Compulab SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS Internet of Things SBC User Guide

Compulab SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS Internet of Things SBC

Product Information

Specifications

• Model: SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS
• Manufacturer: CompuLab
• Address: 17 Ha Yetzira St., Yokneam Illit 2069208, Israel
• Contact:
  • Tel: +972 (4) 8290100
  • Fax: +972 (4) 8325251
  • Website: www.compulab.com

Product Usage Instructions

Introduction
This document provides information necessary to operate and program the Compulab SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS.

Overview

• Highlights: The product offers high performance and advanced features.
• Specifications: Detailed specifications can be found in the manual.

Interfaces and Connectors
The manual provides details about connector locations including panel connectors.

Mechanical
Information on heat plate, cooling solutions, and mechanical drawings is available in the manual.

Operational Characteristics
The manual includes absolute maximum ratings, recommended operating conditions, and typical power consumption details.

FAQ

• Is there a warranty for the product?
  No warranty of accuracy is given concerning the contents of the information contained in this publication.

• Can the product details change without notice?
  CompuLab reserves the right to change details in this publication without notice.

© 2023 CompuLab

• No warranty of accuracy is given concerning the contents of the information contained in this publication. To the extent permitted by law, no liability (including a liability to any person because of negligence) will be accepted by CompuLab, its subsidiaries or employees for any direct or indirect loss or damage caused by omissions from or inaccuracies in this document.
• CompuLab reserves the right to change details in this publication without notice.
• Product and company names herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
  • CompuLab
  • 17 Ha Yetzira St., Yokneam Illit 2069208, Israel
  • Tel: +972 (4) 8290100
  • www.compulab.com
  • Fax: +972 (4) 8325251

INTRODUCTION

About This Document
This document is part of a set of documents providing information necessary to operate and program Compulab SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS.

Related Documents
For additional information not covered in this manual, please refer to the documents listed in Table 2.
Table 2 Related Documents

imx8plus-nxp-i-](https://www.compulab.com/products/sbcs/sbc-iot-imx8plus-nxp-i -mx8m-plus-internet-of-things-single-board-computer/#devres) mx8m-plus- internet-of-things-single-board- computer/#devres

OVERVIEW

Highlights

• NXP i.MX8M-Plus CPU, quad-core Cortex-A53
• Up to 8GB RAM and 128GB eMMC
• LTE/4G modem, WiFi 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.3
• 2x LAN, USB3.0, 2x USB2.0 and CAN bus
• Up-to 3x RS485 | RS232 and digital I/O
• Secure boot and Hardware Watchdog
• Designed for reliability and 24/7 operation
• Wide temperature range of -40C to 80C
• Input voltage range of 8V to 36V and PoE client
• Debian Linux and Yocto Project

Specifications

Table 3 CPU Core, RAM, and Storage

Table 4 Network

WiFi 6E AX210 module 2x 2.4GHz / 5GHz rubber duck antennas

Cellular

| 4G/LTE CAT4 cellular module, Quectel EC25-E/A Cellular rubber duck antenna
SIM card socket
GNSS| GPS

Implemented with Quectel EC25 module

Table 5 Display and Graphics

GPU and Video

| GC7000UL GPU

1080p60 HEVC/H.265, AVC/H.264

• only with C1800QM CPU option

Table 6 I/O and System

1x USB3.0 port, type-A connector (front panel)

RS485 / RS232

| Up-to 3x RS485 (half-duplex) | RS232 ports Isolated, terminal-block connector

CAN bus

| Up to 2x CAN bus port

Isolated, terminal-block connector

Digital I/O

| 4x digital outputs + 4x digital inputs

Isolated, 24V compliant with EN 61131-2, terminal-block connector

Debug

| 1x serial console via UART-to-USB bridge, micro-USB connector
Support for NXP SDP/UUU protocol, micro-USB connector
Expansion| Expansion connector for add-on boards LVDS, SDIO, USB, SPI, I2C, GPIOs
Security| Secure boot, implemented with i.MX8M Plus HAB module
LEDs| 2x general purpose dual-color LEDs
RTC| Real time clock operated from on-board coin-cell battery
Watchdog| Hardware watchdog
PoE| Support for PoE (powered device)

