Raspberry Pi Trading has launched the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 and Compute Module 4 Lite, which integrate the Broadcom BCM2711 SoC of the Raspberry Pi 4 into a new form factor:
Compute Module 4 introduces a brand new form factor, and a compatibility break with earlier Compute Modules. Where previous modules adopted the JEDEC DDR2 SODIMM mechanical standard, with I/O signals on an edge connector, we now bring I/O signals to two high-density perpendicular connectors (one for power and low-speed interfaces, and one for high-speed interfaces).
This significantly reduces the overall footprint of the module on its carrier board, letting you achieve smaller form factors for your products.
The Compute Module 4 IO Board is $35, and it includes a PCIe 2.0 x1 connector in lieu of the two USB 3.0 ports included on the standard RPi 4B.
Prices for the modules range from $25 to $90 based on the choice of 1/2/4/8 GB of RAM, 8/16/32 GB of on-board eMMC flash storage (or no eMMC in the "CM4Lite" modules), and inclusion of wireless functionality. An external antenna kit is also being sold.
Also at CNX Software, Hackaday, and Tom's Hardware.
See also: Gumstix Introduces CM4 to CM3 Adapter, Carrier Boards for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4
(Score: 5, Informative) by canopic jug on Tuesday October 20 2020, @07:01AM (3 children)
There are even PCB layouts and schematics [raspberrypi.org] for KiCAD [kicad-pcb.org] (scroll down to "Documents" there in the first link, as there are no anchors in the page.) That means it is practical if not relatively easy to design equipment to utilize the compute module in hardware projects. There are a few shops in China which can produce prototyped PCBs from KiCAD at reasonable cost and with a rather short turn around time. Whether your design will work is another matter. With hardware you get one chance per expensive production run to get it right. Are there still any shops left in Europe which can still produce on-demand PCBs?
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 20 2020, @09:59AM (1 child)
Dozens? Probably in hundreds? You are really not looking if you can't find any.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 20 2020, @10:24PM
Maybe the search engine is totally useless. Yes, that one we are thinking. Results are full of crap, with all the "smart" guessing.
OTOH, many European companies seem to have a problem with multi-language sites. Some are very smart, but others not so much. You have the business with multiple domains, all in native TLDs and languages, and even local phone numbers handled by natives (remote workers or expatriates); and you have the companies with a native-only crappy site, maybe even flash without any hint that the business is still going 10 or 15 years later. Bare minimum in EU should be English + native, most young Europeans should be able to handle some English pages & emails to sell & buy something.
I am in a similar boat, looking for photochemical manufacturing of small parts (the metal layer without the FR4 resin layer) because Brexit is going to make transactions stupidly priced (couriers and post offices will charge for the tax prepayments like they do with anything from outside EU, roughly doubling shipping costs in my experience), and it is a bit hard to find companies equivalent to the ones I used or knew about (affordable small runs, what big business would call prototype assuming they would recoup in larger order later, or just charge a lot for the "prototype" because "you are a business, aren't you?"). Maybe that is the thing, European companies do not care about small runs (heard it too about USA ones), while China wants to crush everyone, so at-loss operations are accepted if it means spreading the "only China can do it" image.
BTW, found one company claiming to be in Europe. Yeah, one plant is in Romania, the other is in China. Sneaky.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Mojibake Tengu on Tuesday October 20 2020, @11:23AM
Dozens in just .cz, one of the best is
https://www.gatemapcb.cz/ [gatemapcb.cz]
The edge of 太玄 cannot be defined, for it is beyond every aspect of design
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Rich on Tuesday October 20 2020, @04:59PM
Datasheet of the IO board at https://datasheets.raspberrypi.org/cm4io/cm4io-datasheet.pdf [raspberrypi.org], containing all schematics. The schematics are done in nightly KiCAD. If you're bound to an older version (like me right now), this PDF comes in handy.
Very nice schematics, I note, with annotations explaining details (like the PMOSFET polarity protection, or that the external power output is like a floppy power connector). Looks well thought out, they must've seen - and considered - a good number of use cases. The IO board seems to be done entirely in KiCAD, including all high-speed serial stuff (HDMI, USB, DSI/CSI). This should be a signal, also to those with a bit slower understanding, that KiCAD is prime time stuff now. If a new project is started, it can be jumpstarted from the available IO board schematics, which means using KiCAD. Very good.
The format of the CM has changed, it used to look like a DRAM stick, now it rests on two separate connectors. I'm used to that, because a customer of mine has been doing a similar module for some years now, but it might be an issue for assembly precision.
The CM4 will take on about every job you ask it to do (except dual 4-lane cameras, you can work around the anemic SoC USB with the external PCI). I was only slightly surprised when I saw, for example, that the Korg Wavestate synthesizer's hardware is just a glorious shell around an older CM. At its pricing and with the community (that easily negates a bit of asshattery to be expected from Broadcom) it's the safe choice to make.
Thumbs up!