From Concept to Certified Solution How to Successfully Integrate Fieldbuses into Complex Embedded Architectures

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The integration of fieldbuses is highly complex and requires developers to have expertise in hardware, software, and certification. A structured approach, as well as design partnerships, can be helpful.

Anyone integrating a fieldbus interface into an embedded system faces numerous technical and organizational challenges. For instance, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) robustness, galvanic isolation, stable power supply, and temperature resistance must be ensured at the hardware level. Even selecting the appropriate communication processors requires balancing factors such as computing power, peripherals, energy consumption, and housing size.

The software side is similarly demanding. Real-time capable fieldbus protocols like Profinet require deterministic communication with strict cycle times. The implementation of the protocol stack must be closely integrated with the operating system and application logic, while diagnostics, alarm management, and firmware updates must function reliably in parallel. Additionally, interoperability testing and certification processes require consistent validation from the first prototype to series production. A structured approach is crucial for this.

Step By Step to Profinet-Enabled Embedded Electronics

1. Requirement Analysis: The process begins with a precise definition of the target parameters: Which process data should be transmitted cyclically, what update rates are required, and what level of communication latency is acceptable? These questions determine the optimal embedded hardware platform, the appropriate Profinet variant, and the I/O configuration. Equally important is the early consideration of safety and certification requirements to avoid later design changes.
2. Hardware Development: The next step involves the hardware circuit design. In addition to the actual communication processor, fieldbus transceivers, voltage converters, and ESD protection circuits must be integrated. For galvanic isolation, additional isolation drivers and a coordinated grounding concept are mandatory. PCB design requires differential signal routing of the data lines, consistent impedance matching, and an EMC-compliant PCB layout to ensure interference-free data transmission.
3. Firmware Architecture: In parallel, firmware planning begins. The selected communication processor typically includes proven fieldbus protocol stacks that are integrated into the application software via a defined API interface. At this stage, it is decided whether a real-time operating system (RTOS) will be used to comfortably meet the strict Profinet cycle times or whether a leaner approach is sufficient.
4. Integration of the Profinet stack: In this phase, process data objects are assigned to cyclic and acyclic communication channels. Device-specific configuration files— such as GSDML files or EDS files—are created and tested. Diagnostic and alarm functions are implemented, as well as mechanisms for secure firmware updates in the field.
5. Validation and Certification: After the initial hardware bring-up on the lab bench, validation begins. Standardized testing tools are used to check protocol compliance, while load and EMC tests ensure system robustness. Only when the device passes both the official Profinet certification tests and practical field tests is it ready for series production.
6. Production preparation: Finally, it is important to develop test jigs for end-of-line testing, prepare bootloaders for secure firmware updates, and create comprehensive documentation. This ensures that the embedded product remains maintainable throughout its entire lifecycle.

Typical Pitfalls in Profinet Projects

Many projects fail not in theory but in the details: sometimes missing impedance matching causes reflections on the lines, other times the configuration file is not fully standards-compliant, or the firmware used has been inadequately tested, leading to timing issues under high bus load. Additionally, the product lifecycle of embedded systems must be considered: component availability, security patches, and firmware maintenance need to be planned from the outset.

To address these challenges in practice, many companies rely on development service providers such as Burger Engineering, which specialize in industrial communication. They have years of experience in fieldbus integration, especially with Profinet, and have developed proven methodologies to systematically avoid typical pitfalls in projects. Ideally, they support the development of embedded products throughout the entire chain—from the initial concept to the series product.

Even in the concept phase, workshops can help clarify real-time and safety requirements and determine the optimal fieldbus platform together with the development team. In the hardware sector, the external development team then takes on tasks such as:

• Circuit diagram development,
• PCB layout with a particular focus on EMI robustness,
• Manufacturability,
• Increasing the likelihood of long-term component availability,
• Integration of the selected (Profinet) stack into the new embedded product and
• Implementation of diagnostic functions for service and maintenance.

For the subsequent validation of the new embedded product, many development service providers offer automated test environments to verify interoperability, endurance, and immunity. Additionally, the development service provider supports the project team during official certification, ensuring a seamless transition from prototype to series production.

Strategic Design Partnerships As A Success Factor

A particular added value for development projects is provided by close design partnerships between development service providers and one or more chip manufacturers. These partnerships can significantly accelerate projects, as partners often have better access to support and technical expertise. For example, Burger Engineering has been a recognized design partner of Hilscher, a provider of communication processors, for years.

For the development team in the user company, this means:

• Faster time-to-market: Development service providers can access new components and reference designs early on.
• Optimal stack integration: Project teams leverage internal tools and documentation from chip partners.
• Aligned certification strategies: Accelerated compliance with the respective fieldbus standards.
• Long-term product maintenance: Firmware updates and security patches are provided in close coordination.

Especially complex projects in high-availability or safety-critical embedded systems can be reliably realized through such partnerships. Companies benefit from the combination of deep fieldbus expertise, state-of-the-art communication processor technology, and proven implementation competence. A clear competitive advantage over solo developers in the field.

A Conclusion: From Concept to Series Production

The implementation of a fieldbus interface is far more than a purely hardware task. It requires a well-coordinated interplay of precise requirements analysis, robust hardware design, clean firmware architecture, consistent stack integration, and comprehensive testing and certification measures.

A structured approach minimizes risks and accelerates market entry. Especially design partnerships between development service providers and chip manufacturers create additional value: they provide direct access to current communication processor technology, bring deep protocol expertise, and ensure a proven development environment.

This enables even complex embedded systems to be made reliably and future-proof fieldbus-capable—from the initial idea to series production and beyond. (heh)

Wilhelm Adacker is a software architect, and Jörg Klenke is a member of the management board as well as the head of the Project Management Office (PMO). Both work at Burger Engineering.

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