In order to ensure that SERCOS I/II products from various manufacturers are compatible and meet IEC standards, conformance testing and certification of all SERCOS products is required. Once a product passes the conformance test, a certificate can be requested, and the product can carry the SERCOS interface trademark.
Note that conformance testing for SERCOS III products will soon be developed. SERCOS III uses Industrial Ethernet as its physical layer, so the physical aspects of the conformance testing will differ from SERCOS I/II.
SERCOS interface Trademark
The SERCOS interface trademark is protected by law. Companies wishing to use it in their promotional materials or on products must contact SERCOS N.A. or SERCOS International.
Members of any of the SERCOS promotional groups have the right to use the trademark on their promotional materials. Non-members may purchase that right for a yearly fee.
However, only those products that are tested by an authorized conformance testing laboratory and certified are permitted to bear the SERCOS logo.
See Trademark Statutes.
Conformance Testing Requirements
Products with the SERCOS interface are tested at the Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Units (ISW) at the University of Stuttgart. This laboratory is authorized by SERCOS International to carry out the testing per IEC international standards.
The aim of the conformance test is to ensure the compatibility and interoperability of SERCOS interface devices from different vendors in multiple vendor environments at the SERCOS interface Conformance Class A level. Tests to higher conformance classes are in development.
In the test laboratory, each device containing a SERCOS interface master or slave is checked for compliance with the SERCOS interface specification, to Compliance Class A. (Compliance classes are defined in an appendix of standard IEC 61491.) The testing includes the physical and the logical behavior of the test unit, as defined in the Master and Slave Test Descriptions that are available for download.
-- SERCOS Conformance test for Master Devices
-- SERCOS Conformance test for Slave Devices
After the conformance test, ISW prepares a test report for the client. If the test unit behavior corresponds to the standard, the client can
apply to SERCOS
International for a certification
document.
The SERCOS Conformizer test software is available for purchase by any SERCOS vendor who wishes to pre-test his products in his own facilities prior to submitting them for the official conformance test. This provides a 90% assurance of passing the formal test.
|
