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Direct Insight develops board support package for Nitrogen M8 SBC

Wed, Dec 22, 2021

To accelerate development time for mission-critical products destined for the automated factory, robotics and medical devices, technical systems integrator and embedded system reseller, Direct Insight, has developed a board support package

which enables the use of QNX 7 operating system (OS) with Boundary Devices’ Nitrogen 8M board.

The Nitrogen M8 is an Arm-based single board computer (SBC) based on NXP’s i.MX8M Mini Quad processor. The SBC has been designed for mass production with a guaranteed 10 year lifespan, FCC pre-scan results, and a stable supply chain. They operate in the industrial temperature range and conformally-coated versions are optionally available. Additionally, they can be customised for cost optimisation and industrialisation.

The QNX OS is suitable for real time, safety critical applications.

Direct Insight’s managing director, David Pashley, said: “Our BSP for Boundary Devices’ Nitrogen 8M SBC contains all the basic features required to run the QNX OS on the board. . . . Direct Insight enables development teams to access a wide variety of off-the-shelf products for their application, allowing them to focus on their differentiating core skills to deliver excellent products.”

The board support package created by Direct Insight is available to download in binary form, subject to license agreement, for evaluation purposes. It is also available as source code under a per-project license.

Founded in 1992, UK-based technical systems integrator and reseller of system-on-module (SoM) and other embedded systems, Direct Insight has helped hundreds of development teams to upgrade to the latest SoC, FPGA and OS technology. It supports customers choosing the right off-the-shelf hardware, software and tools, by providing the required support and services to fill the gaps.

Key partners include OS supplier, QNX, embedded module designer and manufacturer, Ka-Ro Electronics and Taiwanese SBC maker, DFI.

http://www.directinsight.co.uk

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Actuator and sensor control MCUs bring automotive control to the edge

Fri, Dec 17, 2021

Two microcontrollers (MCUs) released by Renesas Electronics are designed for automotive actuator and sensor control applications. The RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 have been added to the RL78 family of low power, 16-bit MCUs. The company says that, with these additions, the automotive portfolio offers customers reliable, high-performance devices for systems ranging from actuators to zone control.

Electrical and electronic (E/E) architecture is extending to include zone and domain control applications. This means control mechanisms have to evolve to accommodate body control for automotive systems such as lights, windows, and mirrors, motor control for engine pumps and fans and multiple sensor control. In future, high-speed and secure connectivity with zone and domain controllers will be mission critical for edge electronic control units (ECUs), advises Renesas. The RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 MCUs support the CAN FD high speed communication protocol (RL78/F24) and EVITA-Light security. They are also optimised for systems targeting ASIL-B levels under the ISO 26262 functional safety standard.

Using the actuator and sensor control MCUs enables developers to reuse most of their existing software assets, says Reneas, which reduces costs, yet still advances E/E architecture.

The future of automotive systems design lies in a vehicle-centralised, zone-oriented E/E architecture, the company maintains. This trend is creating higher demand for more advanced functionality and better performance in actuator controller applications. The RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 MCUs deliver up to approximately 70 per cent faster operating frequencies than the previous generation, which can more than double the performance in brushless DC (DLDC) motor control applications.

The hardware accelerator and timer functions for motor control have also been enhanced and a 12-bit ADC has been added.

The RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 MCUs have an operating frequency of 40MHz, on-chip flash memory capacity of 128 or 256kbytes and operate at temperatures up to 150 degrees C.

The MCUs support a selection of connectivity interfaces, including CAN FD (RL78/F24), LIN, SPI, and I2C. For security, there is support for EVITA-Light and for AES-128/192/256 encryption algorithms.

The additions to the RL78 family are pin-compatible and have the same energy efficiency.

Renesas also offers an RL78/F24 target board and is developing an RL78/F24 12V motor control evaluation system starter kit.

Sampling of the RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 MCUs will be available starting April 2022, with mass production scheduled to begin in the second half of 2023.

https://www.renesas.com

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Surface mount flyback converter ICs increase reliability says Rohm

Fri, Dec 17, 2021

AC/DC flyback converter ICs with an integrated 730V breakdown MOSFET make up the BM2P06xMF-Z series by Rohm. The BM2P060MF-Z, BM2P061MF-Z and BM2P063MF-Z are suitable for auxiliary power supply and switch mode power supplies for industrial drives as well as home appliances (including air conditioners and white goods), as well as for factory automation equipment. The flyback ICs require no additional heatsinks and no discharge resistors and capacitors. According to Rohm, they help designers to shorten design time, simplify the circuitry, reduce costs and increase reliability by offering integrated designs.