Table 7 Electrical, Mechanical and Environmental

• only with “H” configuration option

Cooling| Passive cooling, fanless design
Weight| 450 gram
MTTF| 200,000 hours
Operation temperature| Commercial: 0° to 60° C

Extended: -20° to 60° C

Industrial: -40° to 80° C

CORE SYSTEM COMPONENTS

NXP i.MX8M Plus SoC
The i.MX8M Plus processors feature advanced implementation of a quad ARM® Cortex®-A53 core, which operates at speeds of up to 1.8 GHz. A general purpose Cortex®-M7 core processor enables low-power processing.

System Memory

• DRAM
  SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS is available with up to 8GB of on-board LPDDR4 memory.

• Primary Storage
  SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features up to 128GB of soldered on-board eMMC memory for storing the bootloader and operating system (Kernel and root filesystem). The remaining eMMC space is used to store general-purpose (user) data.

WiFi and Bluetooth

• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS can be optionally assembled with the Intel WiFi 6 AX210 module providing 2×2 WiFi 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.3 interfaces.
• AX210 module is installed into M.2 socket (P22).
• WiFi and Bluetooth antenna connections are available via two on-board MHF4 connectors.
• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS is supplied with two MHF4-to-RP-SMA cables and two 2.4GHz / 5GHz rubber duck antennas.

Cellular and GPS

• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS cellular interface is implemented with a mini-PCIe cellular modem module and a nano-SIM socket. To set up SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS for cellular functionality, install an active SIM card into nano-SIM socket U10. The cellular module should be installed into mini-PCIe socket P3.
• The cellular modem module also implements GNNS / GPS.
• Modem antenna connections are available via on-board MHF connectors. SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS is supplied with two MHF-to-SMA cables and one cellular rubber-duck antenna.
• CompuLab supplies SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS with the following cellular modem options:
  • 4G/LTE CAT4 cellular module, Quectel EC25-E (EU bands)
  • 4G/LTE CAT4 cellular module, Quectel EC25-A (US bands)

Ethernet

• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS incorporates two Ethernet ports implemetned with i.MX8M Plus internal MACs and two Realtek RTL8211 PHYs
• ETH1 is available on connector P13; ETH2 is available on connector P14.
• ETH2 port features optional POE 802.3af powered device capability.
  NOTE: ETH2 port features PoE powered device capability only when the unit is ordered with the ‘POE’ configuration option.

USB

• USB3.0
  SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features one USB3.0 host port routed to front panel USB connector J8. USB3.0 port is implemented directly with the native i.MX8M Plus port.

• USB2.0
  SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features two external USB2.0 host ports. The ports are routed to back panel USB connectors P17 and P18. All USB2.0 ports are implemented with MicroChip USB2514 USB hub.

CAN bus

• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features up to 2 CAN 2.0B ports implemented with i.MX8M Plus CAN controller.
• CAN bus signals are routed to industrial I/O connector P8. For pin-out details please refer to section 5.4.
  NOTE: One CAN bus port is always available. Additional (2nd) CAN bus port occupies one of the industrial I/O (IE) slots and is only available when SBC- IOT-IMX8PLUS is ordered with the FCCAN ordering option.

Serial Debug Console
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features a serial debug console via UART-to-USB bridge over micro USB connector. CP2104 UART-to-USB bridge is interfaced with i.MX8M Plus UART port. CP2104 USB signals are routed to micro USB connector P20, located on the front panel.

Display Output
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features DVI-D interface routed to standard HDMI connector. Display output interface support resolutions of up-to 1920 x 1080.

USB Programming Port

• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features a USB programming interface that can be used for device recovery using the NXP UUU utility.
• USB programming interface is routed to the front panel connector P16.
• When a host PC is connected with a USB cable to the USB programming connector, SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS disables normal boot from eMMC and enters Serial Downloader boot mode.

