Boasting benefits such as a compact design, low power consumption and an affordable purchase price, developer boards are suitable for a wide range of projects. They are also being increasingly used in industrial applications. Engineers now have a number of interesting development boards at their disposal for this purpose—with Arduino products coming in first. Below, we take a look at the criteria that must be met for industrial applications, how much progress development boards have already made and provide examples of how developer boards can be used in industry.
What do industrial applications require?
Industrial companies have long been reluctant to use developer boards for good reason. The industrial environment demands a range of requirements including maximum robustness, reliable performance—even for prolonged and intensive applications—as well as interoperability with common transmission protocols, firmware and software. How do developer boards intersect in this respect for companies?
In essence, a distinction must be drawn between two different application types: application in a product or application in your own company, such as a control element in the production process.
Developer boards in products
Thorough preliminary considerations must be taken about the product if a developer board is to be installed in said product. The beginning of the product development process involves specifying the end requirements for the product in full, to prevent any unpleasant subsequent surprises. Of course, these requirements include technical features such as size, weight, data transfer rates, connection protocols and more.
A number of commercial aspects must also be considered. These include the product lifetime: How long is the lifetime of the planned product anticipated and can a developer board satisfy this time span? The developer board’s service life must be covered by the manufacturer’s delivery commitments. It goes without saying that the developer board must also be available in the planned quantities. Here too, a commitment must be obtained from the producer.
The issue of the planned sales regions should not be underestimated, in turn, this has an impact on approvals and standards. Different standards and certifications may apply when selling to different markets. For example, a CE certification based on European standards may be of no worth for the American or Asian market. The pre-certification of supplied components is therefore helpful but does not relieve the manufacturer of its responsibility to conduct tests required for certification of the entire device. These standards and certifications guarantee the safe use of the product – for example regarding safe use at different temperatures or varying humidity.
Utilising developer boards for in-house processes
In addition, developer boards can be used to control processes within the company itself, such as in production processes or in the in-house logistics centre. Developer boards can partially take over the tasks of industrial controllers or even pre-process the data collected by sensors and send it to the cloud or central servers. By assuming these takes, particularly high demands are placed on data transfer speed, computing power and memory. In addition, industrial connection standards must, of course, be in place.
Being resistant to extreme conditions is crucial for industrial applications. Products often must withstand very high temperatures of up to 50°C, minus temperatures and large temperature fluctuations. Ruggedness in high humidity can also be a vital requirement. What’s more, industrial application may necessitate particularly high resistance to shock or vibration. It is often the case that developer boards still lack reliable data. It is a laborious and time-consuming process to collect this data manually, which companies see benefit using finished modules from a design or technology partner in these instances. They can simulate certain extreme conditions by performing upstream test runs to determine whether the desired developer board is suitable or whether it can be safely guaranteed using additional special housings, shock absorbers or cooling modules.
What are developer boards offering at present?
Can developer boards originally built for students and tech enthusiasts meet these requirements? In recent years, much has been done to ensure that Arduino etc. also exist in the industrial environment. For example, developer boards are now very flexible in terms of temperature range: They are designed to deliver consistently high performance in an environment from -0°C to +50°C. This means that they can be used in hot machine rooms as well as refrigerated storage rooms.
And, as the boards are manufactured in large quantities, the assembly and function tests are usually carried out under automated production conditions. Engineers can put their confidence in excellent production quality. A variety of hats and shields also ensure a high degree of interoperability with industrial transmission protocols and buses.
Developer boards are known, above all, for their ease of programming and their wide range of applications. The majority of development boards rely on open-source code, making work accessible to a large number of engineers and software developers. The large community can be a real treasure trove, especially when developing prototypes. On the other hand, you need to be secure in your expertise to pick the right solution from a wide range of solutions. It is also important to remember that open-source solutions take into account conformity of licences for the required application. Depending on the level of knowledge in the company and the complexity of the project, the decision must be taken on what is the better route.
These developer boards are already being used in industrial applications
There are already several development boards that offer these features. Among these is the all-rounder Arduino Pro – the Portenta H7 and X8 models in particular, as well as the numerous extensions. The wide range provides the right product for companies in all industries to design and implement smart solutions according to their requirements. One example is Arduino’s hardware is used by an international winter transport company to accurately locate each vehicle in a snowplough fleet and determine its speed. This makes it possible to direct individual snowploughs faster and more efficiently to roads that are still covered in snow, and roads are cleared faster and safe for traffic.
Another example is the use of an Arduino board in conjunction with a liquid sensor. It was by adopting this approach that a Canadian start-up was able to better assess the quality of the oil in heavy industry. Oil is often changed much too early, because the quality is difficult to determine externally and damage caused by contaminated oil needs to be prevented. When a sensor can provide accurate information about the quality of the oil in the machinery, companies save valuable resources and also have a more sustainable work process. An example of how Arduino hardware is used in products comes from Italy, where an industrial furnace manufacturer uses a developer board to equip the furnaces with smart functions, thereby simplifying their use. The ovens can now be controlled remotely and will inform users if the baking process is interrupted by technical problems such as power failures. The built-in predictive maintenance function also automatically detects when a component wears out, enabling it to be replaced before the defect occurs. Finally, user data provides key information about preferences, which are taken into account in the development of new industrial furnaces.
Another developer board that is already in wide use in the industrial environment is the Raspberry Pi product family. It excels in particular with its large developer community and the many hats and shields that make the board suitable for projects of all kinds. In this context, the Revolution Pi, an industrial mini-PC based on the Raspberry Pi, is particularly noteworthy. It was developed for automating and controlling industrial processes. This means that the Revolution Pi is equipped with high-performance connection standards and, on top of that, is particularly robust. The housing fits perfectly in DIN-standard control cabinets. Thus, the Revolution Pi is ideal for controlling production plants or building automation.
But other manufacturers also offer developer boards used in industrial environments. These include the Espressif ESP8266 and ATtiny416 models, which have made a name for themselves in IoT projects. The manufacturer’s product portfolio includes not only the boards, but also matching modules and SOCs. This means that the entire system comes from a single source, making the application much easier for engineers. The WisBlock system from RAKwireless is a modular system that greatly facilitates the implementation of IoT nodes. Based on a carrier board up, CPU modules, sensor modules and interface modules can be connected. An IP67 housing with a solar cell is even available for outdoor use. This gives engineers a great deal of flexibility in large-scale installations.
The Adafruit Feather series is particularly light and compact, making it very suitable for portable devices, such as for monitoring ambient conditions like the temperature, humidity or air pressure. The Teensy Boards are just as small and compact. They are affordable and therefore represent an interesting alternative for developers working on a limited budget.
Conclusion
Originally designed for private use, developer boards are being increasingly used in industrial applications. This utilisation is justified, because they boast many characteristics that facilitate industrial production processes and operational processes. Companies can therefore open up new avenues.
However, it is always important to note that industrial-suitable interfaces to existing processes and the required certifications of the entire device are taken into account before use. The stability and modification options of the development environment and the base software/firmware used must also be considered. If all the necessary precautions are taken prior to starting the application, the programmable mini computers are valid, high-quality aids in industrial environments.
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