FPGA Design for Industrial Control Systems

Understanding FPGA Technology in Modern Industrial Applications

Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have revolutionised industrial control systems over the past two decades, offering unprecedented flexibility, performance, and reliability that traditional microcontrollers and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) simply cannot match. For industries across Atlantic Canada—from fish processing plants in Nova Scotia to offshore energy platforms in the North Atlantic—FPGA-based control systems are becoming increasingly essential for maintaining competitive advantages in demanding operational environments.

Unlike conventional processors that execute instructions sequentially, FPGAs consist of thousands to millions of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) that can be programmed to perform operations in parallel. This parallel processing capability enables FPGAs to achieve deterministic response times measured in nanoseconds rather than milliseconds, making them ideal for time-critical industrial control applications where even minor delays can result in equipment damage, product defects, or safety hazards.

Modern industrial FPGAs from manufacturers such as Intel (formerly Altera), AMD (formerly Xilinx), Lattice Semiconductor, and Microchip Technology offer logic densities ranging from 5,000 to over 5 million logic elements, with integrated hard processor cores, high-speed transceivers capable of 28 Gbps or higher, and dedicated digital signal processing (DSP) blocks that can perform mathematical operations at rates exceeding 10 TOPS (trillion operations per second).

Key Advantages of FPGA-Based Control Systems

The adoption of FPGA technology for industrial control systems offers numerous advantages that directly address the challenges faced by manufacturers and process industries throughout the Maritime provinces. Understanding these benefits helps engineering teams make informed decisions about control system architecture.

Deterministic Real-Time Performance

Perhaps the most significant advantage of FPGAs in industrial control applications is their ability to guarantee deterministic timing. While software-based systems running on microprocessors or PLCs can experience variable latencies due to operating system overhead, interrupt handling, and memory access conflicts, FPGA-based designs execute all operations in hardware with precise, predictable timing. Control loops can achieve update rates of 1 MHz or higher with jitter measured in picoseconds, enabling applications such as high-speed motor control, precision motion systems, and real-time safety interlocks.

Parallel Processing Capabilities

Industrial control systems often require simultaneous monitoring and control of multiple process variables. An FPGA can process hundreds of input signals, execute complex control algorithms, and generate output commands all within a single clock cycle. This parallel architecture is particularly valuable for:

• Multi-axis motion control systems requiring coordinated movement of 8, 16, or more servo motors

• High-channel-count data acquisition systems sampling at rates up to 250 MSPS (mega samples per second) per channel

• Distributed I/O systems managing thousands of digital and analogue points

• Real-time vision processing for quality inspection at line speeds exceeding 1,000 parts per minute

• Redundant safety systems requiring voting logic across multiple sensor inputs

Hardware-Level Reliability

FPGAs implement control logic directly in hardware rather than executing software instructions, eliminating entire categories of failure modes associated with software-based systems. There are no operating system crashes, memory leaks, or buffer overflows to contend with. For harsh industrial environments common in Nova Scotia—including temperature extremes from -40°C to +85°C, high humidity near coastal facilities, and electromagnetic interference from heavy machinery—industrial-grade FPGAs offer exceptional robustness with demonstrated mean time between failures (MTBF) exceeding 1 million hours.

Flexibility and Future-Proofing

Unlike application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), FPGAs can be reprogrammed in the field to accommodate process changes, implement new control strategies, or address emerging requirements. This reconfigurability is particularly valuable for industries experiencing rapid technological evolution or those requiring custom solutions that would be economically unfeasible with traditional ASIC development, which typically costs $2 million to $10 million and requires 18-24 months of development time.

Industrial Control Applications Suited for FPGA Implementation

FPGA technology excels in specific industrial control applications where its unique capabilities provide clear advantages over conventional control platforms. Engineering teams should consider FPGA-based solutions when projects involve the following characteristics.

