Embedded Boards Tackle Rugged Requirements
Embedded Boards Tackle Rugged Requirements
In the early 1980’s, as the Personal Computer (PC) was developing a desktop market, Ampro Computers was determined to bring PC technology to the embedded market. Ampro recognized that re-targeting the PC architecture for embedded systems would give a broad base of OEMs easy access to a wide variety of proven, off-the-shelf hardware which uses affordable tools and proven operating systems. Commercial PC hardware just didn’t meet the specialized demands of embedded systems. Small size, ruggedness, low power consumption, and reliability are essential for military, aerospace, medical, and factory applications. Embedded OEMs often require a 5-year production life or more. Obsolescence of chips, or a board vendor's sudden product changes or end-of-life status, can cause a medical OEM to re-start the design and FDA approval processes.
High-quality, reliable, and rugged boards based on the PC architecture were created by Ampro, who invented industry standards for commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) CPU modules and single board computers (SBCs), such as PC/104, PC/104-Plus, and EBX.
What's in a Board?
For engineers who work at industrial electronics OEMs, board-level standards, lifecycle management, rugged requirements, and software compatibility are the 800-pound gorillas they face every day. A COTS board can be designed only if it runs operating systems like Windows®, VxWorks®, QNX®, and now even Embedded Linux®. Ampro is the first COTS vendor to supply and support fully complete Board Support Packages (start-up code and drivers) for these operating systems.
Given the long development, field test, certification, production, and service and spares lifecycle, 386- and 486-based boards are still being designed into new products today. For example, Ampro just introduced a state-of-the-art 486-based SBC, which is expected to be available through 2010. This product presents an ideal migration step for many stranded 486 OEMs.
Rugged Versus Ruggedized
The term "ruggedized" gives the impression of durability and reliability under tough environmental conditions, but upon closer inspection, the term is often used for standard-grade designs that are tested under tougher conditions. Like product quality, however, ruggedness must be built into the initial design of the board. Simply implementing PC circuitry on a board may not give a high yield during extended temperature testing (ETT) and shock and vibration testing.
Extended Margin Testing. Ampro creates "rugged" products, as opposed to "ruggedized" ones, through intensive design activities. For example, each new Ampro product is subjected to an extensive voltage and temperature margin test during the new product development process in order to validate its suitability for harsh environments. Boards are subjected to temperatures well outside both the “standard” (0 to 70ºC) and “extended” (-40 to +85ºC) operating temperature ranges to verify that Ampro products will be functional and stable over combined extremes of both temperature and voltage, resulting in wide design margins. Ampro takes great care in design and component selection to ensure that their products pass this test.
Shock & Vibration Testing. Each new Ampro product is designed to pass a series of shock and vibration tests based on MIL-STD-202F. The standard specifies that boards be exposed to increasingly harsh levels of stress until their failure modes are determined. Then, the tests are repeated using the established stress levels to verify that the product meets these specifications consistently.
For shock testing, MIL-STD-202F, Method 213B stipulates three 50G shocks (peak value, 11ms duration, half-sine waveform) along each of the three axes. Three shocks in each direction (for a total of 18 shocks) are applied along the three mutually perpendicular axes. For vibration MIL-STD-202F, Method 214A states that products be tested for random vibration with an RMS value of 11.95G of random vibration, between 100Hz and 1000Hz, along each axis.
HALT Testing. To maximize product reliability and durability, Ampro subjects selected designs to a comprehensive Highly Accelerated Life Test (HALT). The purpose of HALT testing is to put new designs under stressors that would far exceed those expected during normal operation. This way, Ampro can determine the operational and destruct limits of the designs under test. The process consists of progressively increased extremes of temperature, rapid thermal transitions, six-axis vibration, and combined temperature and vibration stress, while power is margined at ±5%. Ampro uses the empirical results to make design changes to improve product reliability.
A final long-term benefit is achieved when HALT data is used to develop Highly Accelerated Stress Screens (HASS). HASS is performed on production units, on a sampling basis to continuously monitor the stability of the manufacturing processes. This provides an empirical basis for long-term reliability enhancements throughout the product’s production life.
Ampro's products are truly "rugged" by design, not just by screening, and Ampro's generous 3-year warranty even applies to optional ETT and conformally coated (to protect against moisture and corrosion) units. Ampro goes the extra mile to provide rugged-by-design boards, coupled with extended temperature testing, conformal coating, extensive product warranties, and broad operating system support is not only clearly committed to the needs of the embedded market, but deserves strong consideration for the next generation of rugged applications.
About Ampro Computers
Ampro Computers, Inc. is the leading global provider of modular embedded computing solutions for OEM applications. Ampro's mission is to provide time saving solutions for embedded systems designers that accelerate the product deployment process. Ampro pioneered the embedded PC industry creating the popular PC/104 and EBX standards. The new EnCore family enables designers to obtain all the benefits of an off-the-shelf CPU solution while maintaining the flexibility of a full custom design. In addition to EnCore, Ampro offers three product lines; PC/104-compatible CoreModule CPUs and MiniModule expansion products, and EBX form factor Little Board single-board computers (SBC). Ampro was awarded Electronique magazine's "Electron d'Or 2002" for subsystems for the EnCore M2 product. For more information about Ampro Computers, please visit http://www.ampro.com.
AMPRO is a registered trademark and EnCore, Little Board, CoreModule, and MiniModule are trademarks of Ampro Computers, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contacts:
Ampro Computers, Inc.
Victoria Kostka
Tel: 1-408-360-4324
Email: vkostka@ampro.com
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