CAN XL: what changes for robots, HMIs and industrial machines
For decades, CAN has been one of the most dependable languages used by machines. Controllers, sensors, actuators, operator panels and safety modules can exchange information with predictable priority and the robustness required by industrial and automotive environments. Today, however, a machine is no longer sending only a few commands and states: it has to handle richer diagnostics,…
CAN XL represents a third generation of the CAN protocol, designed to handle increased data flows and more complex requirements in industrial and automotive environments. This new protocol, standardized in ISO 11898:2024, supports data fields up to 2,048 bytes and configurable data rates up to 20 Mbit/s, depending on the physical network design.
CAN XL is not simply a faster version of the original CAN protocol. Rather, it is a significant evolution that allows networks to carry more data without sacrificing the reliability and determinism that made CAN so popular. The key difference lies in the data-field limit: classic CAN supports 8-byte frames, CAN FD allows up to 64 bytes, while CAN XL can accommodate up to 2,048 bytes per frame.
This increased capacity is particularly useful for modern machines that function as distributed systems, with various electronic nodes such as controllers, sensors, actuators, operator panels, and safety modules exchanging information. In such systems, robots, HMIs (Human-Machine Interfaces), and industrial machines often need to handle richer diagnostics, high-frequency feedback, more capable HMIs, updates, and data from multiple sensors.
For example, industrial robots must maintain priority and predictable timing for motion control while also collecting encoder data, torque-sensor measurements, and drive diagnostics. HMIs, on the other hand, require growing amounts of configuration, process parameters, and operator-facing information.
Texas Instruments recently introduced the TCAN6062, a commercially available CAN XL transceiver, which marks the transition from standardization to practical availability for industrial products, robots, HMIs, and next-generation control architectures. This development opens up opportunities for evaluating CAN XL in new industrial products.
However, it's important to note that CAN XL is not an automatic replacement for CAN FD or Ethernet. Its value lies in its ability to handle larger data packets while retaining CAN arbitration, allowing important messages to receive priority while still providing more room for diagnostics, parameters, sensor data, and updates.
While the TCAN6062 itself is not a complete solution for a CAN XL system, it does provide a starting point for evaluating and designing such systems. Engineers must consider the controller's support for the protocol, the necessary firmware management, and the physical verification of the network, as well as the behavior of other components in the system.
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