ertius
The onBOARD-Flasher for Production Site
ertius is an OnBOARD Pogramming System for efficient manufacturing processes. The system is specially designed for programming of electronic components directly on assembled PCBs (usually non-volatile memories, logic chips or microcontrollers with on-chip flash).
The two-component programming system ertius consists of a basic device
ertius alpha and the programming heads ertius delta. ertius alpha is controlled by the host system (usually a PC) via a 1Gbit Ethernet connection.
One basic system ertius alpha is able to control up to 4 programming heads ertius delta. The cable connections between alpha and the programming heads are uncritical regarding immunity to interference. Cable length of 3 to 5 meters doesn’t influence the programming process even at high programming speeds.The maximum data rate between ertius alpha and delta is 300 MB/s. The data to be programmed is transferred only once via Ethernet to the large RAM memory of ertius alpha (up to 900 MBytes) and then is stored into the RAM memory (40 MByte) of the programming heads.
For large data quantities there is an extra memory capacity of 16 GB on an internal SD card. In such cases it is recommended the additional use of the optional expansion unit ertius epsilon (attached to ertius delta), which, besides a micro SD card for image storage provides also additional intelligent voltage supply channels and bistable relays for galvanic signal separation.
The individual programming processes on the programming heads ertius delta are completely independent from each other. Therefore, it is possible to program simultaneously the same or different programmable devices with the same or different data.
After booting, the microcontroller-specific programming algorithm is loaded into ertius delta and starts working. Thereby, the wired signals of the specific programming interface are controlled directly or, when additionally using ertius epsilon via automatic relay contacts.
Due to the flexible structure of ertius, project-specific customer requirements, such as serial numbers, restoring and modifying individual production data or setting up read/write protection can be easily implemented.
The supported-part library is organized per-customer or per-project. For each individual project, the corresponding algorithm is implemented for the customer specific assembly.
This covers the standard functions (erase, erase if not erased, blank check, programming, compare, CRC checksum, read) as well as customer-specific requirements such as serial numbers, write and read protection, ...
After implementation the algorithm is tested and released according to the customer requirements with a customer boards and with customer-provided programming files. The customer-specific algorithm and an example job sequence are then made available for download.
For tests and commissioning of onboard programming solution is available user interface ertius tau. Project-specific sample job files, which can be executed by API or ertiusTau are provided.
For the integration in the customer environment APIs for the following programming languages and environments are available C, C++, C#, VB6, VB.NET, NI LabVIEW and NI TestStand.
In addition to Windows (XP or higher), Linux is supported as well. Using the built-in Python-based scripting language, highly complex programming sequences can be implemented directly as job files, which can be run by ertiustau or by the customer via API. We would be pleased to support you with the integration of ertius into your production environment.
The basic procedure for new projects is defined as follows:
- At the customer’s request, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is signed.
- Customer-specific project requirements are defined in the form of an “onboard questionnaire”.
- After transmission of circuit diagrams and test point overview, the project is analyzed by ertec and a specific offer is made.
- When the order has been placed, two boards as well as an example programming file are usually required for implementation.