Industrial Connectivity
Industrial networks typically implement fieldbus protocols for real-time and reliable distributed control to connect instruments and machines in a manufacturing plant, creating a system that can be easily controlled. Facing increasing system complexity, equipment manufacturers are driving toward Ethernet-based communications that can deliver high performance, low cost, and high levels of platform interoperability. This trend towards industrial Ethernet to support a multitude of fieldbus and industrial Ethernet protocol standards aligns with the reconfigurable industrial solutions that Altera and Altera® Partners have to offer.
A growing array of industrial designs that require fast time-to-market and low-cost flexible solutions now use Altera programmable logic devices (PLDs), which include FPGAs and CPLDs. From plant-wide automation, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and I/O modules to servo drives and motion controllers, you can quickly modify products based on PLDs to support new functionalities while maintaining platform interoperability. Since PLD designs are based on intellectual property (IP) and HDL, you can easily migrate solutions to different devices or even to new generations of PLDs. Along with the longevity of PLDs, such flexibility also mitigates the risk of product obsolescence.
Altera PLDs such as the Cyclone® III FPGA family help Altera customers tackle the toughest challenges:
-
Adapting quickly to end market changes and evolving business requirements
-
Enabling cost-saving design reuse and platform scalability
-
Supporting multiple networking standards for industrial connectivity
-
Replacing fixed ASICs and ASSPs and offloading host processor functions
Altera provides a comprehensive product portfolio to accelerate industrial application development—industrial reference designs, Quartus® II/SOPC Builder development tools suite, 32-bit Nios® II embedded processor, on-board memory, lots of I/O pins, and a wide range of standard and industrial IP. To learn more about what industrial products and solutions that Altera has to offer, please view this industrial site or contact your local Altera sales representative or distributor office.
|
 Next Steps
Support
Documentation
|
Literature
> 