High-Speed Process Control

Industries requiring control loop update rates faster than 10 kHz typically benefit from FPGA implementation. Examples include power electronics control for variable frequency drives, active power filters, and renewable energy inverters where switching frequencies of 20 kHz to 100 kHz demand correspondingly fast control loops. The growing offshore wind energy sector in Atlantic Canada presents numerous opportunities for FPGA-based power conversion systems capable of handling multi-megawatt power flows with efficiencies exceeding 98%.

Safety-Critical Systems

Applications requiring functional safety certification to standards such as IEC 61508 (SIL 1-4), ISO 13849 (PL a-e), or IEC 62061 benefit from FPGA implementation. The deterministic behaviour and hardware-implemented safety logic simplify certification efforts while achieving higher safety integrity levels than software-based systems. FPGAs can implement diverse redundancy, where independent logic designs created by separate engineering teams are synthesised into the same device to detect systematic design errors.

Custom Communication Protocols

While standard industrial protocols such as EtherCAT, PROFINET, and EtherNet/IP are well-supported by commercial FPGAs through vendor-supplied IP cores, FPGAs truly excel when implementing custom or proprietary communication protocols. Legacy equipment common in established Maritime industrial facilities often requires interface solutions that cannot be addressed by off-the-shelf hardware. FPGA-based protocol converters can bridge communication gaps between modern control systems and vintage equipment, extending the useful life of capital assets.

High-Channel-Count Data Acquisition

Process monitoring applications requiring simultaneous sampling of 32, 64, or more analogue channels at rates exceeding 100 kSPS benefit from FPGA-based architectures. The FPGA can interface directly with multiple analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs), perform real-time signal conditioning including filtering, scaling, and linearisation, and implement alarm detection logic—all while streaming processed data to higher-level systems via standard interfaces such as Gigabit Ethernet or PCIe.

FPGA Development Methodology for Industrial Projects

Successful FPGA-based control system development requires a structured engineering approach that addresses the unique challenges of hardware description language (HDL) design while meeting the rigorous requirements of industrial applications.

Requirements Analysis and Architecture Definition

The development process begins with comprehensive requirements analysis, documenting all functional requirements, performance specifications, interface definitions, and environmental constraints. This phase should produce a detailed system architecture that partitions functionality between the FPGA fabric, any embedded processor cores, and external system components. Critical decisions include FPGA device selection, which must balance logic density, I/O count, power consumption, and cost against project requirements.

For industrial control applications, typical FPGA device selections include:

• Intel Cyclone V or Cyclone 10: Cost-optimised devices with 25K to 300K logic elements, suitable for mid-range control applications with development costs under $50,000

• AMD Artix-7 or Spartan-7: Power-efficient devices ideal for distributed I/O applications requiring wide operating temperature ranges

• Intel Arria 10 or AMD Kintex UltraScale+: High-performance devices with integrated DSP blocks and high-speed transceivers for demanding signal processing applications

• AMD Zynq or Intel Cyclone V SoC: Devices combining FPGA fabric with hard ARM Cortex processors, enabling hybrid hardware/software architectures

HDL Design and Simulation

FPGA logic design typically employs VHDL or Verilog hardware description languages, with SystemVerilog gaining popularity for its enhanced verification features. Design entry should follow coding guidelines that ensure synthesisable, maintainable code while achieving timing closure on target devices. Synchronous design techniques with single clock domains simplify timing analysis, though industrial applications often require clock domain crossing logic for interfacing with external systems operating at different frequencies.

Simulation plays a critical role in FPGA development, with testbenches exercising all design functionality before hardware implementation. Modern verification methodologies including Universal Verification Methodology (UVM) enable comprehensive coverage analysis, ensuring that all design states and transitions have been exercised during simulation.

Synthesis, Place-and-Route, and Timing Analysis

The synthesis process translates HDL code into device-specific logic primitives, followed by place-and-route tools that map these primitives to physical FPGA resources while meeting timing constraints. Static timing analysis verifies that all signal paths meet setup and hold time requirements under worst-case operating conditions spanning the full industrial temperature range.

