Imperix - Control solutions

Products excerpt - 2020

Nicolas Cherix, PhD, chief scientist

Speed up your developments
by going early to the lab and
challenge your control in a
real-world environment



B-Box RCP

RAPID PROTOTYPING CONTROLLER

• Automated code generation (e.g. Simulink) or C/C++
• Stackable construction (max. 64 units)
• Software-independent protections

Power modules

BUILDING BLOCKS FOR POWER CONVERTERS

• Various power ratings
• Various topologies
• Plug-&-play with B-Box RCP

SIMPLE AND DEDICATED SOFTWARE

• Blockset support for Simulink and PLECS
• Proprietary monitoring software
• Straightforward toolchain (one click only !)

SUPPORTING MATERIAL

• Documented code examples
• Web-based knowledge base
• Video tutorials

Modular and scalable systems

A flexible approach for a comprehensive range of solutions

STARTER KIT LITE MMC MICROGRID
TEST-BENCH
HARDWARE + SOFTWARE HARDWARE + SOFTWARE
HARDWARE + SOFTWARE

Basic use case POF fibers

PWM + +

Analog (RJ45) Bill of materials
Analog (RJ45) » 1x B-Box RCP
» 3x PEB4046
» 3x Voltage sensors
» 1x light 19’’ rack
» Cables
» Simulink blockset

Product portfolio

Related control equipment and accessories

Power converter
Real power circuits

B-Box + Software Optical fibers
Real time controller Analog signals (RJ45 cables)

Sensors
Voltage & current

Selected customers

Some of our customers worldwide

3.7 MW installed power worldwide Headquarters in Switzerland
Customers in 21 countries 12 employees
Catalogue of 24 products Company founded in 2013

Selected customers

Some of our customers worldwide

5 resellers worldwide
Web-based direct sales

B-Box RCP 3.0

Rapid Control Prototyping Platform

The B-Box RCP

» is tailored for power electronics
» allows you to master everything to your exact needs !

B-Box RCP 3.0 OPTICAL PWM OUTPUTS
8 pairs or 16 independent signals
Inputs and outputs

GIGABIT ETHERNET ANALOG INPUTS SFP INTERCONNECT
Programming & monitoring of the B-Box RCP 16 channels I/O extension (max 64x)
6.6 Gbps RealSync link
CONNECTOR A CONNECTOR C
8x General purpose inputs (GPI 0-7) 8x General purpose outputs (GPO 0-7)
16x Digital/fault inputs 16x PWM outputs (PWM 0-15)

CONNECTOR B CONNECTOR D CAN
8x General purpose inputs (GPI 8-15) 8x General purpose outputs (GPO 8-15) 1 Mbps CAN
36x User-configurable I/0s 16x PWM outputs (PWM 16-31)

B-Box RCP 3.0 1) HIGH PROCESSING POWER

Key specifications at a glance Dual-core 1 GHz ARM

B-Box RCP 3.0 2) USER-PROGRAMMABLE FPGA

CONTROL PLATFORM 3) CONFIGURABLE FRONT-END

Supported software: Programmable ZIN + filters + amplifiers
Excellent EMC

4) HARDWARE PROTECTION

Programmable thresholds
Software-independent operation
μs response time

B-Box RCP 3.0

High-end interconnect

PERFECT SYNCHRONIZATION!

Imperix’s patent-pending RealSync 400 1
technology offers synchronization 350
accuracy down to ± 2.0 ns ! Number of measurements 300 Latency [μs] 0.8
250
200 0.6 3rd B-Box
150
100 2nd B-Box

50 0.4
0
-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 0.2

Synchronization error [ns] 0 32 48 64 80 96
0 16
Number of channels
ADC read
HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATION PWM (duty) PWM (duty+phase)

44000NNuummbbeerr ooff mmeeaassuurreemmeennttss LLaatteennccyy [[μμss]] 11

RealSy335n500c is meant to operate in a 00.8.8
tree-s3h300a0ped network, with sub-μs 00.6.6 33rdrdBB-B-Booxx
data t22r2250a50000nsfers up to 8 controllers !
22nnddBB-B-Booxx
115500
00.4.4
11000
00.2.2
5500
00
00 00 1166 3322 4488 6644 8800 9966
-2-2 -1-1.5.5 -1-1 -0-0.5.5 00 00.5.5 11 11.5.5 22
NNuummbbeer roof fcchhaannnneelsls
SSyynncchhroronnizizaatitoionneerrororr[n[nss] ]

AADDCCreraedad PPWWMM(d(duutyt)y) PPWWMM(d(duutyt+y+pphhasaes)e)

