PICMG ModBlox7 Specification Standardizes Box PCs for Scalable, Interoperable Rugged Edge Computing

Industry NewsModBlox7NewsOpen Standards

  • CPU, Power Supply, and I/O units can be configured as redundant or non-redundant systems in transportation, automation, avionics, defense, and other markets
  • 1.4” horizontal pitch (7 HP) per unit supports mounting on walls, DIN rails or side-by-side in a 19” sub-rack
  • Modular, scalable architecture removes backplane for configurable, cost-effective low-, medium-, and high-volume production runs

WAKEFIELD, MA. PICMG, a leading consortium for the development of open embedded computing specifications, has ratified the ModBlox7 base specification. The first-of-its-kind specification addresses industry’s need for modular and interoperable embedded box PCs by defining a flexible mechanical architecture and “units” that fit a 1.4-inch horizontal pitch (7 HP) form factor.

The ModBlox7 architecture removes expensive components like backplanes and shelf controllers to enable the creation of price-competitive systems even at low volumes. Up to 12 of the 7 HP units can be interconnected and mounted on walls, DIN rails, or inserted in a 19” sub-rack.

“With ModBlox7, we combine the advantages of modular standards like CompactPCI and CompactPCI Serial with the demands we see from box PC customers like cost sensitivity, small form factor, and low weight,” explains Mathias Beer, CEO of Ci4Rail GmbH and member of the PICMG ModBlox7 working group. “By combining all of this in a PICMG specification, ModBlox7 addresses the design requirements of our clients and avoids vendor lock in.”

The Building Block Architecture of ModBlox7

A typical ModBlox7 system consists of Power Units, Processing Units, and PCIe or USB 2.0/3.0 Input and Output Units (IOUs), each of which measures 1.4” or 7 HP wide. Units can also be extended in 7HP increments to 14 HP, 21 HP, and so on and remain compatible with the specification.

Power Unit blocks convert external supply voltage into a 12V internal voltage and connect to Processing Units via terminal wire-to-board or board-to-board connectors. Processing Units support an overall thermal design power (TDP) of up to 150W and interface with IOUs over high-speed board-to-board connectors.

While a minimum ModBlox7 system consists of just one Processing Unit and one Power Unit, they can support as many as four PCI Express-based or eight USB-based IOUs. For high-availability or safety applications, ModBlox7 systems can also be configured with redundant Processing Units or Power Units. The maximum number of slots supported in any ModBlox7 is 12.

“The ModBlox7 standard defines a direct board-to-board interconnect in a box format to realize cost-effective system solutions,” says Bernd Kleeberg, CEO and Head of Sales at EKF Elektronik GmbH and chair of the PICMG ModBlox7 working group. “Thanks to native support for redundancy, ModBlox7 is also recommended for high-availability solutions.”

Getting Started with ModBlox7

ModBlox7 is designed for edge computing, data acquisition, communication, and control use cases in transportation, automation, avionics, defense, medical, agriculture, and other demanding markets. A multi-vendor supplier ecosystem helps control cost and ensures product availability over the long lifecycles of deployments in these domains.

Members of the PICMG ModBlox7 subcommittee include Ci4Rail GmbH, EKF Elektronik GmbH, ELTEC Elektronik AG, Elma Electronic, Embeck Co., Ltd., ept GmbH, HEITEC AG, Hirose Electric Europe B.V., nVent/Schroff GmbH, Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG, Samtec, Inc., Sealevel Systems, Inc., UBER Co. Ltd., FASTWEL Group Co. Ltd, and Tews Technologies GmbH.

Products based on the ModBlox7 base specification are available now. The specification is also available for purchase and download at www.picmg.org/product/modblox7.

For more information on ModBlox7, visit:

About PICMG
Founded in 1994, PICMG is a not-for-profit 501(c) consortium of companies and organizations that collaboratively develop open standards for high performance industrial, Industrial IoT, military & aerospace, telecommunications, test & measurement, medical, and general-purpose embedded computing applications. There are more than 140 member companies that specialize in a wide range of technical disciplines, including mechanical and thermal design, single board computer design, high-speed signaling design and analysis, networking expertise, backplane, and packaging design, power management, high availability software and comprehensive system management.

Key standards families developed by PICMG include COM-HPC, COM Express, CompactPCI, AdvancedTCA, MicroTCA, AdvancedMC, CompactPCI Serial, InterEdge, ModBlox7, SHB Express, MicroSAM, and HPM (Hardware Platform Management). For more information, visit www.picmg.org.