B-Box 4, B-Box RCP 3.0, B-Box Micro, B-Board PRO
Controllers powering research, industrial & teaching applications

POWER ELECTRONIC CONTROLLERS

SPECIALIZED CONTROL SOLUTIONS

Fully-programmable DSP+FPGA digital controllers for power converters

Imperix offers a complete family of power electronic controllers, supporting the whole life cycle of power conversion systems, from rapid prototyping to commercial products.

Thanks to the high flexibility of their software and hardware, our power electronic controllers facilitate the prototyping and experimental validation of control techniques for all sorts of power converters.

BROCHURE

DIGITAL CONTROLLERS FOR POWER ELECTRONICS

A COMPLETE FAMILY OF POWER ELECTRONIC CONTROLLERS

Our programmable controllers help engineers design, test, and validate digital control techniques for power converters. They enable them to save time during both development and product prototyping phases, thanks to their high level of specialization.

Typical applications include electric motor drives, grid-tied inverters (e.g. solar inverters), energy storage systems (e.g. batteries), or multilevel converters. Our control hardware includes four control systems for two distinct use cases:

  • B-Box 4 is a high-performance rapid control prototyping system, supercharged with advanced scoping functions.
  • B-Box RCP 3.0 is a rapid control prototyping system dedicated to research and development applications.
  • B-Box Micro is a cost-effective table-top controller dedicated to teaching applications.
  • B-Board PRO is a fully programmable controller that can be embedded inside industrial power converters.

PLUG-AND-PLAY CONTROLLERS

B-Box 4
Flagship controller
  • Class-leading analog frontend
  • Numerous I/Os and protocols
  • Suitable for distributed control
  • Directly plug-&-play with imperix
    power modules
  • Large FPGA, user-programmable
  • Ultrafast, firmware-level protections
B-Box 4
Side view of the B-Board PRO industrial controller for power electronic systems (based on Xilinx Zynq)
B-Board PRO
Industrial controller
  • Embeddable, small form factor
  • Numerous, board-level I/Os
  • Suitable for distributed control
  • User-programmable FPGA
  • Software-level protections
B-BoARD PRO
B-Box Micro
Teaching-oriented controller
  • Limited I/Os
  • Directly plug-&-play with imperix power modules
  • User-programmable FPGA
  • Firmware-level protections
B-Box Micro

B-Box 4B-Board PRO3.0B-Box Micro3.0
System on ChipUltraScale+ (4x 1.5GHz + US+ Kintex 504K)Zynq (2x 1GHz + Kintex 7 125K)
Number of ADC-channels24x8x8x
Number of PWM-signals24x optical
48x electrical		32x electrical8x optical
Number of USR I/O36x36x36x
Number of GPI/GPO24x / 24x16x / 16x16x / 8x
Distributed control (SFP)
Plug-&-Play compatibility
Programmable analog frontend
Protectionsfirmware-level, ultrafastuser-implementedfirmware-level

A COMMON WORKFLOW WITH UNIFIED SOFTWARE

All imperix controllers can be used similarly and programmed using the same blockset or C/C++ functions. During testing, or when simply monitoring the system during operation, the same experience is also offered within imperix Cockpit.

LEARN MORE ON SOFTWARE
1 – System programming

The digital controllers can be easily programmed using our automated code generation toolboxes for Simulink and PLECS, or by  C/C++ coding.

All it takes to load a user code on a target hardware is only one click. Code generation, compilation, and upload are fully automated. Besides, no particular skills are needed.

2 – Run-time execution

The controllers can be used alongside a computer or as standalone devices. In both cases, direct access to the code execution is guaranteed by the Cockpit software.

All control targets can be used to build fully programmable power converters. Both the DSP and FPGA can be edited and have their parameters tuned during run-time.

3 – Live monitoring

The programmable controllers support real-time access, allowing engineers to monitor and tune any variable, which facilitates the debugging and/or maintenance of the control software.

The Cockpit software also provides extended datalogging capabilities similar to an oscilloscope. This allows logging every data point or observing control variables over longer time intervals.

EMBEDDABLE CONTROLLERS

What if you could simply take the result of your research and put it into an affordable controller, directly embedded inside your own power electronic systems?

DEVELOPMENT PHASE

  • Flexible hardware
  • Rapid control validation

PRODUCTION PHASE

  • Cost-optimized hardware
  • Product integration
New
Full bitfile compatibility!
B-Box RCP 3.0

Prototyping controller

The exact compatibility between B-Box RCP 3.0 and B-Board PRO power electronic controllers allows benefiting from the increased flexibility of the prototyping controller during development, while using a product-embeddable variant during series production.