B-Board PRO

Support of prototype-to-product transition

DEVELOPMENT PHASE PRODUCTION PHASE

» Flexible hardware » Cost-optimised hardware
» Rapid control validation » Product integration

Full bitfile compatibility

B-Box B-Board

Prototyping controller Embeddable controller

B-Board PRO controller ONBOARD MEMORIES

A product-emmbeddable control solution » 1 GB DDR3
» 32 MB Flash
SFP CONNECTIVITY » 16 GB SD card + 8 GB eMMC

» Up to 6.6 Ghz operation BOTTOM-SIDE INTERFACES
» Clock dissemination
» 2x 180-pin high-speed connectors
XILINX ZYNQ 7030 1 GHZ » > 100x digital I/O (PWM and user I/O)
» All other B-Box signals
» 2x ARM Cortex A9 processors
» Kintex 7-grade FPGA
» Double-precision 32 bits FPU

ONBOARD ADCs

» 8x 2 Msps full-differential
» 16 bits
» Simultaneous sampling options

B-Board PRO controller B-Board PRO
B-Board PRO
For networked control systems B-Board PRO
B-Board PRO
B-Board PRO
B-Board PRO
B-Board PRO
B-Board PRO

B-Box RCP 3.0

B-Board PRO controller

For networked control systems

POSSIBLE NETWORK TOPOLOGIES

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Easy programming

Various workflows for Rapid Control Prototyping

ACG SDK C++ SDK VHDL / Verilog / C++

PLECS Simulink Imperix IDE VIVADO VIVADO HLS AUTOMATED CODE GENERATION

BB Control utility imperix .bit FPGA ACG SDK
toolchain SANDBOX
» Matlab Simulink
.elf (OPTIONAL) » Plexim PLECS

C/C++ CODE DEVELOPMENT

CPP SDK

» Imperix IDE (Eclipse-based)

ETH CPU 1 FPGA ADC
CPU 0 PWM
DAC
CAN

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Automated Code Generation

Graphical approach using ACG SDK

One model, two purposes...

Graphical programming Accurate offline simulations

» No coding skills needed » Pre-validation of control strategy
» Automatic generation of optimized code » PC-based simulation from the same model
» Automatic execution on imperix target » Meticulous modeling of
» Many available tools
- Sampling instant
- imperix library - PWM phase-shifts
- Simulink/PLECS native blocks - Computation time

Simulink blocks 9
8
Current [A] 7 Ref
6 Simulation
5 Experimental
4
Driver blocks 3

150 155 160

Time [ms]

wv Control algorithm
Block parameters
Simulink environment
Plot windows
Graphical approach for programming and simulating
Automated build

Model configuration

Blockset library

wv Control algorithm
Block parameters
PLECS environment
Plot windows
Graphical approach for programming and simulating
Automated build

Model configuration

Blockset library

wv

C++ development environment

Straigtforward and performant programming with imperix IDE

Launch button Tunable variables

Drivers routines

Drivers files

Control API

Auto-completion

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FPGA programming

Firmware customization for advanced applications

Endless development possibilities

» Offloading part of the algorithm for lightning-fast execution
» Implementing custom PWM modulators
» Implementing custom interfaces for external peripherals
» Easy interfacing with CPU code with provided drivers (SBI, SBO)

Various development languages CPU FPGA

» HDL languages (VHDL/Verilog) angle DEC Speed SBO –+
» Vivado HLS (C++) regulator SBO
» MATLAB HDL Coder (graphical) SBO Comparators
Field and
weakening
lookup tables
PWM

currents ADC abc Flux &
αβ torque
estimator

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BB Control

Real-time monitoring software

Connection to B-Box RCP or B-Board PRO

» Ethernet communication
» License and firmware management

Data monitoring

» Access to all internal variables for easy debugging
» Triggered scoping in oscilloscope-like interface

System testing and export of results

» Transient generator to challenge the control
» Export of each and every sample in .csv

B-Box RCP / B-Board PRO software

ACG SDK C/C++ SDK

Simulation and code generation from Simulink *
Simulation and code generation from PLECS **
C/C++ coding environment
BBOS operating system
BB Control utility software
User-editable area inside the FPGA
Stacked operation (multiple B-Boxes)

* Requires a MATLAB license and the following blocksets: Embedded Coder, MATLAB Coder and Simulink Coder.
** Requires a PLECS license (standalone or blockset) as well as PLECS Coder.

Imperix control solutions

From simulation to real power

CONCEPT COMPUTER PROTOTYPE PRODUCT TECHNOLOGICAL
SIMULATION IMPLEMENTATION INDUSTRIALIZATION STABILITY

1 2

Research Development Production

B-Box RCP B-Board PRO
CONTINUOUS SOFTWARE SUPPORT

Learn more about our products

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