Information

Revolution Today
The base modules - the foundation of the revolution
RevPi Connect, RevPi Core 3
and RevPi Core are the
central processing units
of our modular system.
By using the Raspberry Pi
Compute module, the de-
vices are largely compa-
tible with a Raspberry Pi
model 3 or Raspberry Pi
B+.
A
very important
element of our
Revolution Pi
base modules
are their power
supply units. To ensure that
heat losses are kept to a mini-
mum, we have used the most
advanced and highly efficient
DC-DC converters (overall ef-
ficiency > 80%), which gene-
rate the necessary operating
voltages from the standard
24 V in industrial switching
cabinets.
However, the base modu-
les not only run within the
standardised voltage range
from 20.4 V to 28.8 V, but at
just 10.7 V supply voltage as
well
*
. Thus, car batteries or
solar power systems can also
be used as a voltage source.
At 24 V supply, the devices
can withstand a voltage drop
of 10 ms without disruptions
(at full load of the USB so-
ckets) and even 25 ms wit-
hout load at the USB sockets.
The power supply voltage
and a functional earthing are
connected from below using
a very robust connector.
A complex suppressor
circuit guarantees unimpaired
function even in the case of
massive disruptions on the
power supply line, provided
that the functional earthing is
connected. Lightening strikes
or adjacent welding units
were simulated in a certied
test laboratory and could not
aect the devices.
At the front are two USB-
A sockets for connecting
USB 2.0 client devices. Both
sockets supply the full
500 mA current on the 5 V
connections. As a result, USB
hard disks or surf sticks can
also be easily connected wit-
hout an external, active hub.
The micro-USB socket in the
middle is used to connect a
USB host system (normally a
PC) and switches the system
to the passive memory card
mode. In this way, a PC can
access an installed eMMC
ash memory and store soft-
ware there, for example.
A LAN can be connected at
the RJ45 Ethernet socket.
Alternatively, the connection
to a LAN can be established
via a WLAN-USB dongle. USB
and Ethernet connections
have a suppressor circuit. Irra-
diations or ESDs cannot harm
the Revolution Pi system.
The Broadcom processor
of the Compute Module pro-
vides high-resolution gra-
phic functions. For this rea-
son, the Revolution Pi base
modules are fitted with a
micro-HDMI socket at the top
that can be used to connect a
monitor with sound output.
Thus, a fully equipped PC
is available together with a
mouse and keyboard.
The PiBridge is the data
highway interconnecting the
individual modules of Revolu-
tion Pi. Two adjacent modules
on the top of the housing are
each interconnected via a sys-
tem connector.
Revolution Pi includes
Raspbian as an operating sys-
tem by default (a Debian vari-
ant) with a Real-Time patch of
the kernel. Further informa-
tion on software, drivers etc.
can be found on page 5.
* 2 x 500 mA USB output current are only available with output voltages >11 V. The bridging time of voltage drops lasting at least 10 ms required by En 61131-2 is only guaranteed for supply with 20.4 to 28.8 V. This time reduces signicantly for 12 V supply, especially when accessing power from
the USB sockets.
No secrets - The circuit diagrams of the base modules are disclosed .
RevPi Connect - for all who need more interfaces
At 45mm, the RevPi Connect is twice as wide as the RevPi Core 3.
The RevPi Connect pays
tribute to those users who
want to use the Revolution
Pi System as an IIoT gate-
way. Therefore, the base
module was supplied with
even more interfaces. Like
the RevPi Core 3, the RevPi
Connect is equipped with
the Raspberry Pi Compute
Module 3.
Two Ethernet interfaces
enable the device to be
simultaneously integrated
within the automation net-
work and the IT network to
transmit machinery data
from, for example, the
shop floor to the Cloud or
a superordinate IT system.
A hardware watchdog
allows the RevPi Connect
to be used anywhere, even
in areas that are difficult to
access. The hardware watch-
dog monitors the status of
the RevPi Connect, a relay
output serves to ensure that
connected devices or expansi-
on modules can be monitored or
reset respectively. The RevPi
Connect additionally has a
24V input to receive shut-
down signals of an UPS.
Instead of having two
PiBridge connectors at the
top as with the RevPi Core
3 or RevPi Core, the RevPi
Connect has one PiBridge
and one ConBridge connec-
tor each. While the PiBridge is
responsible for connecting
the various IO expansion mo-
dules and fieldbus gateways,
a CAN bus and M-Bus expan-
sion module can be connec-
ted via the ConBridge. In the
future, further expansion mo-
dules for dierent radio stan-
dards will follow which can ex-
clusively be connected via the
ConBridge.
The RevPi Connect also has
a 4-pole RS-485 interface
on the front, for example to
connect Modbus sensors.