AC/DC converters for home and industrial use must not only support 85 to 264V AC to accommodate different AC voltages around the world, but must also comply with international standards such as Energy Star and the IEC 62368 safety standard. It is also important for AC/DC converter ICs to be surface mount to reduce factory mounting costs. High heat / high loss DMOSFETs and planar MOSFETs are still widely used in AC/DC converter ICs, however, because it has been difficult to provide tens of Watts of output power in a surface mount package. Rohm has developed the compact, surface mount, high power 45W models with an original low-loss SJ (Super Junction) MOSFET and optimised PWM control circuitry.

Adopting a surface mount package supports automatic board mounting (which was previously difficult to do in the past) and the implemented functions ensure compliance with the IEC62368 safety standard, even when the discharge resistor (a source of loss during standby) is removed.

Original low standby power control technology is applied for extremely low standby power consumption, reports Rohm. Supply voltages up to 60V (VCC) are also supported which eliminates the need for an external step-down power supply circuit.

According to Rohm, the converters reduce standby power by over 90 per cent compared to general products with equivalent performance, and reduce the number of power supply circuit components by four, contributing to greater power savings and higher reliability.

Suitable applications are consumer electronics such as air conditioners, appliances, monitors, and hair dryers, industrial equipment including inverters, AC servos, routers and office automation devices and AC/DC converters up to 45W output in consumer and industrial applications.

The BM2P06xMF-Z AC/DC converters are sampling now, with mass production scheduled for January. There is also an evaluation board available. The converters and board are available for purchase through online distributors Digi-Key, Mouser, and Farnell.

http://www.rohm.com

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Relec adds two more medically approved open frame AC/DC converters

Fri, Dec 17, 2021

The LOF450 and LOF550 have been added to Mornsun’s LOF series of medical and industry standard power supplies. They are available from Relec Electronics in industry standard packages and on short lead times.

The two medical approved models expand the LOF series of very high power density, open frame AC/DC converters by Mornsun. The whole series of low cost, reliable AC/DC converters is characterised by its thermal design, meeting the latest regulatory standards and availability on very short lead times.

The new LOF450 series has a universal AC input of 90 to 264V AC and accepts 127 to 373V DC input. Output ranges from 12 to 48V.

The 450W AC/DC converters operate at -40 to +70 degrees C and measure 127 x 76.2 x 38.5mm (5.0 x 3.0 x 1.5 inches) making them suitable for use in confined spaces.

Models in the 550W LOF550 series have the same universal input and output ranges and temperature range. Dimensions are 127 x 76.2 x 38.5mm (5.0 x 3.0 x 1.6 inch).

Both the LOF450 and LOF550 series have double or reinforced insulation, EMC and safety performance, says Relec. In addition to meeting IEC/EN/UL62368, GB4943, IEC/EN60335, IEC/EN61558, IEC/EN/ES60601, they are EN60601 2xMOPP and UL/EN62368-1-approved.

Target applications are industrial, LED, street lighting control, electricity, security, telecommunications, ‘smart home’ and medical environments.

The open frame models in both series are also available as perforated case (-C) or perforated case with integrated fan (-CF) models.

Relec Electronics is a specialist in power conversion and display products, representing leading brand names including Mornsun in power conversion alongside Bel Power, Chinfa, Cotek and Premium with key display partners, Digiwise and RockTouch.

For over 40 years, Relec Electronics has worked closely with key suppliers and specialises in a wide range of industry sectors, including automotive, industrial, transportation, instrumentation and defence.

A team of dedicated engineers is ready to support customers throughout the design process.

The company carries stock of all standard modules and accessories for next day delivery.

Relec’s team of specialist advisers can refine an initial specification for a given application to include bespoke features to meet the needs of a particular design or project.

In December 2020, Relec Electronics became been a UK subsidiary of Gresham Worldwide.

http://www.relec.co.uk

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Direct Insight develops board support package for Nitrogen M8 SBC

Actuator and sensor control MCUs bring automotive control to the edge

Surface mount flyback converter ICs increase reliability says Rohm

Relec adds two more medically approved open frame AC/DC converters

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