Posted to News on 6th Feb 2014, 14:32
Rugged COM Express has new VITA 59 standard
The new VITA 59 standard enables the COM Express technology to be used in mission-critical and harsh environments. New mechanical parameters guarantee operation across an extended temperature range, while providing high shock and vibration resistance as well as EMC protection.
Being a new VITA standard, Rugged COM Express is based on the well-known and widespread PICMG standard COM.0 or COM Express. Rugged COM Express or VITA 59 RCE has been developed for mission-critical applications with higher requirements for thermal design, shock/vibration, environmental influences and EMC.
Rugged COM Express adds PCB wings for mounting the electronics inside a conduction-cooled aluminium frame. The CCA technology can be combined with passive cooling making electronics working in high temperature ranges also without high-maintenance fans. One railway application which benefits from the easy extension of the temperature range is a locomotive drive control which requires full EN 50155 compliance and an extended temperature range from -40 to +125degC with passive cooling.
Through the metal block with the electronics inside firmly screwed, the design delivers high resistance against shock and vibration. This is an essential advantage in the harsh mining environment. The electronics of a control platform for mining machines - inside an IP67-compliant housing - have to withstand very high vibrations of up to 5G and must be shock proof for up to 50G. Rugged COM Express is a suitable choice here.
The Rugged COM Express standard also allows 100 per cent EMC protection thanks to the metal cover on top and all four sides, plus the bottom cover from the carrier board. In medical applications the systems often need very low EMC values. Systems with dual-redundant CPUs - one for processing and one for HMI control - can communicate undisturbed. Another advantage of the cover frame is protection from dust, chemicals or humidity within a sealed enclosure, also in combination with conformal coating.
Finally, many applications - especially in the rail and avionics markets - require long-term-availability of up to 30 years. This is ensured by the EOL management at MEN and gives customers planning reliability and saves costs because of longer life times of the systems.
Rugged COM Express provides the required computing functions, always with an eye on the requirements of the complete systems and thus saving significant costs. As typical quantities in these kind of applications are significantly lower and do often not allow customised designs, Rugged COM Express gives a cost-effective alternative for flexible but rugged systems. To learn more please visit www.men.de.
