Each industry has its own computing requirements, and often a standard solution does not meet a customer’s stringent needs. MicroMax, as a manufacturer of industrial computers, takes a customized approach to each client. Our engineering group can design an M-Max system to fit the specific technical requirements of the customer. At a fraction of the size, M-Max delivers performance comparable to high-end desktop systems. The fanless M-Max, housed in a rugged aluminum enclosure with dual shock and vibration protection, is designed for operation in harsh environments including extreme temperatures, dust, humidity and vibration.
To accommodate the need to use a high performance processor when passive cooling and a small enclosure are mandatory, we developed the technology to dissipate excessive heat from computer boards and other electronic devices working in high vibration environments. This patented design enables the removal of heat from electronic components housed on a circuit board vibroinsulated from an enclosure.
This technology is the basis for our unsurpassed M-Max 800 PR, a fully sealed 2.26 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU system which operates at ambient temperatures of -40 to +55 °C, and is both highly vibration and shock resistant.
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Photo 1. M-Max 800 PR/MS is a high-performance rugged industrial computer specifically designed for mission critical telecommunication applications.
In addition to the standard Gigabit Ethernet port (Intel 82567) the M-Max 800 PR/MS contains five additional Fast Ethernet ports (Intel 82551) and two universal serial ports (RS-232, RS-422/485, RS-449, EIA-530, EIA-530/A, V.35 or X.21 (V.11)). As in most other M-Max systems, this model contains an industrial grade 32 GB solid state drive. MicroMax’s patented technology is used to dissipate excessive heat from computer boards. The M-Max 800 PR/MS is built with a high degree of dust and moisture protection (IP65).
Housed in a rugged aluminum enclosure with dual shock and vibration protection, the M-Max 800 PR/MS has no moving parts – no fans, no HDD, whose life cycle and reliability can limit the longevity of the system.
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Photo 2. M-Max 800 PR/TRN-02 is a high-performance rugged industrial computer for demanding and critical applications requiring performance comparable to high-end desktop systems. The system is IP65 rated and can withstand shocks of up to 40 g and vibration of up to 6 g. The M-Max 800 PR/TRN-02 is configured with Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26 GHz CPU and GMA 4500 video expandable to ATI Radeon™ E4690.
To be operational at an extended temperature range, -40 to +55 °C, in a very small space and without any active cooling, MicroMax developed and patented the technology to dissipate excessive heat from computer boards.
M-Max 800 PR/TRN-02 has 5 LAN Gigabit Ethernet, RS232/422/485, 3 USB 2.0. Data storage options include a vibration proof HDD or an industrial SSD.
The M-Max 800 PR/TRN-02 has no competition in the highperformance ruggedized computing market.
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Photo 3. M-Max 800 PR/TRN-04 used in a shipboard navigational system. A number of engineering solutions as well as utilization of different components have allowed us to reduce the overall cost of this system while fully retaining functionality of this navigational computer. The most noticeable change in the photo are connectors, the remaining differences are internal. This model is also built by utilizing MicroMax’s patented technology to dissipate excessive heat from computer boards.
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Photo 4. M-Max 700 PR mk.2 fitted with IP67 rated connectors. While it is possible to use both standard as well as protected connectors, an overall IP65 rating could be achieved only when using the latter.
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Photo 5. M-Max 700/AR, designed for installation on locomotives and other railway vehicles to record signals of a continuous Automatic Train Control (ATC) and Interlocking systems directly from a sensor (inductive coil) mounted under a pilot of a locomotive, location-bounded by GPS.
The encoding of continuous ATC signals might have a pulsenumeric modulation as well as a frequency modulation and a phase-difference modulation. Along with the signal, the system is automatically recording all other harmonics within the operational band. This unit works together with the Interlocking system used on Russian Railroads with Tonal Rail Circuits Type 3 (420…780 Hz).
M-Max 700/AR records the location of any failure/malfunctions of ATC and Interlocking systems as well as enabling prevention of possible future failures by analyzing statistical information kept by the system.
