New high-performance industrial Panel PC solutions:
the new partnership between Consystem and Chipsee
Consystem has recently expanded its supplier portfolio in the display/HMI field through a new partnership with Chipsee, a Chinese company specialized in the design and production of high-performance industrial PCs, Panel PCs, industrial Embedded PCs, industrial monitors and SOMs (System On Module).
Chipsee offers a wide range of solutions in multiple formats – from 5.0” to 23.5” – all CE certified and customizable according to the customer’s specific needs.
Solutions developed on ARM processors (Cortex A7, A8 and A9) and Intel X86 are available, together with solutions based on Raspberry PI, for which Linux and Windows operating systems are available. Thanks to these processors and operating systems, they guarantee easy implementation and adaptability to needs that may change over time.
Chipsee’s Panel PCs are equipped with touch panels designed for a perfect HMI experience, with a choice between capacitive or resistive technology from 5 up to 10 touch points and various types of connection interfaces to the customer’s applications.
In terms of use, these are products particularly suited to the industrial sector, mechanical machining, automotive engineering and production plants. At the same time, however, Chipsee’s Panel PCs are also designed to operate in “harsh” environments (Industry 4.0, automation, etc.).
A focus on the EPC-A7-70HB-C: an embedded computer for the industrial sector
One of Chipsee’s flagship products in the Panel PC range is the EPC-A7-70HB-C (PN CS10600U070E), an embedded PC for industrial applications. It features a 7-inch TFT display with capacitive touchscreen and an ARM Cortex-A7 processor with 512 MB of DDR3 RAM and 8 GB of eMMC Flash. The available interfaces are: MIPI-DSI (FullHD, 4 lane), MIPI-CSI2 (4 lane), PCIe 2.0, 1Gbit Ethernet.
The hardware
As far as the hardware is concerned, the industrial embedded PC provides, on the rear panel, several connection interface options, including: 2 USB 2.0 connectors, 1 LAN connector, 2 CAN connectors, 3 RS485 connectors and 2 RS232 connectors. It also has a 3.5 mm audio input/output connector, a built-in 2 W speaker and a slot for TF cards. It is also possible to request, as an optional element, a WiFi/Bluetooth module.
The CAN, RS485, RS232 connector is a 12-pin screw terminal connector with a 3.81 mm pitch. The speed of the RS232 and RS485 ports reaches up to 115200 Baud. The EPC-A7-70HB-C has a 100 Mb Ethernet port and a connector for a TF card (uSD). This device supports a TF card up to 32 GB. Typical power consumption is 5 W.
The processor
The EPC-A7-70HB-C industrial panel PC is equipped with the iMX6UL ARM Cortex-A7 processor, a family of high-performance, ultra-efficient processors with an advanced implementation of a single Arm® Cortex®-A7 core, operating at speeds of up to 696 MHz. The i.MX 6UtraLite applications processor includes an integrated power management module that reduces external power supply complexity and simplifies power sequencing.
The display and the touchscreen
The EPC-A7-70HB-C, with a resolution of 1024×600, has a 5-point capacitive touchscreen, which offers stable and accurate control over the device. Being a capacitive touchscreen, it guarantees excellent image sharpness, durability and resistance to environmental contaminants such as dust and water. The HMI connector on the rear of the panel allows for quick setup and use, as well as enabling the device to operate in a dual-monitor configuration.
The software and operating system
The EPC-A7-70HB-C supports the Chipsee Linux Qt 5.5 and Debian 8.10 operating systems (OS). Chipsee Linux is based on the NXP Yocto framework integrated with: a Chipsee hardware test application; an initialization script for GPIO/Buzzer/Audio; multiple libraries, such as libQt5Sql for developing Qt applications with SQL; various packages, such as ntfs-3g for using NTFS. However, if the customer’s project requires a different operating system, a customized version can be requested to suit their needs.
Main technical features of the EPC-A7-70HB-C:
- Embedded computer ideal for industrial IoT and embedded applications
- 7” LCD display with capacitive touchscreen
- iMX6UL ARM Cortex-A7 processor with 512 GB of DDR3 RAM and 8 GB of eMMC Flash
- 100 Mb Ethernet, 2 USB 2.0 connectors, 1 LAN connector, 2 CAN connectors, 3 RS485 connectors and 2 RS232 connectors
- Available interfaces: MIPI-DSI (FullHD, 4 lane), MIPI-CSI2 (4 lane), PCIe 2.0, 1Gbit Ethernet
- 5-point capacitive touchscreen with 1024×600 resolution
- Supported operating systems: Chipsee Linux Qt 5.5 and Debian 8.10
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Article published in the magazine Selezione di Elettronica in April 2022