SCM318 Comms/Control Module

SCM318 Comms/Control Module

SCM318 is recommended for new designs; Dev Kits in stock and full production Q4’23.

SCM318 an Extended Lifetime Product and recommended for new designs.

High-End Performance & Connectivity at an Amazing Price

  • Use stand-alone or docked with Gen 5 (SIMx52SIMx62) HMI Modules
  • Powerful 400MHz Cortex-A9 MPU, the Renesas RZ/A1L, with up to 3MB on-chip RAM
  • Extensive comms: WiFi, BT5, Ethernet, RS422/485, CAN/LIN-ready, and more
  • Fully licensed SHIPWare software including commercial-grade Segger OS and stacks

The SCM318 family is a series of off-the-shelf comms/control modules delivering the processing and communications scalability you need for your next generation of embedded products.  Whether you choose a low-end version with just processing and basic RS485 connectivity, or higher-end units with WiFi, Bluetooth 5, Ethernet, or other features to link your device to the outside world, all SCM318’s come with extensive commercial-grade stacks, including OS, TCP/IP, File System, USB device and host, and more to make software development fast and robust.  

SCM318 Variants

The SCM318 family has numerous members, or “variants” with combinations of the following features:

Powerful ARM Processor & Memory System
  • 400MHz ARM Cortex-A9 Renesas RZ/A1LC or RZ/A1L MCU with up to 3MB on-chip RAM
  • 8MB SPI Serial NOR Flash for build-in SHIPv5 Boot System code and user application storage
  • 128MB QSPI NAND Flash for file and data non-volatile storage (Segger emFile File System stacks included)
WiFi & Bluetooth Wireless
  • 11bgn 2.4GHz WiFi via a GT1216 (or similar) certified module with the Qualcomm QCA4004 “Kingfisher” chipset
  • Bluetooth 5 Thread-capable certified module (Laird BL654 or similar) with the Nordic nRF52840 chipset
Ethernet
  • Primary port on the Comms Header, normally delivered via the SPM052 Comms Riser Card as an RJ45 jack
  • Secondary switched Ethernet port on the Ethernet Expansion Header for off-board addition of magnetics & jack with optional PoE
Serial & Industrial Networking
  • 2/4-wire half/full duplex RS485/RS422 with on-board termination option
  • 2xCAN and LIN MCU ports exposed for off-board transceiver/network connectivity
  • Numerous UART, SPI, I2C MCU ports exposed for off-board connectivity options
USB
  • USB device port for programming, updates, and PC connectivity, with secondary override input on SIM Passthru Header
  • Up to 4 USB Host outputs, including two USB Host A connectors on the SPM052 Comms Riser Card
Extensible
  • 40-pin board-to-board Serial Header (GPIO, ADC, I2C, SPI, UART, etc.) for custom daughtercard expansion
  • 30-pin board-to-board Bluetooth Expansion Header exposing numerous BT chipset signals
  • 30-pin board-to-board Comms Header, including Ethernet, dual USB Host, and UART+transceiver control signals normally populated with the SPM052 Comms Riser Card
  • 10-pin board-to-board Ethernet Expansion Header, for 2nd switched Ethernet port expansion and PoE options
  • 30-pin board-to-board HMI Header, including direct dock option to Gen5 SIMx52 and SIMx62 families
Robust Operating Environment
  • 8-35VDC wide input power supply
  • -40 to +85C operation
The 30-pin Comms Header comes pre-populated on many variants with the SPM052 Comms Riser Card, which exposes:
  • Dual USB Host A jack with power control
  • 10/100 Ethernet RJ45 jack
  • 6-pin 3.5mm RS485/Power Connector for simple in-chassis and/or industrial network connectivity
SCM318A00A01A02A03A04A13A14
Power & Environmental
Operating Temperature-40/+85C-40/+85C
Operating Voltage10.8 to 35VDC10.8 to 35VDC
Processor & Memory
ProcessorRenesas RZ/A1L MPURenesas RZ/A1LC MPU
Core(s)400MHz Arm Cortex A9400MHz Arm Cortex A9
MPU RAM (kB)30722048
SPI NOR Boot Flash (MB)16MB16MB
QSPI NAND Flash (MB)128 
Communications
10/100 2-port Ethernet Switch    
10/100 Ethernet Ports11,2+1211,2+1211,2+12    
Bluetooth 5 + 802.15.4    
WiFi 802.11b/g/n     
RS422/485 2-/4-wire w/Transceiver11,211,211,211,211,211,211,2
LIN1212121212  
CAN22222222222222
USB2.0 HS Device Micro B1111111
USB2.0 HS Host Ports4444411
USB2.0 HS Host A Connectors21,221,221,221,221,21212
HMI Connectivity
USB2.0 HS Host
3.3V UART
RESET#/SHDN# Control
30-pin Gen5 HMI3 Docking Connector

