CTR Electronics CANifier User manual

CANifier User’s Guide www.ctr-electronics.com 10/8/2017
Cross The Road Electronics Page 1 10/8/2017
CANifier
User’s Guide
Revision 1.0
Cross The Road Electronics
www.ctr-electronics.com

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Table of Contents
1. What is CANifier?.......................................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1. Features ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
1.2. Pin Descriptions .................................................................................................................................................................... 6
1.3. Electrical Specifications......................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.3.1. Voltage Rail Dropout Plots. ........................................................................................................................................... 7
1.4. Electrical Schematic .............................................................................................................................................................. 8
1.5. LEDs....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
1.5.1. LED Channel LEDs (3)..................................................................................................................................................... 9
1.5.2. Status LED States (2)...................................................................................................................................................... 9
2. Installation .................................................................................................................................................................................. 11
2.1. Installing CAN Bus and Power leads.................................................................................................................................... 11
2.2. Wiring Common-Anode LED Strip ....................................................................................................................................... 12
2.3. Wiring remaining signals..................................................................................................................................................... 12
2.3.1. Sensor examples ......................................................................................................................................................... 13
2.4. Test CANifier assembly and wiring...................................................................................................................................... 15
2.5. Enclose/Insulate CANifier assembly.................................................................................................................................... 16
3. Phoenix Framework (Software) .................................................................................................................................................. 17
3.1. Software Examples.............................................................................................................................................................. 17
3.2. Status Frame Rates ............................................................................................................................................................. 17
3.3. Custom Platforms................................................................................................................................................................ 17
3.4. HERO LifeBoat / roboRIO Web-based configuration........................................................................................................... 18
4. Functional Limitations................................................................................................................................................................. 19
4.1. Future features to be implemented.................................................................................................................................... 19
4.2. When hot-swapping certain sensors, CANifier may reset................................................................................................... 19
4.3. roboRIO Self-test will be added in future............................................................................................................................ 19
4.4. Reverse Limit signal is missing ESD diode. .......................................................................................................................... 19
4.5. Silkscreen suggests max input voltage is 33V. Vdd-max is 28V.......................................................................................... 19
5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ............................................................................................................................................. 20
5.1. Certain features are not working, but this document indicates they should work............................................................. 20
5.2. Signals updates seem slow. There is stair-stepping in my signal plots............................................................................... 20
6. Firmware (CRF) Version History .................................................................................................................................................. 21
7. Revision History .......................................................................................................................................................................... 21

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TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS
It is our intention to provide our valued customers with the best documentation possible to
ensure successful use of your CTRE products. To this end, we will continue to improve our
publications, examples, and support to better suit your needs.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this document, or any CTRE product, please
contact [e-mail]
To obtain the most recent version of this document, please visit
www.ctr-electronics.com.

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1. What is CANifier?
The CTR Electronics CANifier is a CAN-controlled multipurpose LED and General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO)
controller. CANifier also supports a variety of sensors including Quadrature, Limit Switch, SPI, I2C, and PWM
input/output.
CANifier is designed to “CAN-ify”robot control system components that traditionally do not take advantage of CAN
bus. This allows robot developers already using CAN bus to further expand their capabilities.
Example users are…
-Commercial Robots developed using
the CTRE HERO Control System.
-Robots developed for FRC
Competition (or similar).
-Academic robot courses/design
projects.
-Rapid Prototyping (need to quickly
add another sensor)
Example use-cases solved by CANifier…
-Integrates PWM sensors like LIDAR/Sonar into a CTRE-HERO/FRC/CAN Bus control system.
-Add more sensors into the FRC CAN bus without involving the roboRIO (no hardware SPI/I2C drivers to
struggle with). Native support coming in the CTRE Phoenix Framework.
-Allows direct communication between external sensors and various CTRE CAN products for future out-of-
box features that “just work”.
-Allows control of PWM motor controllers (1) like Victor SP via CAN bus commands through CANifier.
-LED Strip control via CAN bus.
-Integrate RC Radio control (PWM) into CTRE-HERO/FRC/CAN Bus control system.
-Sensors located far from central robot controller can instead tap into the CAN bus.
Note 1: FRC Teams must confirm what is deemed legal when using PWM motor controllers in competition. Typically, FRC rules require PWM
Motor controllers to be wired directly to roboRIO.

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1.1. Features
CAN bus controlled and field-upgradeable
3x LED channel drivers
oIndividual RGB control with 10bit resolution.
Support for many sensor types, including:
oSRX Mag Encoder / quadrature encoders
oLimit switches
oPixy/CMUcam5
oPulse width ultrasonic (e.g. MaxBotix MB1013)
oLIDAR-Lite v3
oTalon Tach
oDigital Sharp distance sensors
Outputs for common devices, including:
oPWM motor controllers
oSmall hobby servos
oPWM LED controllers
oAny PWM-controlled device
Electro-static Discharge (ESD) protection on exposed pins
Future features…
oSeveral sensor types supported directly in firmware.
oSPI/I2C-over-CANBus software driver.
oDirect communication with CTRE CAN Devices for a variety of features.

