In the era of rapid development of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and edge computing, the selection of embedded core boards directly impacts project costs, development cycles, and device stability. Chengdu Ebyte's ECK10-135D series embedded core boards, powered by the STMicroelectronics STM32MP135DAF3 processor, have emerged as an ideal solution for industrial control, smart home, and IoT gateway applications due to their rich interfaces, industrial-grade performance, and exceptional cost-effectiveness. This article provides a comprehensive reference for developers from the perspectives of hardware features, practical application value, and suitable scenarios.

Product Overview of ECK10-135D Industrial-Grade Core Board

The ECK10-135D2-C and ECK10-135D5E8-C series core boards are high-performance embedded core boards based on the STMicroelectronics STM32MP135DAF3 processor. The STM32MP135 series processors adopt a single-core ARM Cortex-A7 architecture with a maximum frequency of 1GHz, achieving an excellent balance between performance and power consumption.

The core board features a 204-pin DDR3 gold finger interface with a compact size of only 67.6x30mm. It highly integrates power management circuits, 256MB/512MB DDR3L memory, 8GB eMMC storage, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth modules, and all available I/O resources of the processor, significantly reducing the design difficulty and development cycle of the user's baseboard.

1. Interface Design: Industrial-Grade Configuration Eliminating "Expansion Anxiety"

  • Comprehensive Communication Interfaces: 8 UART serial ports, 2 CAN buses, and 2 USB 2.0 interfaces enable seamless connection with industrial devices such as PLCs, sensors, and meters without additional expansion chips.

  • Flexible Network Expansion: Dual Gigabit Ethernet MAC supports external PHY chips for dual-network port design, meeting the "dual-network isolation" or "active-standby redundancy" requirements of industrial gateways.

  • Plug-and-Play Wireless Connectivity: On-board pre-certified Wi-Fi/Bluetooth modules eliminate the need for RF circuit design and wireless certification processes, making them extremely user-friendly for smart home central control and wireless data acquisition scenarios.

  • Display and Expansion Compatibility: 1 RGB parallel interface supports up to 1080P@30fps output, which can directly drive industrial HMI screens. Meanwhile, all I/O resources are引出 to reduce the complexity of baseboard design.

2. Industrial-Grade Reliability: Stable Support from "Laboratory" to "Production Line"

Using an 8-layer board immersion gold process, the component selection meets the wide temperature operating range of -40°C to 85°C, allowing direct application in harsh environments such as factory workshops and outdoor cabinets. Although the gold finger interface design reduces PCB costs, it is recommended to fix it with metal brackets in strong vibration scenarios to balance cost and stability.

Advantages of ECK10-135D Industrial-Grade Core Board

1. Cost-Effectiveness Advantage

The STM32MP135 series processors themselves have cost advantages, and ECK10-135D further compresses hardware costs through gold finger connectors, reducing the baseboard cost by approximately 30% compared to B2B connector solutions of the same interface specification. For mass production projects with an annual output of over 100,000 units, the single-unit hardware cost can be controlled at the hundred-yuan level, making it particularly suitable for cost-sensitive products such as smart meters and small gateways.

2. Rich Interface Resources

This is one of its biggest highlights. Dual network ports, multiple serial ports, and CAN buses enable it to easily handle complex scenarios such as industrial gateways, protocol conversion, and multi-device communication without external expansion chips, simplifying the design.

3. Out-of-the-Box Connectivity

The on-board pre-mounted Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module eliminates the need for users to worry about RF circuit design and certification, greatly shortening the time-to-market of products.

4. Complete Ecosystem Support

Ebyte provides a complete software SDK based on Linux 5.15, including Uboot, Kernel, Rootfs, and detailed hardware design guidelines, clearing obstacles for developers.

5. Flexible Application Scenarios

  • Industrial Gateway: Dual network ports + multiple serial ports realize protocol conversion such as Modbus and Profinet, and on-board Wi-Fi supports cloud data upload.

  • Smart HMI: 1080P display interface with a lightweight Qt interface meets the needs of device status monitoring and parameter setting.

  • Edge Acquisition Terminal: Low-power design (heavy-load power consumption of approximately 1.55W) adapts to battery + solar power supply scenarios, suitable for remote sensor nodes.

Application Solution Analysis of ECK10-135D Core Board

1. Priority Selection Scenarios

  • Medium and Low-Power Industrial Control: Such as smart valve controllers and small PLCs, the single-core A7 performance is sufficient to support logical operations and real-time communication.

  • Multi-Protocol Conversion Gateway: Using multiple serial ports/CAN interfaces to realize the networking of traditional devices, and dual network ports meet the needs of internal and external network isolation.

  • Low-Cost IoT Terminals: On-board wireless modules reduce the development threshold of smart home central control and environmental monitoring terminals.

2. Scenarios Requiring Cautious Evaluation

  • Complex Graphics Applications: When running Qt interfaces with 3D rendering or video stream processing, the processor performance may be insufficient.

  • Automotive-Grade Vibration Environments: The shock resistance of the gold finger interface is weaker than that of the Welding solution, requiring additional reinforced structural design.

  • High-Density Computing Scenarios: Such as edge AI inference and big data analysis, it is recommended to choose multi-core A55 or higher-performance processor solutions.

FAQS about ECK10-135D Core Board

Q1: How to Implement Dual Network Port Design?
It is necessary to externally connect 2 Gigabit Ethernet PHY chips (such as IP101GR) on the baseboard and connect them to the core board through the RGMII interface. During PCB layout, attention should be paid to the equal-length control of differential lines (error ≤15mil), and TVS tube protection circuits should be reserved to enhance anti-interference capabilities.

Q2: Can the System Be Booted from an SD Card?
It can be realized by configuring the BOOT[2:0] pin level. Set the BOOT pin to "101" (binary), and the system will prioritize reading the boot file from the SDMMC1 interface. It is necessary to design a pull-down resistor circuit on the baseboard to solidify the boot mode.

Q3: Is It Suitable for Battery-Powered Devices?
The heavy-load power consumption is approximately 1.55W (5V@0.31A), and the standby power consumption can be as low as 0.8W, which is suitable for Matching 10000mAh lithium batteries to achieve more than 8 hours of battery life. It is recommended to further reduce power consumption through software optimization (such as turning off idle peripherals and dynamic frequency reduction).

ECK10-135D is not an "all-round" solution, but its balance in interface richness, development convenience, and cost control makes it a practical choice for small and medium-power industrial embedded projects. If your project requires multiple communication interfaces, industrial-grade reliability, and is cost-sensitive, this core board is worth including in the selection list. The evaluation baseboard and technical support provided by Ebyte can further help the team quickly verify the feasibility of the solution and shorten the product launch cycle.