Table of Contents
ComfilePi
The ComfilePi is an industrial touchscreen panel PC built around the Raspberry Pi Compute Module.
NOTICE - If you purchased a ComfilePi panel PC recently and it won't boot from an older operating system image (e.g. Raspbian Jessie), please try updating the Raspberry Pi Firmware.
What is the Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is a revolutionary, compact single board computer made in the United Kingdom by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It typically runs the Linux operating system.
What is the ComfilePi?
The Raspberry Pi, as typically sold by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as a credit-card sized PCB, is primarily a tool for students and hobbyists. Although it is a fantastic product, it may not be suitable for certain industrial applications.
However, the Raspberry Pi Foundation also produces Raspberry Pi Compute Module so 3rd party manufacturers can build industrial devices around the Raspberry Pi technology. The ComfilePi is an industrial panel PC built around the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+, and then augmented with additional hardware and features for industrial automation solutions (e.g. touch screen, real-time clock, RS-485, etc.).
View the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ Datasheet
Introduction and Demonstration
ComfilePi Features
| CPi-A070WT | CPi-A070WR | CPi-B070WR | CPi-A102WR | CPi-A101WR | CPi-A150WR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1.2GHz 64-bit Quad-Core Broadcom BCM2837B0, Cortex-A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.2GHz (Compute Module 3+) |
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| GPU | Broadcom VideoCore IV | |||||
| RAM | 1GB | |||||
| Thermal Management | Internal Heatsink (3.5g) | External Heatsink (41g) | Internal Heatsink (3.5g) | |||
| Size & Resolution | 7“ 800×480 | 10.2” 800×480 | 10.1“ 1024×600 | 15” 1024×768 | ||
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 | 4:3 | ||||
| Default LCD Option | ||||||
| Colors | 262K | 16.7M | ||||
| Contrast Ratio | 500:1 | 300:1 | 600:1 | 800:1 | ||
| Brightness | 400cd/m2 | 350cd/m2 | 250cd/m2 | 420cd/m2 | ||
| Backlight Lifetime | >20,000 Hours | >30,000 Hours | ||||
| Power | 12~24VDC @ 6W | 12~24VDC @ 10W | 12~24VDC @ 10W | 12~24VDC @ 21W | ||
| Sunlight Readable LCD Option | ||||||
| Colors | 262K | N/A | ||||
| Contrast Ratio | 500:1 | N/A | ||||
| Brightness | 1000cd/m2 | N/A | ||||
| Backlight Lifetime | >50,000 hours | N/A | ||||
| Power | 12~24VDC @ 7.2W | N/A | ||||
| Touchscreen | Pressure-sensitive (Resistive Film Type) | |||||
| Housing | Flame retardant ABS IP65 Water-Resistant Front Panel |
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| RTC | No | Yes (Battery rated for 5 years) | ||||
| GPIO | No | 22 (includes ESD protection circuit) 40-pin header socket Details |
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| USB Host Ports | USB 2.0 Type A x 3 | |||||
| USB Device Ports | USB Type A x 1 (For eMMC) |
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| Ethernet Port | RJ45 10/100 Mpbs | |||||
| RS-232C Ports | 1 - COM0 /dev/serial0 |
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| RS-485 Ports(*) | 1 - COM1 /dev/serial1 |
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| I2C Ports | 1 | |||||
| Piezo Buzzer | Yes | |||||
| Audio Output | 1/8“ Stereo Output Jack | |||||
| WiFi | Yes (with USB dongle) | |||||
| Operating System | Linux (Raspberry Pi OS) only (Android and Windows 10 IOT are not supported) |
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| Operating temperature | -10°C ~ 70°C | |||||
| Storage temperature | -20°C ~ 80°C | |||||
| Weight | 0.56kg | 0.57kg | 0.61kg | 0.92kg | 0.92kg | 3.26kg |
| Dimensions | Details | Details | Details | Details | ||
| Buy | Buy | Buy | Buy | Buy | Buy | |
(*) The ComfilePi's COM1 (/dev/serial1) port uses the Raspberry Pi's mini UART. The mini UART has a few limitations (e.g. no parity bit). For more information please see the official Raspberry Pi documentation.
Operating System
For models without an SD card with a slightly modified Raspberry Pi OS Linux distribution is included with each purchase. You can always re-image your SD card by downloading our Raspberry Pi OS image and following the instructions there.
For models with an eMMC, the same Raspberry Pi OS Linux distribution will come preinstalled. To re-flash the eMMC, obtain a USB-A-to-USB-A cable, connect your PC to the ComfilePi's dedicated eMMC programming USB device port, download our Raspberry Pi OS image, and then follow the Raspberry Pi eMMC flashing instructions.
