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The last mile on the road to reach system certification may be a bumpy one. Any problems encountered in certification will inevitably result is unexpected costs and project delays, in the form of re-testing and re-certification, as well as ripping up a hardware design or system to make necessary changes.

Duragon applies a multi-tier process to ensure success in testing. This includes:

• Using validated board-level EMC design practices
• Design reviews by our EMC specialists
• Internal pre-compliance engineering tests: IP-class, surge, EFT, temperature, power supply
• External EMC laboratory testing (Emissions, Immunity and ESD)
• Accredited certification laboratory tests – Full tests with safety review and certification

For project specific systems Duragon can perform compliance tests for EN50155, EN50121, EN62373 and EN45545-2 for railway products and for bus/vehicle installed systems compliance tests for ECE Reg 10. and ISO16750-3.

Several CPU architectures are available today to address different fucntional, computation, power consumption and I/O requirements. The suitable CPU architecture can be chosen based on application and OS requirements. Duragon can support both various multi-core ARM- as well as x86-processors. I/O management, monitoring and system control functions are assigned to a dedicated 32-bit CORTEX-M3 microcontroller. High volume and price sensitive projects require laying out the design on a single board, which closely integrates the application processor and the system management microcontroller.

Lower volume projects, and ones with short project completion schedules, merit the use of mezzanine CPU modules together with tested and proven design building blocks to complete a project effectively. The type of CPU module is selected case-by-case, including “proprietary SOM” form factor, standard Qseven, or COM-express. Prequalified high-reliability COM modules are designed onto propose-built carrier boards, which can be completely project specific in size, or follow common standard form factors. Integrated onto the system carrier board are all the I/O-functions, power supplies and interfaces with appropriate EMC, protection and filtering circuitry. This reduces the system board count and reduces internal wiring.

Full HD-resolution sunlight readable LCD-displays require careful LED backlight power supply design. Large displays may require 75-100W of power for driving the LED backlight at full brightness. Off-the-shelf low cost backlight power boards are common sources of problems, due to the lack of proper filtering and compromised grounding design. Duragon Systems has created proprietary LED backlight power supplies for each display to specifically address this problem. Furthermore, high speed LVDS signal cables are sensitive to power-line EFT and surges, if not correctly shielded and grounded. CPU boards with display interfaces include impedance matching and EMC filtering circuitry to ensure low emissions and to maintain display data integrity.

Systems integration is a demanding task, combining skills in multiple engineering disciplines. The systems integration challenges are simplified dramatically, when system components are built to be interoperable and compatible. System solution integration also includes interface, data and software integration.

Pairing electronics and mechanical design already from the beginning, will result in increased reliability and functional integration. Duragon Systems uses the latest technologies in 3D-CAD to create enclosure solutions, which meet all mechanical and EMC-compliance requirements of a project.

When EMC is a design parameter from the start, included in all layers of the system, starting from board level circuitry to cable shielding and connector filtering, compliance and certification for a project can be successfully completed. Past experience in certification gives us the ability to understand the finite details in the design, which are required to pass EMC and safety certification. Thermal stress affects the long term reliability of a system. Conduction cooling is used for the processor and power supply components to reduce hot spots.