KUNBUS announces RevPi Connect IIoT gateway

July 23, 2018 - RevPi Connect is the latest member of KUNBUS' Revolution Pi product family. Designed as an IIoT gateway for machine and plant engineering, the device has two Ethernet interfaces, a hardware watchdog and the possibility to connect various radio modules.

The RevPi Connect, which is housed in a DIN rail housing, is equipped with two RJ45 Ethernet sockets, two USB ports, a 4-pin RS485 interface, a Micro-HDMI and a Micro-USB socket. Its two Ethernet interfaces support simultaneous integration in both the automation and IT networks. This allows machine data from the shop floor, for example, to be transferred directly to the cloud or to a higher-level ERP system. Familiar protocols such as MQTT and OPC UA are available to the user. Individual applications can be programmed via Node-RED, Phython or directly in C.

Its modular design makes it possible to expand the 45 mm wide base unit with expansion modules such as IOs, fieldbus gateways and radio modules. These expansion modules can be plug-and-play connected to the base unit via an overhead connector (without tools) and configured via a graphical user interface.
A configurable hardware watchdog monitors the status of the IIoT gateway. A relay output allows the hardware watchdog to monitor connected devices or expansion modules. The device also has a 24 V input for transmitting the shutdown signal of a UPS.

As typical in the Revolution Pi family, the RevPi Connect is designed as an open source device and complies with EN 61131-2. By using the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3, the device has a quad-core processor with 1.2 GHz, 1 GB RAM and 4 GB eMMC flash memory. The operating system used is an customized Raspbian with real-time patch.

RevPi Connect features master and slave capabilities of the Modbus RTU and Modbus TCP protocols. Integration into other common fieldbus or Industrial Ethernet networks such as PROFIBUS or EtherCAT can be realized with the expansion modules mentioned above. Optional available control and HMI software enables the device to be expanded into a small industrial control unit.