted user and machine-to-machine interaction. The platform demonstrates how designers can take advantage of credential provisioning capabilities to enable this feature.
While being prepared for cyber-physical attacks is a necessary strategy, it is also important to know that if an attack succeeds, the affected IIoT device can return to a previous trusted state. This is what the cyber-resilience principal is all about. Built with an embedded EdgeLock SE05x secure element, the industrial drive development platform implements a cyber-resilient approach that enables the device to detect if it has been compromised (e.g., from malicious code injection) and then automatically boots to a trusted image, making sure to remove the non-trusted code.
The i.MX RT Industrial Drive Development Platform provides meaningful guidance and collateral to help developers ease their industrial security certification journey with NXP products. Although the platform serves as a valuable reference for ISA/IEC 62443-4-1,-4/2 compliance, it does not grant automatic certification to their end products at this time. NXP plans to achieve IEC 62443-4-1/2 certification for the platform toward the end of 2022.
The i.MX RT Industrial Drive Development Platform provides the essential technologies developers need to create smart, secure and connected industrial devices. The development boards support the following NXP technologies:
What's the best MCU for your motor control design? Explore our comprehensive motor control guide for the latest solutions.
Industrial drive development boards will be available from NXP and through NXP distribution channels later this year. The application software pack includes sample code and design files, along with comprehensive technical documentation.
For more details about the i.MX RT Industrial Drive Development Platform, visit nxp.com/iMXRTIndustrialDrive.
Felipe Fernández is a business development specialist in NXP’s Industrial System Innovation team based in Hamburg, Germany. He has 10 years of experience in the areas of cybersecurity and factory automation, having worked in different regions such as Latin America and Europe. He holds Masters and Bachelors degrees in Mechatronics Engineering and an MBA from the Northern Institute of Technology Management. Find him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jfelipefg.