Key Features:
- Number of Recording Channels – 1 (isolated)
- Continuous Recording Time – up to 100 hours
- Frequency – 0…1kHz
- Positioning Accuracy – 15 m (up to 300 km/h speed)
- Information retrieval – automatically to an external USB Flash Drive
- Power – 36…72 V DC (isolated)
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Photo 6. CAN-Recorder (M-Max 700/CR mk.3) developed to collect and record railway automation and remote control data received through CAN interface. This CAN-Recorder is a part of Electronic Interlocking System.
Key Features:
- Number of CAN networks – 2
- Additional Interface – USB
- Power – 9…40 V DC
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Photo 7. M-Max 700/AR-15 designed for installation at railroad stations to record signals of a continuous Automatic Train Control (ATC) and Interlocking systems directly from generating equipment (oscillator).
The encoding of continuous ATC signals might have a pulsenumeric modulation as well as a frequency modulation and a phase-difference modulation. This unit works together with the Interlocking system used on Russian Railroads with Tonal Rail Circuits Type 3 (420…780 Hz). Along with the signal, the system is automatically recording all other harmonics within the operational band.
Key Features:
- Recording Channels – 15 (galvanically isolated)
- Recording Time – up to 48 hours
- Frequency – 0…1 kHz
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Photo 8. M-Max 700/ARM mk.4, another railroad bound system to be a part of Operations Control System as a workstation for a railroad station master (ARM-DSP) and electrical engineer (ARM-SHN) to provide visual control and diagnostics of equipment between stations as well as the ability to enter various control commands from a keyboard and/or manipulator.
Key Features:
- CAN interfaces – 2
- Ethernet interfaces – 1
- RS232 – 4 (galvanically isolated)
- Power – 9…40 V DC
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Photo 9. Gateway-CAN-MVB2 is used to decode signals between Russian Railroad continuous Automatic Train Control (ATC) systems with CAN interfaces such as CLUB-U, BLOK or similar devices and onboard systems utilizing Multifunction Vehicle Bus (MVB). This fanless intelligent Gateway, operational at -40 to +70 °C, is designed to be used in onboard safety systems installed at locomotives, high speed trains such as SAPSAN (Velaro RUS), Lastochka/Swallow (Desiro-Rus) and others. The IP65 rated system, housed in the rugged aluminum enclosure with dual shock and vibration protection, can withstand shocks of up to 6g (60 ms) and vibration of up to 2 g.
Key Features:
- MVB interfaces – 2
- CAN interfaces – up to 4
- RS232 – 2
- Power – 18…75 V DC (isolated)
- Fast transient / Surge – EN 61000-4-4, ± 4 kV, perf. Criteria A; EN 61000-4-5, ± 4kV, perf. Criteria A
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Photo 10. Gateway-AIRBS-CLUB is another system designed for installation on locomotives and other railroad vehicles. This device is used to provide an intellectual link between CLUB-U/BLOK and the on-board segment of ATC system (AIRBS, project ITARUS-ATC). In addition to providing the link between systems, Gateway fulfills functional security requirements as well as provides the initial processing of command’s packets from ATCS and generates a stream of data for CLUB-U/BLOK which is then transmitted via CAN interface.
Key Features:
- Profibus Channels – 2
- CAN interfaces – 2
- Power – 18…75 V DC (isolated)
- Fast transient / Surge – EN 61000-4-4, ± 4 kV, perf. Criteria A; EN 61000-4-5, ± 4kV, perf. Criteria A
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Photo 11. M-Max 400 is a specialized gateway CAN-RS computer designed to work in railway automation and remote control systems. This gateway computer provides the intelligent interface between the CAN network and RS232 interface.
Key Features:
- RS232 – 2 (galvanically isolated)
- CAN interfaces – 2
- Ethernet interfaces – 1
- USB ports – 2
- Power – 9…40 V DC
The following represents some of our earlier models. These models were customized to satisfy specific end-user requirements and demonstrate both MicroMax’s experience as well as our ability to develop similar specialized systems. Some of these solutions will have new life when updated with more advanced components.
