New Software Release: ECU Master CAN Switchboard Emulator

New Software Release: ECU Master CAN Switchboard Emulator

In our attempt to make as many off-the-shelf plug and play software applications as possible, we wanted to start with the ones that we deemed the most useful and easiest to prove our motivating principle: that the Kaizen Relay and Control Module are universally versatile products. 

In this blog post, we will show how a Kaizen Relay Control Module can emulate an ECU Master CAN Switchboard, and control a PMU-16 (their 16-channel solid state power distribution module). The use case for this is simple... say you have a car that requires 18 outputs. Well the PMU can supply the first 16, and instead of buying a complete  second unit, you would simply use 2x Kaizen Relays and a Control Module!

As the CAN Specification for the CAN Switchboard is published by ECU Masters, we quickly wrote some firmware, wired some things up, and configured the PMU Software to make it all work. For details on how to do this, contact Programs@KaizenSpeeed.com

Onto the good stuff:

ECU Master CAN Switchboard in Action

First off, the PMU was setup to read "Switch Input 1" from the Kaizen Relay Control Module a.k.a CAN Switchboard, where it was toggled on and off every second. Over CAN, the control module broadcasted the status of the switch and the PMU followed the status, driving Output 1. 

Secondly, the PMU was setup to read a "Virtual PWM Output" from the Kaizen Relay Control Module a.k.a ECU Master Black ECU, where it was increasing the duty cycle 10% every 100ms, just to show it was capable of it. This duty cycle was also broadcast over CAN, and the PMU followed the commands, driving Output 2 in a ramped PWM fashion. 

Pretty Cool! Let us know what other plug and play firmware you would like us to develop. As always, questions and comments are welcome!!

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