LEARN MORE B-BOX RCP 3.0
Full bitfile compatibility!
B-Board PRO

Embeddable controller

LEARN MORE ON B-BOARD PRO

B-Box 4

FLAGSHIP CONTROLLER FOR RAPID CONTROL PROTOTYPING APPLICATIONS

The B-Box 4 is an ultrafast and ultra-flexible power converter control system, tailored for rapid control prototyping of the power electronics applications of tomorrow. Thanks to its state-of-the-art performance, it facilitates the experimental validation of power converters control techniques, even for SiC and GaN-based converters.

Keywords:
  • Rapid prototyping controller
  • Inverter control hardware
  • Electric motor drive controller
  • Power converter controller
  • Programmable inverter controller
  • Built on AMD’s Zynq UltraScale+
Learn more about b-box 4

The B-Box 4 contains 24x analog inputs that can sample up to 20 Msps. The inputs have been designed to be accurate and flexible (16-bit resolution and ±10V input range), to be usable for any application.

The FPGA architecture has been reworked to give the user access to every sample, no matter the control frequency, directly on their computer.

Now, measured values, and generated PWM, can be directly plotted onto Cockpit to validate modulation strategies without an oscilloscope.

The programmable target embeds a high-performance Xilinx UltraScale+ device, including a quad-core 1.5 GHz ARM processor and US+ Kintex-grade FPGA 504K. Running a converter control algorithm up to 500 kHz straight on the CPU is no longer a challenge!

Better hardware acceleration and a 5x larger user-programmable area are the two main benefits of the new FPGA. It is the perfect tool for accelerating the control speed further beyond 500 kHz, and closer to 800 kHz and beyond.

The B-Box 4 has been designed with future power converters in mind, with the 250ps resolution achievable by a HR-PWM modulator on all channels, ideal for the high switching frequencies typical in GaN converters.

The higher resolution of the PWM can be leveraged for high-precision control, even when switching at MHz speeds.

On top of compatibility with a wide range of protocols such as OPC-UA, MODBUS TCP, CAN-FD, and RS485/422 based BISS-C, EnDat 2.2, and SSI, the B-Box 4 includes 4x extremely high-speed QSFP+ 40 Gbps ports that can be expanded to 16x SFP+ links.

For more traditional communication needs, the B-Box 4 still features 24x GPO and 24x GPI, as well as 36x pins directly connected to the user-programmable FPGA. All of this is on top of the 24x 250 ksps analog outputs available thanks to the bidirectional analog ports.

Front and rear views of the rapid power electronic controller.

B-Box RCP 3.0

DSP+FPGA CONTROLLER FOR RAPID CONTROL PROTOTYPING APPLICATIONS

The B-Box RCP 3.0 is a highly flexible power converter control system, tailored for rapid control prototyping applications in power electronics. Benefitting from imperix’s high software and hardware flexibility, the B-Box RCP 3.0 facilitates the experimental validation of power converter control techniques in laboratory environments. This controller has a lower I/O count than the B-Box 4, but also reduced cost.

Keywords:
  • Rapid prototyping controller
  • Inverter control hardware
  • Electric motor drive controller
  • Power converter controller
  • Programmable inverter controller
  • DSP+FPGA control system
More on B-Box RCP

The B-Box RCP 3.0 is entirely and exclusively tailored to be a rapid prototyping controller. It notably distinguishes by the very high flexibility of its analog front-end and specialized I/O interfaces.

Also, the controller has been designed to guarantee a very strict management of timings, from analog inputs to PWM outputs, including in stacked configurations.

The programmable target embeds a high-performance AMD Xilinx Zynq device, including a dual-core ARM processor and Kintex-grade FPGA.

Together with an ultra-light and specialized operating system, this guarantees great performance for all closed-loop control applications. Running a converter control algorithm in the hundreds of kHz range no longer becomes a challenge!

Multiple converter control units can be stacked together to build up larger controllers. Up to 64 boxes can be combined, extending up to thousands of I/Os!

This brings high flexibility in time and across multiple projects. It is always possible to combine (or separate) units depending on the varying needs of their applications.

The DSP and FPGA are supported by a strong hardware abstraction layer, which guarantees the stability of the system – as a control solution – over time and across the evolution of its own hardware.