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Photo 12. M-Max 700 Performance, a version of the standard model (Intel LV Pentium M 738
The computer was designed to be integrated into the existing environment and is equipped with the following options:
- Additional 4 opto-isolated (up to 3kV) RS232 ports
- Customer specified connectors for a specialized keyboard, monitor and graphic manipulator
- Special connectors for the onboard power supply
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Photo 13. M-Max 700, a rugged transport on-board computer, is evolved from an earlier version shown in Photo 22.
The main differences are:
- Improved energy efficiency. Utilizing a low power AMD Geode LX 800 (500MHz) and DDR333 SDRAM
- Uninterruptible Power Supply built by utilizing capacitors
- USB screw connectors were installed as per customer specification
There is another similar looking version of the M-Max 700, in which instead of a radio modem, a 12-channel GPS-receiver is installed.
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Photo 14. IP54 rated M-Max 700, designed per customer specifications, for use as an on-board computer (avionics). In addition to the modification of the I/O subsystem and connectors, two customer supplied PCI boards were integrated into this computer, which required extensive engineering work. The basic differences are:
- Integration of the two customer supplied PCI boards
- Discrete channels I/O (32 input and 32 output channels for discrete commands, 20 input and 20 output channels for TTL-commands)
- Utilization of rugged PC-compatible connectors as well as military type connectors
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Photo 15. IP66 rated on-board rugged M-Max 700. This computer is integrated into an existing marine vessel environment with an operational temperature range of -20 to +50 °C. The system utilizes Intel LV Pentium M 738 (1.4 MHz, 2 MB L2 cache) and 1 GB RAM DDR SDRAM. The main differences are:
- 4 frame grabber ports CVBS
- Rugged PC-compatible terminal strips
This model utilizes MicroMax’s Patent-Pending technology to dissipate excessive heat from computer boards.
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Photo 16. M-Max 700 ST/IFT system consists of two units – a system unit and a battery unit. The system unit is a standard M-Max 700 with military-type connectors on the front panel. In addition to the modification of the I/O subsystem and connectors, two customer supplied PCI boards were integrated into this computer, which required extensive engineering work. The UPS unit consists of an intelligent charging device which is housed in the system unit and two battery modules housed in the battery unit. The battery unit provides the system with 4 hours of backup power.
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Photo 17. M-Max 700 workstation with an additional CAN-port as per customer request.
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Photo 18. Specialized computer, based on the M-Max 700, which performs functions similar to the black box on an aircraft. A two channel CAN board is used to record various data, which could be used to determine the cause of various malfunctions.
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Photo 19. Specialized computer designed for use in transport, equipped with a large number of isolated digital and analog input/output ports. The front panel is fitted with a display and controls defined by the customer.
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Photo 20. Another modification of the M-Max. This model is equipped with the Intel LV Pentium M 738 (1.4 GHz) processor and 1 GB RAM DDR333 SDRAM, as well as with a customer supplied PCI board. Front and rear panels were redesigned for special connectors to ensure compliance with IP53 or IP64 (with protective plugs) ratings.
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Photos 21a and 21b. Modified M-Max 700. While the front panel (21a) is standard, 21b shows five additional connectors on the back panel for video input channels and two CAN interfaces.
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Photos 22a and 22b. M-Max 700 with special coating. Additional features of this unit are:
- Low Temperature Start Delay System
- Built-in-UPS
- Mesh modem (photo 22b)
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Photos 23a and 23b. Customized modification of M-Max 600 with MIL-SPEC connectors on the front panel, two additional COM-ports and an additional Ethernet port. The computer can withstand exposure to water, dirt and high pressure. This model was designed specifically for use in vehicles, to withstand high vibration, and was equipped with a double damping system. Additionally, the reliability of this model is guaranteed by utilizing high quality vibration-proof components.
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Photo 24. Modified M-Max 600 with two additional customer supplied boards. This modification provides 32 analog inputs, 4 outputs and 72 digital I/O. This computer was designed for use in the production control system at a confectionary plant. The customer requested reliable operation in a dusty and high temperature environment.
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Photo 25. M-Max 600 – the first in the M-Max line of computers.
All models are designed with upgrade capabilities based on mezzanine architecture and other M-Max proprietary design features. Most M-Max computers are utilizing MicroMax’s Patent-Pending technology to dissipate excessive heat from computer boards and other electronic devices working at high vibration.
