SBS Technologies VIPC616 VME Carrier Board

SBS Technologies VIPC616 VME Carrier Board: Four Slot 6U Industry Pack

The flexibility and reliability of I/O expansion are crucial in modular embedded systems. VIPC616 is a classic 6U VMEbus Industry Pack carrier board, provided with interfaces by the VME bus backplane, capable of installing up to four single width Industry Pack (IP) modules or two dual width IP modules. This article will provide a comprehensive and in-depth technical analysis of the carrier board from the aspects of hardware architecture, bus interface, I/O routing, interrupt mechanism, power protection, physical specifications, and supporting products.

Product positioning and design background

VIPC616 belongs to the IndustriePack modular I/O component family. As a 6U high VME carrier board, its main task is to provide mechanical installation and electrical connections for the IndustriePack for the VME system. This board supports I/O cycles, ID cycles, memory cycles, and interrupt functions, and is a common choice in industrial control, communication equipment, medical imaging, military testing systems, and other fields.

Compared with the enhanced VIPC618, VIPC616 belongs to the basic version, with the difference being the front-end I/O interface form: VIPC618 adopts a shielded 50 pin ultra small D-type connector, which can significantly reduce EMI radiation and has a locking device; VIPC616, on the other hand, uses a right angled ribbon cable connector (unshielded), which is more cost-effective and convenient for quick wiring.

Overview of Core Features

Four sets of IndustriePack slots located on the 6U VME board

Supports I/O, ID, memory, and interrupt cycles

Front end I/O is connected through unshielded right angled ribbon cable connectors with keyways. Each set of connectors comes with a pop-up device, and every two IP slots share a pair of 50 pin interfaces

64 backend I/O lines are led out through P2 connector (from all 50 I/O pins in slot D and 14 configurable pins in slot C)

Supports A24 or A32 memory mapping, with a maximum of 8 Mbytes of memory per slot

The front panel provides activity status LEDs (green) for each IP slot

Front panel power monitoring LED (monitoring A/B slots and C/D slots respectively)

All IP power cords are equipped with filtering, decoupling capacitors, and fuse protection

Custom interrupt mapping can be implemented through user provided PLDs

100% software compatible with VIPC618

VME bus and memory mapping

VIPC616 fully complies with the VMEbus specification (IEEE P-1024/D1.2, ANSI/VITA-4-1995) and uses a 6U board type. Its VME interface is 32-bit, but note that it does not support Industry Pack DMA function, nor does it support 32-bit IP interface (i.e. the data bus width of the IP module itself is still 16 bits or 8 bits).

In terms of memory mapping:

I/O space: mapped to VMEbus A16/D16 space, with each IP slot fixed at 128 bytes, supporting user mode and superuser mode access, and supporting read modify write (i.e. "test and set") operations.

ID space: Each IP slot is also 128 bytes, with a fixed size.

Memory space: can be mapped to A24 or A32 space. When selecting A32, each IP slot supports a full 8 Mbytes of memory (compliant with the Industry Pack specification limit). If A24 is selected, each slot can be configured as None, 128KB, 256KB, 512KB, 1MB, or 2MB (set through jumper or PLD).

Interrupt architecture

The interrupt handling design of VIPC616 is simple yet powerful. Each IndustriePack can generate up to two interrupt requests, with a total of eight interrupt request lines provided by four IP slots. These request lines are mapped one-to-one with seven interrupt request levels (IRQ1-IRQ7) of VMEbus through a simple jumper block. Users can also install self programmed PLDs to achieve any complex interrupt mapping relationship, such as multiplexing, level conversion, or priority encoding.

Custom interrupt mapping versions can be ordered from the original factory and programmed through PLD to meet special application requirements.

I/O signal routing: front-end and back-end

The I/O connection of VIPC616 is highly flexible:

Front end I/O: Every two IP slots share a pair of 50 pin right angle, keyway, and pop-up cable connectors. This connector is a non shielded type, suitable for occasions with low EMI environmental requirements. The 50 signals of each connector correspond to the I/O pins of the corresponding IP slot.

Backend I/O (P2): Most of the I/O signals from slots C and D are also routed to rows A and C of the VMEbus P2 connector. Specifically, it includes all 50 I/O pins in slot D, as well as 14 configurable pins in slot C. This allows wiring to be done at the back of the chassis, making the front space cleaner, especially suitable for rack mounted systems.

Note: I/O signals from slots A and B are usually not routed to P2 and are only routed out through the front panel.

