Through-hole 8-bit MCU with CAN — still a solid choice for industrial control
It comes in a 28-pin SPDIP through-hole package, so it's the kind of part you can socket or wave-solder into a board that sees vibration or field servicing.
CAN bus is the headline differentiator
This MCU includes a CAN 2.0B controller — a rare feature in an 8-bit DIP part. The same silicon also handles I2C, SPI, and UART/USART for local sensor or display links.
At 40 MHz the PIC18 core executes most single-cycle instructions at 10 MIPS. That's enough for real-time CAN message handling, PWM generation (the part has a PWM peripheral), and moderate sensor fusion. The external oscillator requirement means you'll need a crystal or resonator on the OSC pins — no internal RC for the main clock at this speed.
No last-time-buy clock ticking.
Through-hole package — old-school but repairable
That's a plus for prototype breadboarding, socketed firmware development, or field rework — you can swap it with a desoldering tool and a steady hand. The 22 I/O lines are brought out to the DIP pins, so layout is straightforward on a two-layer board.
This part runs on a 5 V nominal supply (4.2 V to 5.5 V range), so it fits legacy 5 V logic buses and industrial sensors directly. No level shifting needed for most 5 V peripherals.