Iono Pi Max

Description

The all-in-one solution for industrial control, with a Raspberry Pi core

Iono Pi Max is an extremely versatile industrial server/PLC with a huge variety of Input/Output lines and standard communication interfaces, based on the Raspberry Pi Compute Module, suitable for use in professional and industrial applications where reliability and service continuity are key requirements.

It is compliant with the low voltage and EMC CE directives, as well as the harmonised standards for electromagnetic compatibility, electrical safety, emission and the RoHS directive for hazardous substances. It is also compliant with the applicable FCC rules and IC standards.

Anything that runs on a Raspberry Pi, runs on Iono Pi Max

At its core, Iono Pi Max is a standard Raspberry Pi. No proprietary operating system and no proprietary framework are required. You use Iono Pi Max with the usual operating system, toolset, programming language or framework, compatible with Raspberry Pi, that you are familiar with.

On Iono Pi Max you can program and run anything from a simple shell script to a full-fledged Java server in a Docker container.

All I/O and system control operations and configuration are performed via GPIO control and I2C communication, and if that is not easy enough, our Linux kernel module will let you do everything by simply writing/reading files.
RS-485/232 interfaces are simply routed to the UART and the USB bus of the Raspberry Pi. In Linux terms, you’ll just need to read/write to a /dev/ttyXXX path.
The CAN controller is operated via SPI and natively supported by the SocketCAN framework, which most CAN-enabled tools build upon.

Features

Mounting:

• 6 modules DIN rail case
• power supply, serial and I/O connections on pluggable terminal blocks

Power supply:

• 10-50Vdc power supply, with surge and reverse polarity protection, and 3.3A resettable fuse
• integrated uninterruptible power supply (UPS), with external lead-acid 12V or 24V battery (reverse polarity and over-current protection)
• software-controlled auxiliary 12-24Vdc stabilised supply output, to power external devices through Iono Pi Max UPS
• software-controlled auxiliary 5Vdc stabilised supply output
• voltage and current monitoring of power supply input, battery and auxiliary supply outputs

Processing cores:

• Raspberry Pi Compute Module version: 3, 3 Lite, 3+ 8GB, 3+ 16GB, 3+ 32GB, or 3+ Lite
• ATSAME54 32 bit microcontroller, with 1 MB program memory and 256 KB RAM

The microcontroller is interconnected to the Raspberry Pi via I2C, USB and CAN. It can take direct low-level control of all serial ports and digital/analog I/O

Connectivity:

• standard RS-232 interface to the Raspberry Pi serial line, up to 115200 bps
• standard RS-485 interface, routed to the Raspberry Pi serial line or USB, with opto-isolator and electrostatic discharge protection, up to 115200 bps
• Controller Area Network (CAN) V2.0B and CAN-FD interface, support speeds up to 8 Mb/s, with opto-isolator and electrostatic discharge protection
• 5V-level, protected, I2C expansion bus
• 10/100 Ethernet port
• 2 x USB 2.0 type-A ports, with power control and fault detection
• internal USB 2.0 type-A port, with power control and fault detection, to embed USB dongles inside the enclosure

High reliability and security:

• switchable dual microSD card architecture
• hardware watchdog, fully independent from the Raspberry Pi Compute Module, controlled via GPIO, with dual SD card switch control
• real time clock (RTC) with replaceable back-up battery
• embedded Microchip ATECC608A secure element chip
• internal temperature sensors for system temperature monitoring
• internal fan, with automatic activation based on current load and internal temperatures
• integrated Serial Wire Debug (SWD) interface to the microcontroller, allowing in-field firmware upgrades, but also development and debugging, directly from the Raspberry Pi

Inputs/Outputs:

• 4 x power relay outputs rated for 6A at 250V, with NO and NC contacts
• 4 x open-collector outputs
• 2 x analog outputs 0-10V or 0-20mA
• 4 x analog voltage inputs 0-20V
• 4 x analog current inputs 0-20mA
• 2 x Pt100 or Pt1000 temperature sensor inputs
• 4 x digital input lines 0-40V
• 4 x digital 5V-level I/O lines, with 1-Wire and Wiegand support

More:

• front-panel RGB LEDs for power supply and serial line activity, can also be directly controlled by the Raspberry Pi
• on-board piezoelectric buzzer
• front-panel push-button, connected to a GPIO pin
• optional earthquake sensor module

Highlights

Power Supply

A high quality and stable power supply is extremely important to ensure reliable, continuous 24/7 operation in harsh industrial environments, both for the Raspberry Pi and connected peripherals.

