Evaluate industrial sensors faster with first Quad IO-Link master reference design

Designers now have a single platform to develop their own IO-Link master and multiple industrial sensors. The MAXREFDES79# from Maxim Integrated Products, allows manufacturers to bring IO-Link factory automation designs to market faster. As the first ever IO-Link master reference design, MAXREFDES79# reduces the cost and time required to develop and evaluate both IO-Link master and IO-Link sensor systems. While previous IO-Link master development units featured only one port, Maxim’s MAXREFDES79# IO-Link master allows up to four sensors to be tested at one time. As an IO-Link compliant system, MAXREFDES79# works with any IO-Link sensor on the market today. MAXREFDES79# complements four Maxim sensor reference designs (MAXREFDES23# light sensor, MAXREFDES27# proximity sensor, MAXREFDES36# 16-channel digital input, and MAXREFDES42# RTD temp sensor) to make the process quick and easy for customers to simulate factory operation. MAXREFDES79# is a highly-integrated development platform with software stack. The system has four ports, one for each IO-Link master (MAX14824) and integrates power supply products. MAXREFDES79# uses the industry’s fastest (400µs) COM 3 communication, comes with an adapter, and is enabled with a microUSB data connection, says the company. Key Advantages 1 - Flexible and highly integrated: 4-port master with software stack can test any four IO-Link sensors. 2 - Faster time to market: easy to plug in and quickly evaluate external sensors. 3 - Affordable: significantly reduces both IO-Link master and sensor development time. “Maxim leveraged its expertise in IO-Link technology and analog integration to develop MAXREFDES79#, the industry’s most flexible and economical IO-Link master development platform for industrial automation,” said Timothy Leung, senior business manager, Maxim Integrated. “IO-Link sensor developers now have a readily available reference design for quick evaluation to get ahead of the curve in Industry 4.0.” Colin Barnden, principal analyst, Semicast Research, added: “Historically, the industrial sector was overlooked because of its complexity, but this is changing as the market potential increases. Maxim’s MAXREFDES79# reference design is an original approach to advancing an emerging technology like IO-Link to address the industrial market’s surging growth.”