The creation of cost-efficient and compact industrial slave devices that can connect to any Real-Time Ethernet network is now simplified through the combination of the STM32™ ecosystem with the multi-protocol flexibility of Hilscher’s netX control ICs.
The results of this collaboration are the I-NUCLEO-NETX expansion board for use with any STM32 Nucleo-64 or STM32 Nucleo-144 development board, and the
I-CUBE-NETX, an STM32Cube software expansion for combining Hilscher’s netX 52 network controllers with a host microcontroller (MCU) from ST’s extensive STM32 family.
The I-NUCLEO-NETX contains a netX 52 network controller IC with integrated real-time Ethernet switch, and has two RJ45 ports for line and ring topologies. netX 52 supports all Real-Time Ethernet protocol specifications and evolutions, including EtherCAT, PROFINET, EtherNet, Ethernet/IP, POWERLINK, CC-Link IE, Modbus TCP, and SERCOS III. It can also support Fieldbus standards like CANopen and emerging standards such as Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), as well as OPC-UA and MQTT for Cloud data exchanges, making it ready for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
The I-CUBE-NETX software package comes with a loadable pre-certified firmware for free evaluation of EtherCAT, PROFINET, and EtherNet/IP protocols. The package also includes the Hilscher cifX API and cifX Toolkit that allow all Real-Time Ethernet protocols to be used in the STM32 ecosystem and minimize software effort when porting from one protocol to another. Application examples help users get the I-NUCLEO-NETX expansion shield running and evaluate the free protocols.
Combining the strengths of netX with the extensive STM32 family – which ranges from entry-level STM32F0 MCUs to the very high-performing STM32F7 series and STM32H7 series — creates a flexible, stable, and scalable platform for building products from simple I/O systems to complex, high-end drives and controls. Products for various worldwide markets can be based on common hardware, to cater efficiently for the popularity of different protocols, such as PROFINET in Europe, EtherNet/IP in the US, CC-Link IE in Japan, and EtherCAT in Europe and Asia.
The I-NUCLEO-NETX expansion board is available now from Amazon, priced $49.00. The I-CUBE-NETX expansion software including evaluation versions of the EtherCAT, PROFINET, and EtherNet/IP protocols can be downloaded free of charge from https://www.st.com/i-cube-netx.
Tessenderlo-Ham, Belgium, 11 November 2026 – Melexis introduces the MLX90636, the world’s smallest contactless temperature…
Hi-rel connectors and components backed by in-depth product knowledge Powell Electronics Europe, the supplier of…
Founded nine months ago, Bay is already trusted by dozens of enterprises to control AI…
Autobrains announced an expansion of its work with NVIDIA, incorporating the reasoning capabilities of NVIDIA…
As electronic systems demand higher frequencies and greater signal integrity, Samtec is taking a different…
Munich, Germany – 09 November 2026 – Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY)…