Compact Embedded PC for Real-Time Applications

The EPPC-T10 single-board computer can be used flexibly as a standard controller for fast control and regulation tasks in machines and systems. As an embedded solution, it offers aditonally long product availability and a high level of investment protection.

In many industries, fast and industrial-grade control systems are required, for example in industrial automation, the pharmaceutical industry, transport and packaging, mechanical engineering or the automotive sector. The EPPC-T10 single-board computer from esd electronics, originally developed for a customer in mechanical engineering, offers a solid basis for fast control and regulation tasks. Backed by a team of experts, the compact and cost-efficient embedded solution offers long product availability and thus a high level of investment protection. As a high-end PowerPC with QorlQ CPU and three GB Ethernet interfaces, it can be used in EtherCAT applications with up to three independent networks. This means that it can be used as a machine control unit in industry or generally as a flexible control unit in machines with an industrial fieldbus. In combination with the EtherCAT MainDevice functionality, it achieves a short cycle time down to 100μs.

When developing new projects or extending existing systems, many companies rely on their own experienced development teams. However, if completely new technologies are introduced, more and more companies are cooperating with external service providers such as esd electronics to minimize time and financial risks.
Here, companies benefit from the flexibility of a qualified team of engineers, who daily develop solutions based on the latest technologies. This optimizes the time-to-market of products, so that complex prototypes can be delivered within three to four months. Whereas, with high-performance ready-made components of a distributor, the user must pay for functionalities that he often does not need at all. With a standard product such as the EPPC-T10, risk and costs are minimized, as it uses current but at the same time proven technologies. In addition, the option of a modification tailored to the customer’s needs is preserved.

• The EPPC-T10 single-board computer is based on an embedded 64-bit PowerPC. This is the single-core communication processor PowerPC QorIQ T1014 from NXP with 1.2 GHz. It has a 64-bit core based on Power Architecture technology and can be expanded to four cores. The integrated DPAA enables a high-performance, direct data exchange between the various integrated interfaces of the CPU, which relieves the cores.
• The local memory bus is 64 bits wide, with an additional 8-bit ECC and a total capacity of 512 Mbytes. The EPPC-T10 includes the standard boot program „U-Boot“ and allows you to boot different operating systems from different media depending on the data volume: from the on-board flash, over the network, via USB, from a microSD card or optionally from the SATA SSD.
• Also, the single-board computer has a double-precision floating point unit and is equipped with a battery backup RTC. The compact computer measures 117 mm x 31 mm x 160 mm (L x W x H) and is suitable for mounting on the DIN-EN mounting rail (TS 35). In the standard version, the EPPC-T10 runs under Linux, other (real-time) operating systems are available on request.
• For EtherCAT applications, esd electronics has developed the EtherCAT MainDevice Stack, which is available for Linux as well as several real-time operating systems such as OS-9, QNX, VxWorks. This master stack can also be used on computers from other manufacturers with the supported operating system.
• Three 1GB Ethernet interfaces can be connected in the front panel via RJ45 sockets. In addition, the single-board computer offers a RS232 interface, a USB 2.0 interface (host), a microSD card slot and an internal PCI Express mini slot for hardware expansion.
• Safe operation in industrial environments is primarily achieved through monitoring of local voltages and temperatures, as well as fail-safe firmware updates using fallback flash. Secondly, the guaranteed operating temperature range of 0°C to +55°C, a watchdog function and multi-stage overtemperature protection increase operational reliability.

If these performance characteristics are not sufficient for the desired application, customer-specific requirements can be considered, such as the use of the Power-Saving Dual-Core processor PowerPC QorIQ T1022, a parallel or serial MRAM with 512 Kbyte, an extended DDR3 RAM with 2 GB, and a larger flash memory up to 2 x 128 Mbyte. A PCI Express slot can also be integrated, for example for extending I/Os with the help of PMC modules and a PMC add-on module. This includes the necessary case adaptation and the retrofitting of an internal SATA SSD. The EPPC-T10 is also optionally available for OS9, QNX, VxWorks, Linux and other operating systems.