Power protection and monitoring

VIPC616 has finely processed the power supply for each Industry Pack slot:

Filtering and decoupling: All IP power lines (+5V,+12V, -12V) are equipped with RF filtering and decoupling capacitors to reduce power noise.

Fuse protection: Each power line in the IP slot is equipped with a fuse to prevent overcurrent or short circuit faults from spreading to the carrier board or backplane.

Power monitoring LED: There are two green LEDs on the front panel, one indicating that the power supply to slots A and B is normal, and the other indicating that the power supply to slots C and D is normal. Two independent power detection circuits can detect circuit faults such as blown fuses or any IP slot.

IP access indicator light: Each IP slot corresponds to a green LED. When the IP is accessed by the VME master device (I/O, ID, or memory cycle), the LED will flash for debugging and status monitoring.

Clock and unsupported functions

VIPC616 only provides an 8 MHz IP clock (Industry Pack specifications allow 8 MHz or 32 MHz). This means that if the IP module requires a higher clock frequency, it may not function properly. In addition, the following features are not supported:

32-bit IP interface (only 16 bit/8-bit)

IndustriePack DMA (Direct Memory Access)

Some special configurations of dual wide IP (but mechanically supports up to two dual wide IPs)

Therefore, when selecting an IP module, it is necessary to confirm its compatibility with an 8 MHz clock and non DMA mode.

Physical dimensions and environmental specifications

Size: 160 mm x 233.35 mm (standard 6U VME)

Weight: 0.34 kg (0.81 lb)

Board power consumption (excluding IP module):

+5 VDC: 610 mA (typical value)

+12 VDC: 0 mA (typical value)

-12 VDC: 0 mA (typical value)

Additional power capacity provided by each IP slot:

+5 VDC @ 3A (per slot)

+12 VDC @ 3A (shared by all slots, total capacity 3A)

-12 VDC @ 3A (shared by all slots, total capacity 3A)

Environmental conditions:

Working temperature: 0 ° C to 70 ° C

Humidity: 5% to 95%, non condensing

Storage temperature: -40 ° C to+85 ° C

Engineering suite and documentation

VIPC616 provides an engineering kit (EK-VIPC616) that includes the following:

Printed Hardware User Manual

Bill of Materials (BOM)

circuit schematic diagram

assembly drawing

These materials are very practical for system integrators and maintenance engineers.

Related products

VIPC616 can be used in conjunction with the following products or as an upgrade alternative:

VIPC618: Four slot 6U VME IndustriePack carrier board with front panel shielded high-density I/O connectors for better EMI performance.

VIPC664-ET: Four slot 6U VME IndustriePack carrier board, rear I/O (via P2).

VIPC664-WL: VIPC664 with wedge-shaped locking device, suitable for high impact vibration environments.

VIPC664WL-CC: conduction cooling version, suitable for military wide temperature or enclosed chassis.

VIPC860-FP/BP: A 6U VME single board computer with integrated MPC860T processor, equipped with four IndustriePack slots, and I/O respectively leading from the front panel or back panel.

C-IP50F-IP50F-3/-6: 3 feet or 6 feet long, 50 core ribbon cable.

IP-TERM: 50 position screw terminal block with ribbon cable connector for easy on-site wiring.

Typical application scenarios

Industrial Automation: Connect IndustriePack modules such as A/D, D/A, digital I/O, counters, and motion control to expand the capabilities of VME controllers.

Medical imaging system: using IP modules to achieve interface conversion and data acquisition of ultrasound, CT, or MRI equipment.

Military testing and simulation: using wedge locks or conductive cooling carriers in harsh environments, combined with reinforced IP modules.

Communication infrastructure: used for multi protocol serial interfaces or fieldbus in base station controllers and protocol converters.

Old system maintenance: When the existing VIPC616 or VIPC618 is damaged, it can be quickly replaced to maintain software compatibility.

Integration precautions

When using a dual width IP, a maximum of two slots can be used, and they will occupy adjacent slots (such as slots A+B in one group and C+D in the other group). The front panel I/O connectors need to be adjusted accordingly.

If backend I/O is required, it is necessary to confirm whether the P2 connector is assembled and whether the backplane leads out the corresponding signal.

Custom interrupt PLD requires VHDL or ABEL design capabilities and programming to an onboard PLD socket.

Due to the lack of support for IP DMA, any DMA dependent IP modules (such as high-speed data acquisition cards) cannot achieve the expected performance on this carrier board.