Fruit & Vegetable Magazine

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Bauer CAN Bus control

April 15, 2008  By Fruit & Vegetable


bauer_can_busAustria-based irrigation
manufacturer Bauer has developed a new intelligent control system for
pivots, the CAN (Controller Area Network) Bus. The new system can now
centrally manage all of the irrigation system’s pivot drive towers,
providing complete control to the operator.

bauer_can_busAustria-based irrigation manufacturer Bauer has developed a new intelligent control system for pivots, the CAN (Controller Area Network) Bus. The new system can now centrally manage all of the irrigation system’s pivot drive towers, providing complete control to the operator. Permanent communication between the programmable control centre BDS 3.0 and the CAN Bus ensures perfect control of the irrigation system and high operating safety. Each drive tower of a CAN Bus controlled pivot system has a drive motor and an electric control unit. Individual electric control units contain a scanning device, which determines the relative position of each tower to the others, and a CAN node, which can communicate with the central control unit. The CAN nodes send messages concerning their individual positions and, in return, get orders from the control centre. This feature allows automatic time saving alignment of the pivot, which is of crucial importance after having changed the operating position of the irrigation system. The system is multimaster capable, which means it allows for concurrent requests from more than one CAN bus with the message of higher priority getting through without time loss. Bauer also offers cell phone or computer assisted control units for this modern drive tower communication. The CAN Bus will also send failure messages to the control centre identifying the affected CAN node or drive tower. A failure log may also be requested by computer or by cell phone.

For more information, contact your local Bauer dealer.

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