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1.2. Pin Descriptions
The CANifier has a multitude of I/O pins. All pins are counted as GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) except for
power supply pins (5V, GND, 3.3V, VDD).
Pin #
Name
Function
1
SDA
I2C Data pin
2
SCL
I2C Clock pin
3
5V
5V output
4
QUAD A
Quadrature channel A
5
GND
Ground
6
QUAD B
Quadrature channel B
7
INDEX
Quadrature Index
8
LIMF
Limit Switch Forward
9
GND
Ground
10
LIMR
Limit Switch Reverse
11
GND
Ground
12
CS/PWM3
SPI Chip Select / PWM input 3
13
CLK/PWM0
SPI Clock / PWM input 0
14
MOSI/PWM1
SPI Data Out / PWM input 1
15
MISO/PWM2
SPI Data In / PWM input 2
16
5V
5V output
17
5V
5V output
18
3.3V
3.3V output
19
3.3V
3.3V output
20
GND
Ground
21
GND
Ground
CANH
CAN High
CANL
CAN Low
V+
LED Source Voltage (Common anode)
A
LED Channel A (cathode)
B
LED Channel B (cathode)
C
LED Channel C (cathode)
Backside
VDD
Supply Voltage
Backside
GND
Ground

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1.3. Electrical Specifications
Note 1: A silkscreen error implies a maximum VDD of 33V. The real maximum VDD is 28V. VDD limits are for guaranteeing full functionality.
Note 2: See Section 1.3.1 (Figure 1.1. 5V rail dropout)
Note 3: See Section 1.3.1 (Figure 1.2. 3.3V rail dropout)
Note 4: See schematic for information on series resistors
Note 5: This will be configurable in future updates.
Note 6: All pins have TVS diodes for ESD protection except for LIMR.
1.3.1. Voltage Rail Dropout Plots.
Symbol
Parameter
Condition
Min
Typ
Max
Unit
Tamb
Ambient temperature
-40
+125
°C
Vdd
Supply voltage
7
28 (1)
V
Isupp
Supply Current
7.0V < Vdd < 28.0V
12
24
mA
Vdrop_5V
5V rail dropout voltage
At Vdd
6.5 (2)
V
Vdrop_3.3V
3.3V rail dropout voltage
At Vdd
3.9 (3)
V
Vdrop_CAN
CAN dropout voltage
At Vdd
5.2
V
Imax_5V
Max continuous 5V current draw
500
mA
Imax_3.3V
Max continuous 3.3V current draw
100
mA
Imax_ABC
Max sink current per LED channel
3.5
A
GPIO Specs
VoL
Low level output voltage
GND+0.4
V
VoH
High level output voltage
2.8
3.3
V
Io
Source/Sink current per output pin
3
mA
RGPIO
GPIO series resistance (4)
22
Ω
ViL
Low level input voltage
-0.3
0.2
V
ViH
High level input voltage
2.7
5.5
V
fPWM_ABC
A, B, and C PWM switching frequency
1
kHz
fPWM_OUT_0123
PWM 0-3 Period (5)
As output
4.2
ms
fPWM_IN_0123
Pulse Width Measurement Accuracy
As inputs
250
ns
Default internal pull mode
As inputs
Pullup
ESD Rating
ESD Protection Contact Discharge (6)
±8
kV
ESD Protection Air-Gap Discharge (6)
±8
kV
Figure 1.1. 5V rail dropout voltage
Figure 1.2. 3.3V rail dropout voltage

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1.4. Electrical Schematic
Note that V+, 5V, 3.3V, GND, CANH, and CANL have exposed pads on the PCB

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1.5. LEDs
CANifier has multiple LEDs…
-Two bicolor LEDs for CAN and control status.
-Three red LEDs to instrument the individual LED channel outputs.
1.5.1. LED Channel LEDs (3)
Each LED channel has a dedicated red LED that will illuminate if the channel is
modulated (partially or full on). This can be used to confirm if the CANifier is
commanded to turn on LED Channels.
1.5.2. Status LED States (2)
The CANifier features two bicolor LEDs that indicate the status of the CANifier. This feature can be used to confirm
proper operation. The table below shows the possible color states and their respective operation.
Note 1: LEDs Alternate –Status LEDs are always different colors. The (2X) LEDs will swap colors when blinking.
Blink Codes
LEDs
Colors
CANifier State
None
None
No Power is being applied to CANifier
LEDs Alternate (1)
Off/Red
CAN bus is not detected
Check CAN cabling to the CANifier, check other devices
on CAN bus to confirm that the bus is operational
LEDs Alternate (1)
Off/Orange
CAN bus detected but no commands are being received.
Most likely no CANifier object was created in software.
LEDs Alternate (1)
Switching between Red/Orange and
Orange/Red
Damaged Hardware
LED1 Only
“closest” to
M+/V+
Green/Orange
In Boot-loader
LEDs Alternate (1)
Blinking Green
CAN is connected, the CANifier is being controlled by
robot controller.
Channel C
Channel B
Channel A

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1.5.2.1. Status LEDs –Damaged Hardware
The CANifier can detect certain types of hardware damage. When damage is detected the CANifier will blink in a
periodic fashion as mentioned in the table above. This is also illustrated below…
Note that the LEDs never turn off when indicating this failure mode. Each LED is always red or orange at any
moment. The orange/red LED pattern will continue to blink this pattern with no intermittent change in LED
activity.
If this is being witnessed, ensure that the LED pattern isn’t simply an intermittent red LED blink superimposed on
to the typical orange LED pattern. This is typically observed when there is an intermittent wiring issue or when
two or more CANifiers with common device IDs are present on the CAN bus. Both can be checked by connecting
the CANifier directly to the robot controller. Do not connect any other CAN devices and avoid complex wire
harness strategies.
Erratic red and orange blink patterns are typically caused by intermittent cable issues, or not properly configuring
the device IDs of the CANifiers. Such LED patterns should not be misconstrued as the damaged LED code
mentioned above.