Summary of TI AM64X FAMILY OF PROCESSORS FOR PLC’S, MOTOR DRIVES, AND OTHER INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
TI's AM64x family are 64-bit Arm processors for industrial automation, offering multicore Arm Cortex-R5F cores (up to four) in a compact 16-nm design with low power (≈1–2W). Targeted applications include AC servo drives, PLCs, motion controllers, gateways, and data-acquisition systems. Higher-end AM6442/AM6441 provide four R5F cores (up to 800 MHz each) delivering 6,400 DMIPS for precise motor control and real-time comms via EtherCAT, Profinet, and Ethernet/IP. AM6421 offers two R5F cores at 1 GHz, supporting mixed services while preserving real-time performance.
Parts used in the AM64x family processors project:
- TI AM64x family processors (general)
- AM6442 processor (four Cortex-R5F cores)
- AM6441 processor (four Cortex-R5F cores)
- AM6422 processor (four Cortex-R5F cores at up to 800 MHz)
- AM6421 processor (two Cortex-R5F cores at 1 GHz)
- Arm Cortex-R5F processing cores
- 16-nm semiconductor process technology
- Industrial communication interfaces: EtherCAT
- Industrial communication interfaces: Profinet
- Industrial communication interfaces: Ethernet/IP
In industries, the cloud architecture gathers data from thousands of sensors and uses the data to perform sophisticated analytics to manage operations. Automation is increasing day by day in industries. Automotive pieces of equipment rely on various sensor data for accuracy. Industrial sensors are an essential part of factory automation and Industry 4.0. Motion, environmental, and vibration sensors are used to monitor the health of equipment, from linear or angular positioning, tilt sensing, leveling, shock, or fall detection. The number of sensors required in industries is increasing exponentially, and therefore, the corresponding data that requires managing is also rising at the same rate. This arise the need for high-end processors with the capability to control modern automation equipment and perform intelligent services.
TI in February posted about their TI AM64X family of processors on their blog post. Texas Instruments AM64x is a family of 64-bit Arm processors designed for AC servo motor drives, industrial programmable logic controllers (PLCs), motion controllers in factory automation, Internet of Things, gateways in building automation, data concentrators in grid automation, high-precision data-acquisition systems, 3D cameras and many more. The AM64x family uses Arm Cortex-R5F processing cores to enable multicore processing. The processors are designed in a 16-nm process. They integrate multiple functions in a very compact package as compared to multichip solutions. The processors consume less than 1W to 2W depending on the configuration, which simplifies thermal design results in its compact size.
High-end processors of the family AM6442 and AM6441 employ four Cortex-R5F cores. The AM6422 consists of four ARM Cortex-R5F cores running at up to 800 MHz each, offering a total of 6,400 real-time Dhrystone million instructions per second (DMIPS) and enabling high-precision motor-control loops. The family of processors, moreover, allows the motor drivers to communicate in real-time with industrial PLCs or motion controllers using standards such as EtherCAT, Profinet, and Ethernet/IP. Plus, one can run high-level operating systems like Linux and a web or application server on the processor.
The AM6421 consists of two Cortex-R5Fs running at 1 GHz each, capable of handling multiple services without disrupting real-time computing and networking traffic.
Read more: TI AM64X FAMILY OF PROCESSORS FOR PLC’S, MOTOR DRIVES, AND OTHER INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
- What applications are AM64x processors designed for?
They are designed for AC servo motor drives, industrial PLCs, motion controllers, IoT, building automation gateways, grid automation data concentrators, high-precision data-acquisition systems, and 3D cameras. - What cores do AM64x processors use?
They use Arm Cortex-R5F processing cores for multicore real-time processing. - What manufacturing process is used for the AM64x family?
They are designed in a 16-nm process. - How much power do AM64x processors consume?
They consume less than 1 watt to 2 watts depending on configuration. - What are the capabilities of the AM6422?
The AM6422 has four Cortex-R5F cores running up to 800 MHz each, offering 6,400 DMIPS for high-precision motor-control loops. - Can AM64x processors handle real-time industrial communication?
Yes, they allow real-time communication using standards such as EtherCAT, Profinet, and Ethernet/IP. - Can high-level OS run on AM64x processors?
Yes, one can run high-level operating systems like Linux and run web or application servers on the processor. - What is special about the AM6421 model?
The AM6421 consists of two Cortex-R5F cores running at 1 GHz each, capable of handling multiple services without disrupting real-time computing and networking traffic.