I/O Expansion Socket
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS expansion interface is available on M.2 Key-E socket P12. The expansion connector allows integration of custom I/O add-on boards into SBC- IOT-IMX8PLUS. The expansion connector features embedded interfaces such as LVDS, I2C, SPI, USB and SDIO.

Industrial I/O (IE modules)

• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features 4 industrial I/O (IE) slots that can be fitted with up-to 4 different I/O modules. Each IE slot is isolated from SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS.
• I/O slots A,B,C can be fitted with RS232 or RS485 I/O modules. I/O slot D can only be fitted with a digital I/O (4x DI, 4x DO) module.
  Table 8 Industrial I/O – functions and ordering codes | I/O slot A| I/O slot B| I/O slot C| I/O slot D
  ---|---|---|---|---
  RS-232 (2-wire)| FARS2| FBRS2| FCRS2| –
  RS-485 (half-duplex)| FARS4| FBRS4| FCRS4| –
  Digital I/O(4x DI, 4x DO)| –| –| –| FDIO
• Combination examples:
  • For 2x RS485 the ordering code will be SBC-IOTIMX8PLUS-…-FARS4-FBRS4-…
  • For 1x RS232 + 1x RS485 + digital I/O the ordering code will be SBC-IOTIMX8PLUS-…-FARS2-FBRS4-FDIO-…
• Certain I/O combinations may also be implemented with on-board SMT components.
• Industrial I/O signals are routed to a 2×11 terminal block on the SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS back panel. For connector pin-out please refer to section 5.4.

IE-RS485
RS485 function is implemented with MAX13488 transceiver interfaced with i.MX8M Plus UART ports. Key characteristics:

• 2-wire, half-duplex
• Galvanic isolation from the main unit
• Programmable baud rate of up to 3Mbps
• Software controlled 120ohm termination resistor

IE-RS232
RS232 function is implemented with MAX3221 (or compatible) transceiver interfaced with i.MX8M Plus UART ports. Key characteristics:

• RX/TX only
• Galvanic isolation from the main unit
• Programmable baud rate of up to 250kbps

Digital inputs and outputs
Four digital inputs are implemented with the CLT3-4B digital termination following EN 61131-2. Four digital outputs are implemented with the VNI4140K solid-state relay following EN 61131-2. Key characteristics:

• External supply voltage up to 24V
• Galvanic isolation from the main unit and other I/O modules
• Digital outputs maximal output current – 0.5A per channel

SYSTEM LOGIC

Power Subsystem

Power Rails

• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS is powered with a single power rail with an input voltage range of 8V to 36V.
• When SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS is assembled with the “POE” option it can also be powered through ETH2 connector from a 802.3at Type 1 PoE source.

Power Modes
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS supports three hardware power modes.
Table 9 Power modes

main power supply is connected.
OFF| CPU core power rails are off. All peripheral power rails are off.
Sleep| DRAM is maintained in self-refresh. Most CPU core power rails are off. Most of the peripheral power rails are off.

RTC Back-Up Battery
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features a 120mAh coin cell lithium battery, which maintains the on-board RTC whenever the main power supply is not present.

Real-Time Clock
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS RTC is implemented with the AM1805 real-time clock (RTC) chip. The RTC is connected to the i.MX8M Plus SoC using I2C interface at address 0xD2/D3. SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS back-up battery keeps the RTC running to maintain clock and time information whenever the main power supply is not present.

Hardware Watchdog
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS watchdog function is implemented with the i.MX8M Plus watchdog.

Trusted Platform Module
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS can be optionally (ordering code “FXTPM”) assembled with a TPM add-on board installed into the expansion connector. TPM implemented with Infineon SLB9670.
NOTE: TPM add-on uses the expansion connector and cannot be combined with any other addon board.

