Evaluation board NSHIELD 90-RE

Product overview
NSHIELD 90-RE is a netX 90 SoC based evaluation board (successor of NSHIELD 52-RE) designed for development and evaluation of multi-protocol Real-Time Ethernet communication. Implemented as a companion chip to STM32 microcontrollers, it is compatible with STM32 Nucleo-64 and Nucleo-144 development boards via Arduino Uno compatible host interface connectors.

Key highlights

• One hardware platform for industrial Real-Time Ethernet systems
• netX 90 protocol-stack firmware available as free download for evaluation
• Supports STM-NUCLEO-64 and STM-NUCLEO-144
• Quick Start Guide for easy setup of hardware and software

Functionality
Enables microcontroller-based applications to connect to multiple Real-Time Ethernet industrial networks while the protocol stack runs independently on the netX 90 SoC, minimizing host CPU and memory usage. The netX 90 acts as a communication coprocessor providing multi-protocol support and low-latency cyclic communication.

Supported protocols

• CC-Link IE Field Basic (Slave)
• Sercos (Slave)
• PROFINET IO-Device
• EtherNet/IP (Adapter)
• EtherCAT (Slave)
• DeviceNet (Slave)
• CANopen (Slave)
• Open Modbus/TCP
• POWERLINK (Controlled Node)
• PROFIBUS DP (Slave)

Technical specifications

• Product name: NSHIELD 90-RE
• Part number: 7836.000
• Function: Real-Time Ethernet expansion/evaluation board for STM32 Nucleo host devices
• Communication controller: netX 90
• RAM: 8 MByte SDRAM
• Flash: 8 MByte serial Flash memory
• Host interface: Serial dual-port memory interface via SPI
• Host system: STM32 Nucleo-64 and Nucleo-144 development boards
• Connectors: ARDUINO® Uno V3 compatible pin header strips (1 x 6-pin, 2 x 8-pin, 1 x 10-pin)
• Ethernet: 100 MBit/s (supports 10 MBit/s), 100BASE-TX, 10BASE-T
• Ethernet galvanic isolation: isolated; isolation voltage: 1000 VDC
• Ethernet connector: 2 × RJ45 with Real-Time Ethernet switch for line and ring topologies
• Fieldbus assembly: NXHX-DP, NXHX-CO, NXHX-DN (connector for NXHX fieldbus adapter modules)
• Diagnosis interface: USB-to-UART firmware download via on-board Mini-B USB (virtual COM port); USB-to-JTAG debugging
• Development / test access point: Needle adapters JTAG TAP
• Display elements (LEDs): SYS (system status yellow/green); COM0/COM1 (communication status red/green); ACT0/ACT1 (Ethernet activity yellow); LINK0/LINK1 (Ethernet link green); MMIO0..MMIO7 user-definable LEDs (MMIO connectivity via host interface connector X6)
• Power supply: 5 V DC; current consumption: 300 mA at 5 V (typical); power input via Mini-B USB or Arduino host interface connector X5
• Operating temperature (laboratory conditions): 0 °C … +30 °C
• Dimensions (L × W × H): 70.2 mm × 53.4 mm × 23.6 mm
• Mounting / installation: Plug-on module, mounting via Arduino pin headers
• Operating elements: Reset button; Boot mode selection; Power supply selection
• Configuration / development: Application using the API, Communication Studio