Other operating systems may work, or may partially work, but we only provide support for the operating system linked above. If you run into any problems, please be sure you are using our latest operating system image.
SD Cards
- For hardware revisions v2.3 and higher, SD, SD HC, SD HC I, and SD HC II can all be used.
- For hardware revisions v2.2 and lower, we recommend SD or SD HC cards.
- See SanDisk's SD Card specification and compatibility for more information about the different SD card specifications.
- Products with an eMMC also have an SD card slot, but it is not electrically connected, so it cannot be used.
IO Board Accessories
IO Features
GPIO Header
The 40-pin header socket on the rear panel of the ComfilePi is almost the same pinout as the Raspberry Pi GPIO.
The GPIO pins are exposed through a transparent (3.3V ←→ 3.3V) level shifter for ESD protection. For electrical characteristics please see the level shifter's data sheet : TXS0108E. Please note this isolation circuit renders the Raspberry Pi Compute Module's internal pull-up/-down resistors ineffective. To have pull-up/-down behavior an external pull-up-down resistor must be added externally, or the pin must be explicitly driven high or low.
GPIO14 and GPIO15 are not exposed through the 40-pin header as they are routed to the RS-232 port (COM0) instead.
GPIO0 and GPIO1 are not exposed through the 40-in header.
The 5V pins can supply a maximum current of 1A. The 3.3V pins can supply a maximum current of 700mA. If both 5V and 3.3V pins are used simultaneously, their total power dissipation should be kept below 5 watts.
Underside IO Ports
The underside of the ComfilePi exposes 12~24VDC power input, 1 RS-232 serial port, 1 RS-485 serial port, 3 USB 2.0 ports, an I2C port, 5V power output, and an RJ45 Ethernet port.
IMPORTANT: Please note that the I2C pins (SDA and SCL) are 3.3V; the 5V pin is supplied to ensure users have enough voltage and current to power their external devices and does not imply a 5V I2C port.
Recent models may have a 4th USB port dedicated to programming Compute Modules with an eMMC.
Side Panel IO Ports
The right panel of the ComfilePi exposes a MicroSD Card Slot and a stereo audio output jack.
Developing Software for the ComfilePi
The ComfilePi, like most Linux computers, can be programmed in just about any programming language. The following guides illustrate just a few of the possibilities.
- .NET (C# & VB.Net) - Develop and debug applications for the ComfilePi using C#, VB.Net, .NET 5, and Mono.
- C/C++ - Develop and debug applications for the ComfilePi using C and C++, including GUI applications using frameworks such as Qt, and GTK+.
- Java - Develop and debug applications for the ComfilePi using Java and JavaFX.
- CODESYS - Develop applications for the ComfilePi using the IEC 61131-3 international industrial standard.
- NodeRED - Develop applications using a WYSIWYG, browser-based flow editor.
Miscellaneous
- Calibrating the Touch Screen - Explains how to calibrate the ComfilePi's touch screen.
- Disabling the Touch Screen - Explains how to disable the touch screen in case the ComfilePi is being used for touchless applications like digital signage.
- Read-only File System with Overlay - Boot the ComfilePi with a read-only mounted file system. All file system modifications are written to RAM and discarded between boots.
- Compiling a Real-Time Kernel - Explains how to compile and deploy a real-time kernel to the ComfilePi.
- Improving Real-Time Performance - Explains how to improve the real-time performance of the ComfilePi
- Configure a Program to Auto-Start - Most embedded applications do not run in a desktop environment. This procedure will describe how to configure the ComfilePi to boot to a console instead of a desktop environment, and auto-start a program as a service.
- Rotating the Screen - Change the screen orientation by 90, 180, or 270 degrees.
- Hiding the Mouse Cursor - Explains how to hide the mouse cursor in X Windows.
- Controlling the Piezo Buzzer - The ComfilePi has a built-in Piezo buzzer. By default, it beeps when touched. This feature can be disabled and/or the piezo buzzer can be used for other purposes.
- Controlling the LCD Backlight - The LCD Backlight can be controlled via one of the ComfilePi's GPIO pins.
- 1-wire Communication - Troubleshooting issues with 1-Wire communication
- Enable the Internal Watchdog Timer - Enable the internal watchdog timer to reboot the ComfilePi in case the system stops responding.
- Set Date and Time - Set the date and time of the RTC.
- Updating the Raspberry Pi Firmware - If the latest ComfilePi product will not boot with an older operating system image, follow this procedure.
Raspberry Pi is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation