Temperature-Tolerant I/O for Glass Production
Overview
Sealevel partners with one of the world’s leading producers of glass bottles and packaging in support of their revolutionary machinery. With more than 1,800 patents, the company has a long-standing commitment to transforming the glass production and inspection process.
Their glass production processes generate extreme levels of heat so all input monitoring and control equipment must be able to perform reliably within a wide operating temperature range. Additionally, a wide variety of peripherals is integrated into each system.
The 7404ec and 8018 are now integrated into the customer’s glass molding and cutting equipment in more than 35 plants in 9 countries worldwide.
The Solution
Sealevel’s team recommended the 7404ec PCIe serial and 8018 PCI digital interfaces to meet the specific I/O, bus, and performance requirements. The 7404ec PCIe serial interface provides four multifunction serial ports, each individually field-configurable for RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485. The 8018 Low Profile PCI interface provides 24 channels of buffered drive digital I/O emulating 8255 mode zero. This board can be utilized for PC-based control and automation of equipment including sensors, switches, and other industrial systems – and in glass molding and cutting for this application. Both products have an impressive wide operating temperature range of 0°C to +70°C, meeting the environmental challenges specified.
The 7404ec and 8018 are now integrated into the customer’s glass molding and cutting equipment in more than 35 plants in 9 countries worldwide.
7404ec PCI Express Serial Interface
- Each port individually configurable for RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485
- Ultra high-speed UART with 256-byte Tx and Rx FIFOs
- Supports asynchronous RS-232 data rates to 230.4 Kbps and RS-422/485 data rates exceeding 1 Mbps
8018 PCI Digital I/O Interface
- 24 channels of buffered TTL I/O
- Each 8-bit port individually configurable as input or output
- 8255 mode 0 compatible
- 10K pull-up resistors on each bit