This way, it is guaranteed that a code that works today will still work in the future, even though the hardware will most certainly change in-between.

Front and rear views of the rapid power electronic controller.

B-Box MICRO

TABLE-TOP CONVERTER CONTROLLER FOR TEACHING APPLICATIONS

The B-Box Micro is a small but mighty power inverter controller ideally suited for teaching applications. Its easy-to-use software environment makes it possible to switch faster from simulation to experimentation without taking any safety risks even for inexperienced users.

Keywords:
  • Programmable inverter controller
  • Table-top inverter controller
  • Power converter controller
  • DSP+FPGA control system
  • Teaching power electronics
  • Power laboratory equipment
LEARN MORE ON B-BOX MICRO

The B-Box Micro is a cost-effective controller that enables the realization of plenty of different power electronic applications and inverter topologies at an attractive price.

This controller provides all the necessary I/O connectivities to use it together with imperix power modules, voltage, and current sensors. Many diverse application examples are available on the imperix knowledge base.

Hence within a very short time, a basic power inverter can be cabled, programmed, and put into operation.

The B-Box Micro can be programmed in C/C++ or directly from simulation software, such as Simulink or PLECS. Thanks to a fully automated code generation toolchain, just one single click is all it needs to fully program the device!

The provided blocksets embed simulation models so that the system behavior can be accurately simulated and tuned before run-time.

The configurable safety limits on the B-Box Micro can protect power semiconductors so there is no need to worry about handling the device to students, once they are correctly configured. Additionally, the small form-factor solution saves space on laboratory stations.

Furthermore, the controller is versatilely applicable, so it can also be used for research purposes or student projects.

Angled view of the B-Board power electronic controller.

B-Board PRO

CONVERTER CONTROLLER MODULE FOR PRODUCT-EMBEDDED APPLICATIONS

The B-Board PRO is the heart of the B-Box 3 controller but it is also available as a standalone controller for embedded applications. The board feature a ZynQ-based dual-core ARM processor and a Kintex-grade FPGA (Xilinx Zynq), plus advanced communication capabilities and extensive I/Os.

Keywords:
  • Embedded control board
  • Programmable digital controller
  • Converter control hardware
  • DSP+FPGA control module
  • Power inverter control module
INVERTER CONTROL BOARD

The digital control module can be programmed using either C/C++ or directly from simulation software, such as Simulink or PLECS. Thanks to a fully automated code generation toolchain, just one single click is all it needs to fully program the device!

The provided blocksets in Simulink and PLECS also embed simulation models so that the system behavior can be accurately simulated and tuned before run-time. Then, everything truly works from the first test!

Absolutely no expertise in FPGA-based development is needed to work with our embeddable controller, as it operates readily with a highly flexible and highly configurable FPGA firmware.

Nevertheless, for the most advanced users who require to alter the FPGA code, the module allows doing so. In this case, dedicated areas are provided, with straightforward integration within the existing DSP software.

The programmable control module uses a dual-core processor. One core is dedicated to the execution of the closed-loop control tasks (bare metal, dedicated kernel), the other one to the system supervision and monitoring (linux). Most low-level tasks are also shifted inside the FPGA.

This results in the full dedication of a fast floating-point processor core to real-time control tasks, with best-in-class performance, ranging up to 200kHz control frequencies in closed-loop operation.

In addition to being 100% compatible with the prototyping system (B-Box), this industrial-grade module benefits from the same software environment and tools. It can be programmed from Simulink and controlled from BB Control too!

Overall, most of the specific integration efforts are only those related to the mechanical aspects as well as the signal conditioning and protection, which are often tailored to the application anyway.

TO GO FURTHER

Imperix software suites for the power electronic controllers.
CPP SDK & ACG SDK
Software solutions

The Automated Code Generation (ACG) SDK enables engineers to program the power electronic controllers directly from Simulink or PLECS. The provided toolchain handles fully automated code generation, compilation, and upload in just one click.

In addition, the SDK contains simulation models of each controller peripheral, so that the exact behavior of the control system can be simulated – and hence easily anticipated – before code is generated.

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KITS
OPEN RACK 3U & CLOSED RACK 4U
Power equipment

Imperix power modules are ready-to-use building blocks allowing to build up almost any converter topology. They exist in various power ratings and internal structures. Each module features:

  • Power semiconductors
  • Gate drivers
  • Voltage and current sensors (with local protection)
POWER MODULES