The BL2100 SBC/Display is a totally integrated product, which probably saved us at least a month of development time. James Shaker, VP of Research and Development

Smartcat on Ice

Z•World's BL2100 SBC/Display Puts Ice "In the Bag" for Vartek Corp.

Product: BL2100 Smartcat

When Vartek Corporation found itself under the gun to quickly develop and deploy new automatic ice-bagging machines for a major convenience store chain, it turned to Z•World's BL2100 Smartcat single-board computer and keypad/display for a ready-made embedded control solution.

The ice-bagging machines, coupled with stackable ice-making cubers that fit on top of the units, allow retailers to replenish product on demand, completely eliminating the need for costly ice deliveries from outside vendors. "The bagger can bag ice at a rate of about one bag every 45 seconds," says James Shaker, Vartek's vice-president of Research and Development. "And a single cuber can produce about 1,600 pounds of ice per day."

Vartek employs the BL2100 to perform important control, monitoring, and reporting functions for the system. The company chose the Smartcat because it was cost effective, easy to develop, and it provided an integrated keypad/display. "Cost was an extreme concern," says Shaker. "And because the BL2100 has an integrated display, we didn't have to go out and buy somebody else's display and figure out how to integrate their packaging and interface it with the Z•World controller. The [Smartcat] is a totally integrated product, which probably saved us at least a month of development time."

Make It Quick
Quick development was important because Vartek's client was anxious to install a limited number of machines onsite in order to test and evaluate the system. "We called up Z•World for a rush job, and they got the stuff shipped out the same day," says Shaker. "We've been very satisfied— everything performs as it was advertised. Development went very fast, and [Z•World] customer support was great. We just had a few questions on the Dynamic C software compiler, and we got them answered quickly."

The Smartcat controls the ice-making process, monitors conditions, and even reports to personnel off site. "The BL2100 turns on the equipment to make ice, based on how much ice is needed," says Shaker. "Then it takes the ice, bags it, and monitors temperature in the freezer area to maintain the correct level. We also control some motors based on sensor input."

Smooth Operator Interface
Vartek has incorporated Z•World's optional backlit 122 x 32 pixel graphic display, which features 7 user-relegendable keys and 7 LEDs. "We've made this kind of product before using separate displays, and it's always a different software package, which means we then have two packages to maintain," says Shaker. "But now there's just one piece of software to maintain, so it's very clean."

The display side is used by operators to set bag counts, machine ID parameters, heat seal temperature, and bag length. "During initial development, the display also supported a lot of drivers for the different font sizes we were looking at," Shaker adds.

The system also has the capability of calling out and reporting production status, error codes, and other machine information, either over the Internet or to a local call-in server.

"Peripheral" Vision
Vartek is also taking advantage of the Smartcat's A/D capabilities (the BL2100 offers 11 A/D and 4 D/A, all 12-bit resolution) to interface a fiber-optic sensor that monitors the filling process. "We have a fiber-optic light sensor that actually looks at the bags of ice as they're being fed, and it detects patterns of light and dark so we can determine if they're using the proper bag for the particular machine," says Shaker. "It puts out an analog value of 0 to 10 volts, and we just measure that with the A/D as we're feeding the bags forward."

Of the Smartcat's 40 sinking/sourcing digital I/O, Vartek is using a total of 24, with 11 designated as inputs and 13 as outputs. The RS-232 ports, meanwhile, "come in handy for debugging and the communications aspect," says Shaker.

The BL2100 interfaces smoothly with a variety of devices, including an RS-485 temperature controller, a Radicom InchModem, a stepper motor for the bag feed mechanism, and three AC induction motors that move different elements of the system. "The SBC also monitors the system's sensors, such as the fiber-optic sensor and some other sensors for motor position," says Shaker.

Rabbit Power
The Rabbit 2000 microprocessor gives Vartek all the processing power it needs. An optional 2 x 256K Flash configuration permits ample onboard data storage and helps facilitate remote software upgrades. "The Rabbit is more than enough to handle the design, and there's room for expansion in there for us, too," says Shaker. "On the production units, we're probably going to go with the two-Flash version so we can do field upgrades remotely over the phone line. That's another big concern: As they upgrade the software, they don't want to have go out into the field and reprogram all these—they want to be able to do it over the phone lines."

Programming the prototype using Z•World's industry-proven Dynamic C software development system was both fast and straightforward. "Development was very quick—programming went very well," says Shaker. "[Our client] was impressed that we got our job done as quickly as we did. In fact, we were ahead of their schedule—now we're just waiting on sheet metal!"

Vartek expects to produce 200 of its new ice-bagging machines in 2002, with client projections anticipating a need for up to 2,000 units by the end of 2003. Makers of embedded controls for industrial equipment and custom-designed military test equipment, Vartek Corporation is based in Tempe, Arizona.

www.vartek-corp.com, 480.968.6661