Iono Pi Max accepts a wide power supply range, from 10 to 55VDC, and is able to handle substantial amounts of ripple, noise and supply voltage fluctuations. The power supply stage is a heavily protected and filtered circuit, using oversized electrolytic capacitors, diodes and inductors, and a high efficiency voltage regulator. It can deliver up to 4A to the 5V supply rail of the Raspberry Compute Module and USB ports.

The power supply stage includes resettable fuses, over current limiting, over voltage protection and thermal shutdown. It is also protected from reverse polarity. Surge protection up to ±500V/2ohms 1.2/50μs ensures reliability in harsh environments.

Moreover, Iono Pi Max features auxiliary regulated, monitored and controllable power supply outputs with different voltage ranges for external devices.

Digital, Analog, and Communication Interfaces

Integration with heterogeneous systems and devices is a key requirement in modern applications. The ability to collect field sensors’ data and interfacing with external systems is what more often than not determines the adoption of a solution.

Iono Pi Max features an incredibly wide range of analog and digital interfaces:

Four 4-20mA and four 0-10V, galvanically isolated, highly accurate inputs to connect standard industrial probes, as well as two additional inputs specific for PT100 and PT1000 temperature sensors. The analog signals are converted by the 24-bit AD4112 ADC, which provides for an incredibly high accuracy and resolution.

Six digital inputs, accepting up to 30V signals, let you integrate digital counters as well as general status signals. Furthermore, four additional low-voltage (0-5V) digital I/O can be employed as supplementary inputs or as data lines for interfacing with devices using digital protocols such as 1-Wire, Wiegand, or even proprietary/custom protocols.

As outputs, 4 relays with NC and NO terminals rated for 6A at 250V, and 2 analog outputs configurable as voltage (0-10V) and current (0-20mA) outputs.

Dedicated RS-232, and opto-isolated RS-485 and CAN interfaces can be used simultaneously to communicate with a huge variety of systems commonly found in industrial, residential, and automotive industries. The CAN interface supports CAN 2.0B and CAN-FD, with up to 8 Mbps bitrate.

All I/O lines and interfaces can be managed both from the Raspberry Pi module and the micro-controller.

Power Management

Iono Pi Max provides for fully-configurable power management, with low-power modes, allowing for off-grid installations and support for direct connection to solar panels.

The UPS supports 12V and 24V lead batteries. It keeps the battery charged with optimal charging current (independent from the main supply voltage) and seamlessly switches without any operation interruption when the main power supply fails.

Battery state and charge level can be monitored and automatic over/under-current protection mechanisms keep the battery in safe conditions.

Iono Pi Max provides for delayed shutdown and programmed boot-up functionalities for the Raspberry Pi module, as well as individual power control of sub-modules and external devices powered by Iono’s power outputs and USB ports, to limit power consumption while keeping the required functionalities active.

In-field updates

Any system needs updates and, often, security patches must be applied to low level operating system components or even to the micro-controller’s firmware.

Iono Pi Max features a double, switchable, SD card architecture as well as a powerful 32bit micro-controller, fully reprogrammable directly from the Raspberry Pi module.

The two available SD card slots are routed to the primary and secondary buses of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module through a high-speed switching matrix. The SD connected to the primary bus is where the system boots from, while the secondary SD is seen as an external drive which can be used for extra storage or for system redundancy. At any time the secondary SD can be flashed with a new system image and switched to be used as the primary one.

And while your application is running, a brand new firmware can be downloaded by the Raspberry Pi and uploaded to the micro-controller without any service interruption. And, using tools like OpenOCD, you can even perform, from the Pi, on-chip debugging of the firmware running on the micro-controller.

System monitoring

Other than the ability to control the external environment, self-diagnosis is of extreme importance for dependable control systems.

Iono Pi Max implements several mechanisms to make sure your applications are running flawlessly, under the expected conditions.

The hardware watchdog monitors a heartbeat signal on a GPIO and, if a hang occurs, the Raspberry Pi module is automatically reset. The watchdog can also be configured to automatically switch the boot SD card upon consecutive failed restarts.

Both mains and battery power inputs, as well as the the auxiliary power output, are monitored in voltage and current draw.

USB ports are current limited and have thermal shutdown protecting the device and the connected loads.

Internal temperatures can be monitored and an embedded fan can be controlled to improve heat dissipation.

All the internal measurements and fault statuses are available to your application to trigger notifications and/or take action to restore normal functionality.