INTERFACES AND CONNECTORS

Connector Locations

Panel Connectors

Internal Connectors

DC Power Jack (J7)
DC power input connector.
Table 10 DC jack connector pin-out

Table 11 DC jack connector data

The connector is compatible with the SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS AC PSU and IOTG-ACC- CABDC DC cable available from CompuLab.

USB Host Connectors (J8, P17, P18)

• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS USB3.0 host port is available through standard type-A USB3 connector J8.
• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS USB2.0 host ports are available through two standard type-A USB connectors P17 and P18.
• For additional details, please refer to section 3.6 of this document.

Industrial I/O Connector (P8)
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS industrial I/O signals are routed to terminal block P8. Pin- out is determined by the I/O modules configuration. For additional details please refer to section 3.12.
Table 12 Industrial I/O add-on connector pin-out

Table 13 Industrial I/O add-on connector data

Serial Debug Console (P5)
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS serial debug console interface is routed to micro USB connector P20. For additional information, please refer to section 3.8 of this documents.

RJ45 Ethernet Connectors (P13, P14)
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS Ethernet port ETH1 is routed to RJ45 connector P13. SBC-IOT- IMX8PLUS Ethernet port ETH2 is routed to RJ45 connector P14. For additional details, please refer to section 3.5 of this document.

Mini-PCIe socket (P3)
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features one mini-PCIe socket P3 mainly intended for cellular modem modules. P3 implements USB and SIM interfaces. Socket P3 does not implement PCIe signals.

Nano-SIM socket (U10)
The nano-uSIM socket (U10) is connected to mini-PCIe socket P3.

Expansion Connector (P19)
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS expansion interafce is available on M.2 Key-E socket with a custom pin-out P19. The expansion connector allows to integrate custom I/O add-on boards into SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS. The following table outlines the connector pin-out and available pin functions.
Table 14 Expansion connector pin-out

Hub
6| VCC_5V| Power output 5V| 5| USB_DN| Optional multiplexed USB2 from USB Hub
8| VCC_5V| Power output 5V| 7| GND|

10

| ****

VBATA_IN

| ****

Power input (8V – 36V)

| ****

9

| ****

I2C6_SCL

| I2C6_SCL / PWM4_OUT / GPIO3_IO19

(1.8V voltage level)

12

| ****

VBATA_IN

| ****

Power input (8V – 36V)

| ****

11

| ****

I2C6_SDA

| I2C6_SDA / PWM3_OUT / GPIO3_IO20

(1.8V voltage level)

14| VBATA_IN| Power input (8V – 36V)| 13| GND|
16| EXT_PWRB

TNn

| ON/OFF input| 15| ECSPI2_SS0| ECSPI2_SS0 / GPIO5_IO13

(3.3V voltage level)

18| GND|  | 17| ECSPI2_MISO| ECSPI2_MISO / GPIO5_IO12

(3.3V voltage level)

20| EXT_RESET| Reset input| 19| GND|
22| RESERVED|  | 21| ECSPI2_SCLK| ECSPI2_SCLK / GPIO5_IO10

(3.3V voltage level)

24| NC| Key E notch| 23| ECSPI2_MOSI| ECSPI2_MOSI / GPIO5_IO11

(3.3V voltage level)

26| NC| Key E notch| 25| NC| Key E notch
28| NC| Key E notch| 27| NC| Key E notch
30| NC| Key E notch| 29| NC| Key E notch
32| GND|  | 31| NC| Key E notch

34

| ****

I2C5_SDA

| I2C5_SDA / PWM1_OUT / GPIO3_IO25

(3.3V/1.8V voltage level)

| ****

33

| ****

GND

|

36

| ****

I2C5_SCL

| I2C5_SCL / PWM2_OUT / GPIO3_IO21

(3.3V/1.8V voltage level)

| ****

35

| ****

JTAG_TMS

| ****

SoC JTAG

(3.3V/1.8V voltage level)

| 45| GND|
48| SD2_CLK| SD2_CLK/ GPIO2_IO13

(3.3V/1.8V voltage level)

