Control Network Newsletter
Application Ready Platforms Available
Contemporary Controls' Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) services offer application ready platforms for your automation needs. We design and manufacturer networking and control products used in various automation industries where performance and reliability are essential. These products, along with our comprehensive design experience with hardware, software and protocols, allow us to offer ODM services where we provide the product you require under your brand. To speed development, our designs are based upon proven open hardware-open software platforms, ready to execute your control or networking application.
With more than 40 years of experience in electronics design, development and manufacturing, we have a rich inventory of intellectual property that can be tapped for your next project. Two design and manufacturing locations—one in China and one in the US—provide private-label and ODM services. Leverage our design and manufacturing resources to reduce your costs and time-to-market.
We will gladly to review your needs in any area. We specialize in single board computers, automation platforms, HVAC controllers, managed /unmanaged switches, and cellular products.
Our Single Board Computers (SBCs) are small, but powerful board-level Linux computers that execute applications. Two families of SBCs with similar footprints are available—the popular Raspberry Pi called the SBCpi and Contemporary Controls' SBCti which is based on the Texas Instruments' Sitara family of processors. These SBCs take advantage of the wealth of open software that was developed to run on either the Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black. Using a modular design approach, either version can be fitted into a 4U pitch (70mm wide) DIN rail mounted plastic enclosures (DIN 43880 compliant).
Expansion boards that provide additional input/output points, a power supply, or support for a unique interface to SBCs are called daughterboards, shields or hats. Hats exist for both the SBCpi and SBCti. Depending upon the hat, a 4U enclosure is available with the appropriate cutouts for field connections.
Automation Platforms
Two styles of automation platforms exist with installed boards in a metal DIN rail mounted enclosure. The Pi Automation Platform incorporates the Raspberry Pi compute module while the TI Automation Platform incorporates a TI Sitara processor module. Both feature dual serial ports and dual Ethernet ports and will execute code developed for the Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black. A daughterboard socket offers flexibility for other interfaces.
HVAC Controllers
For air handlers (AHUs), rooftop units (RTUs), and other HVAC applications, panel mounted freely programmable BACnet/IP or BACnet MS/TP controllers are available along with a library of open source function block programs for typical HVAC applications. These programs can easily be modified for a custom sequence of operations using the license free Contemporary Controls' BAScontrol Toolset.
Switches and Routers
Various plug and play Ethernet switches and routers with copper, fiber, Wi-Fi and cellular capability are available in panel mounted or DIN rail mounted metal enclosures. Features include auto negotiated data rates to 1 Gigabit, auto MDIX, half or full duplex. Fiber optic options include single-mode or multimode operation with various connectors.
Managed Ethernet switches have all the same features as unmanaged switches while supporting the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Utilizing Contemporary Controls' M-Software, these managed switches support a host of features such as port configuration, port mirroring, VLANs, trunking, Quality of Service (QoS), port forwarding, Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) and rate limiting.
Gigabit IP Router designs with VPN and 4G LTE capability are also available for access to IoT applications.
To learn more, visit our Application Ready Platforms page.