For designs targeting -40°C to +85°C operation common in Nova Scotia's variable climate, timing analysis must account for process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) variations that can affect signal propagation delays by 30% or more. Conservative timing margins of 10-15% are recommended for industrial applications requiring long-term reliability.

Integration with Industrial Control Infrastructure

FPGA-based control systems must integrate seamlessly with existing plant infrastructure, communicating with supervisory systems, human-machine interfaces (HMIs), and enterprise networks while maintaining the deterministic performance that justifies their adoption.

Industrial Ethernet Protocols

Modern industrial facilities increasingly standardise on Industrial Ethernet protocols that provide deterministic communication over standard networking infrastructure. FPGAs excel at implementing these protocols in hardware, achieving cycle times and synchronisation accuracy that software-based implementations cannot match:

• EtherCAT: Cycle times down to 62.5 µs with sub-microsecond synchronisation across hundreds of nodes

• PROFINET IRT: Isochronous real-time communication with 31.25 µs cycle times

• Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN): IEEE 802.1 standards enabling convergence of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) networks

• OPC UA over TSN: Emerging standard for seamless integration with Industry 4.0 architectures

Functional Safety Integration

Industrial control systems increasingly require integration of standard control and safety functions within unified architectures. FPGAs support this integration through hardware-enforced separation between safety and non-safety logic, with dedicated safety functions implemented in isolated clock domains with independent watchdog mechanisms. Safety communication protocols such as PROFIsafe and CIP Safety can be implemented in FPGA hardware, enabling safety-rated communication over standard industrial networks.

Regional Considerations for Atlantic Canadian Industries

Industrial control system design for Atlantic Canadian applications must address unique regional factors that influence technology selection and system architecture decisions.

The Maritime climate presents significant challenges for electronic systems, with high humidity, salt air exposure near coastal facilities, and temperature extremes requiring careful attention to environmental protection. Conformal coating of printed circuit assemblies, sealed enclosures rated to IP65 or higher, and extended temperature range component selection are essential for reliable operation. FPGA devices rated for industrial temperature ranges (-40°C to +100°C) should be specified for outdoor or unheated installations common in resource extraction and marine industries.

Power quality in rural Nova Scotia locations can present challenges including voltage sags, transients, and occasional outages that urban facilities rarely experience. FPGA-based control systems should incorporate robust power supply designs with sufficient holdup time to permit graceful shutdown during power disturbances, along with non-volatile storage for critical process data and configuration parameters.

The distributed nature of many Atlantic Canadian industries—including aquaculture operations spanning multiple coastal sites, forestry operations in remote locations, and offshore energy platforms—favours control architectures that can operate autonomously during communication outages while synchronising with central systems when connectivity is available. FPGA-based controllers excel in these applications, providing local intelligence and data logging capabilities that ensure continuous operation regardless of network status.

Partner with Sangster Engineering Ltd. for Your FPGA Control System Projects

Implementing FPGA-based industrial control systems requires specialised expertise spanning digital hardware design, industrial automation, and systems integration. The engineering team at Sangster Engineering Ltd. brings decades of combined experience in electronics engineering, with deep expertise in FPGA development for demanding industrial applications throughout Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada.

From initial feasibility studies and architecture definition through detailed HDL design, simulation, and system integration, Sangster Engineering Ltd. provides comprehensive engineering services tailored to your specific industrial control requirements. Our Amherst, Nova Scotia location positions us to serve clients throughout the Maritime provinces with responsive, hands-on engineering support.

Whether you're modernising legacy control systems, developing new production equipment, or implementing advanced automation solutions, contact Sangster Engineering Ltd. today to discuss how FPGA technology can address your most challenging industrial control requirements. Our team is ready to analyse your application, recommend appropriate technologies, and deliver engineered solutions that enhance your operational performance and competitive position.

Partner with Sangster Engineering

At Sangster Engineering Ltd. in Amherst, Nova Scotia, we bring decades of engineering experience to every project. Serving clients across Atlantic Canada and beyond.

Contact us today to discuss your engineering needs.