| 47| LVDS_CLK_P| LVDS output clock
50| SD2_DATA3| SD2_DATA3 / GPIO2_IO18

(3.3V/1.8V voltage level)

| 49| LVDS_CLK_N| LVDS output clock
52| SD2_CMD| SD2_CMD / GPIO2_IO14

(3.3V/1.8V voltage level)

| 51| GND|
54| SD2_DATA0| SD2_DATA0 / GPIO2_IO15

(3.3V/1.8V voltage level)

| 53| LVDS_D3_N| LVDS output data
56| GND|  | 55| LVDS_D3_P| LVDS output data
58| SD2_DATA1| SD2_DATA1 / GPIO2_IO16

(3.3V/1.8V voltage level)

| 57| GND|
60| SD2_nRST| SD2_nRST / GPIO2_IO19

(3.3V/1.8V voltage level)

| 59| LVDS_D2_N| LVDS output data
62| GND|  | 61| LVDS_D2_P| LVDS output data
64| RESERVED|  | 63| GND|
66| GND|  | 65| LVDS_D1_N| LVDS output data
68| RESERVED|  | 67| LVDS_D1_P| LVDS output data
70| RESERVED|  | 69| GND|
72| VCC_3.3V| Power output 3.3V| 71| LVDS_D0_P| LVDS output data
74| VCC_3.3V| Power output 3.3V| 73| LVDS_D0_N| LVDS output data
 |  |  | 75| GND|

Indicator LEDs
The tables below describe SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS indicator LEDs.
Table 15 Power LED

General purpose LEDs are controlled by SoC GPIOs.
Table 16 User LED #1

Table 17 User LED #2

Antenna Connectors
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS features up-to four connectors for external antennas.
Table 18 Default antenna connector assignment

MECHANICAL

Heat Plate and Cooling Solutions
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS is provided with an optional heat-plate assembly. The heat- plate is designed to act as a thermal interface and should usually be used in conjunction with a heat-sink or an external cooling solution. A cooling solution must be provided to ensure that under worst-case conditions the temperature on any spot of the heat-spreader surface is maintained according to the SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS temperature specifications. Various thermal management solutions can be used, including active and passive heat dissipation approaches.

Mechanical Drawings
SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS 3D model is available for download at: https://www.compulab.com/products/sbcs/sbc-iot-imx8plus-nxp-i-mx8m-plus- internet-of-things-single-board-computer/#devres

OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Absolute Maximum Ratings
Table 19 Absolute Maximum Ratings

NOTE: Stress beyond Absolute Maximum Ratings may cause permanent damage to the device.

Recommended Operating Conditions
Table 20 Recommended Operating Conditions

Typical Power Consumption
Table 21 SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS Typical Power Consumption

2.4W
Linux idle, with display| Linux up, ethernet up, display connected, no activity| 250mA| 3.0W
Wi-Fi or Ethernet data transfer| Linux up, no display, active ethernet or Wi- Fi data transmission| 300mA| 3.6W
Cellular modem data transfer| Linux up, no display, active modem data transmission| 400mA| 4.8W
Heavy mixed load without cellular activity| CPU and memory stress-test + Wi-Fi running + Bluetooth running + Ethernet activity + LEDs| ****

450mA

| ****

5.4W

Heavy mixed load with active cellular modem data transfer| CPU and memory stress-test + active modem data transmission| ****

650mA

| ****

7.8W

Power consumption has been measured with the following setup:

1. Configuration – SBC-IOTIMX8PLUS–C1800QM-D4-N32-WB-JEC25E-FARS4-FBRS2-FDIO-POE-PS-XL
2. Standard SBC-IOTIMX8PLUS 12VDC PSU
3. Software stack – stock Debian for SBC-IOTIMX8PLUS v1.1

References

• Compulab
• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS | NXP i.MX8M Plus | Internet of Things SBC | Compulab
• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS | NXP i.MX8M Plus | Internet of Things SBC | Compulab
• SBC-IOT-IMX8PLUS | NXP i.MX8M Plus | Internet of Things SBC | Compulab

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