CANeds for CANopen is a powerful tool for generating and modifying CANopen electronic data sheets (EDS). It saves device manufacturers and system integrators from the hard and error-prone job of writing EDS files manually.

Free version of EDS editor is available in internet forum

CANeds is integrated in the proven tools CANoe.CANopen and CANalyzer.CANopen. In the Vector CANopen Forum the tool is available free of charge as a stand-alone EDS editor with a full range of features. The user can learn everything there is to know about the EDS generator as well as useful additional information on EDS files at canopen-forum.com. General issues related to CANopen are also discussed there.

Creating EDS files

Creating EDS files is very easy due to the ability of accessing standard objects and their attributes via CiA-CODB databases. CANeds displays the structure of an EDS in a hierarchical tree structure and represents CANopen object attributes such as object and data types symbolically. The user can drag the desired object dictionary entries and drop them into the tree view of the EDS file that is being created. An object dictionary entry that deviates from the specified default values is flagged with a red exclamation mark. The numerous types required in EDS files are automatically converted to their numeric values. This eliminates the time-consuming task of manual processing that was required previously. User-specific data types can also be created and are available for defining the object dictionary.

Scanning CANopen devices

If a specific hardware is available, a CANopen device can be scanned by CANeds. The device specific EDS file is generated automatically then.

Conversion of EDS files

Existing EDS/DCF files can be converted to other formats. CANeds supports the following conversion directions:

• EDS (electronic data sheet) to XDD (device description)
• DCF (device configuration file) to XDC (device configuration)
• EDS to DCF

Checking EDS files

CANeds includes the EDS test tool CANchkEDS. This tool checks the conformity to the EDS specification CiA 306 and therefore guarantees the correct operation of CANopen configuration tools. The checker is also part if the CiA conformance test.

For more information and free version of CANeds please refer to: canopen-forum.com.