1On SPM052 standard riser card, check order codes for SCM318+SPM052 preassembled bundles 2Available via custom riser and/or daughter card 3For SIMx52 and SIMx62 Serious Integrated HMI Modules (SIMs)

A Complete No-Cost Commercial Development Environment

You can waste months porting an OS and developing the board support package, basic support utilities and communication protocol stacks — even before writing the first line of traditional C- code. Using “free” software stacks can lead you down of path with minimal support and a hodgepodge of building blocks constant requiring attention. Serious gives you a complete, no-cost, commercially supported development environment, including tools and software, to enable you to focus on your communications and control software, not the infrastructure. We call it Leveraged Embedded.

Full Commercial Dev Tools

Every SCM Development Kit comes with an unlocked, single seat commercial license to Segger Embedded Studio, enabling powerful cross-platform C development and debugging for your SCM projects. All Serious ARM-based SCM example projects come pre-engineered out-of-the-box for Segger Embedded Studio.

SHIPWare – A Complete Firmware Platform for Comms/Control App Development

Every SCM also comes with Serious SHIPWare – a starting set of code and firmware on which you can build powerful control and communications applications, leveraging all the features of your module. SHIPWare complete, commercially supported software including:

  • Segger OS and Stacks
  • Serious frameworks and infrastructure, including the SHIPv5 Boot System with firmware update and version management
  • Drivers and high level abstractions for on-board peripherals, including UART, SPI, I2C, WiFi, Ethernet, FLASH storage, and more

From Segger, the following no-cost, pre-licensed, pre-ported and fully supported linkable object libraries are included:

  • Segger embOS kernel, pre-ported and optimized for the platform
  • Segger emFile file system, including FAT and embedded file system support with journaling, and all the necessary drivers pre-integrated for the platform
  • Segger emUSB-Device USB device/host stacks with various classes, and pre-integrated for the peripherals
  • Segger emTCP/IP and TLS/SSL security stacks (including DHCP, web server, ftp, and more), pre-integrated with the WiFi and Ethernet peripherals
  • Segger MQTT and CoAP stacks for IoT data connectivity
  • Segger emCrypt, the foundational NIST-validated security you need for IoT and device connectivity

This OS and stack implementation is fully supported by Serious and is production-licensed for one copy per Serious module purchased – there are no additional required fees or licensing to use the Segger object software with the SCM. Source code and Segger-direct support is available as an upgrade from Segger with a discount for Serious customers.

In addition to these ingredients, SHIPWare includes numerous application level frameworks, drivers, and example code for developing a communicating and controlling application, including heap and buffer management, the SHIPBridge device and host protocol stacks for communicating with the HMI. This software is provided in source code format and is fully supported by the Serious team.

Production Line and Application Installation Tools

Out of the box, the SCM also includes the SHIPv5 Boot System, including pre-installed boot-strap and boot-loader applications enabling you to install and commission your custom embedded application on the board on the production line using the no-cost SHIPCrane tools or even over-the-air/wire.

SCM Development Engagement Model

There is no cost or royalty for the out-of-the-box software/firmware for Serious Comms/Control Modules (SCMs). However, getting access to this software and firmware for initial development with SCMs requires a one-time “kickstart” engagement with our Services team to ensure a smooth first project experience. First-time access to SCM dev kits and downloads is predicated on having this engagement in place. Once you’ve been through this initial process, ongoing support (including new revisions of firmware and access to new SCMs) is available at a nominal charge through an annual maintenance and support contract. Contact Serious for details.