GreenSpring Computers explained

GreenSpring Computers was a computer manufacturer founded in 1984 by Leonard and Henry Lehmann in Redwood City, California.

History

GreenSpring Computers was started in 1984 as VME Specialists. The original product focus was VMEbus cards for industrial automation. The company was founded by Leonard Lehmann and his father Henry Lehmann in Redwood City, California, United States.

Around 1988, the company changed its name to GreenSpring Computers. With the name change came a change of focus away from VMEbus specific products to industrial automation products. The company worked with Apple Computers and SuperMac Technologies to design and manufacture the first video cards for the new Macintosh II product family. With the new Macintosh computers came the vision that the embedded market was looking for alternatives to industrial PCs running DOS. The RackMac became the only industrial version of the Macintosh computer available. In addition to the main computer (RM1200) was a 14" monitor available with a touchscreen (RM1240 w/o touchscreen and RM1250 w/ touchscreen).

GreenSpring Computers was acquired by SBS Technologies in April 1995.[1] In 2006, SBS Technologies was acquired by GE Fanuc Embedded Systems.[2] The SBS headquarters in Albuquerque is now the headquarters for GE Fanuc Embedded Systems.

Original product line

Product nameProduct description
SBC1Motorola 68000/ Motorola 68010 based VMEbus CPU module
SBC2Motorola 68000/ Motorola 68010 based VMEbus CPU module with dual-ported memory
SBC3Motorola 68020 based VMEbus CPU module
DRAM 512/2M512 and 2M VMEbus memory module. Memory was DIP and populated into sockets.
DRAM 4M4M VMEbus memory module. Memory was ZIP (Zig zag inline package).
VME360VMEbus video card
VME490VMEbus RS232/422 serial card
VME620VMEbus SCSI interface
VME750Floating Point module for SBC1. Motorola 68881

Mezzanine modules

With the focus moving away from VMEbus only, Leonard brought on Kim Rubin to develop a bus independent module called IndustryPacks (IP). IndustryPack became recognized as an industry standard for mezzanine modules and was adopted by ANSI as VITA 4. These mezzanine modules are approximately the size of a business card (99mm x 45mm). Featuring a 16 or 32 bit wide I/O interface and 50 User defined I/O pins.

Original IPs

IP nameIP description
IP-Digital24 24-channel TTL input and output, programmable bits, supports RMW, bit set/reset, 64mA sink
IP-Digital48 48 general purpose lines of bit I/O including a 24-bit timer
IP-DUAL PI/T Two MC68230s for timers/interface, 68230 includes two 8-bit or one 16-bit programmable port, two 24-bit timers
IP-488 IEEE-488 Interface. Talker, listener, controller
IP-Serial Two Channel Serial, 2 multi-protocol RS-232/422/485, async/sync to 2 megabaud, SDLC, HDLC, X.25. Interrupts.
VME310 VMEbus 3U A24/D16, IRQ1,3,4,6 selectable. Supports 2 IP's
VME610 VMEbus 6U A24/D16, IRQ 1-7 selectable. Supports 4 IP's http://lohoa.com/images/VIPC610.JPG
RM1260 NuBus intelligent carrier. Supports 2 IP's
RM1270 NuBus support Carrier. Supports 2 IP's
The big advancements for IPs was when Motorola adopted the standard for their MVME162 processor line (see Motorola Single Board Computers) based on the Motorola 68040. In a short time, there were multiple IP manufacturers and over 100 different IP modules available.

Final product line

CategoryProductFormChannelsDescription
Analog ConvertersIP-16ADCIP16High accuracy 16 bit ADC
Analog ConvertersIP-16DACIP3High stability 16 DAC
Analog ConvertersIP-AD12SSIP8Simultaneous sampling 12 bit ADC
Analog ConvertersIP-AD16SSIP8Simultaneous sampling 16 bit ADC
Analog ConvertersIP-DACIP6General purpose 12 bit DAC
Analog ConvertersIP-DAC-SUIP16Simultaneous update 16 bit DAC
Analog ConvertersIP-HIADCIP16"High speed, simultaneous sampling 16 bit ADC"
Analog ConvertersIP-OPTOAD12IP16Opto-isolated 12 bit ADC
Analog ConvertersIP-OPTOAD16IP16Opto-isolated 16 bit ADC
Analog ConvertersIP-OPTODA12IP8Opto-isolated 12 bit DAC
Analog ConvertersIP-OPTODA16IP4Opto-isolated 16 bit DAC
Analog ConvertersIP-PRECADCIP20+2Resistive bridge driver and 12 bit ADC and DAC
Analog ConvertersIP-UL-ADC40IP40General purpose 12 bit ADC with timer and strobe
Analog ConvertersIP-UL-AUDIOIP2+2Audio 16-bit sigma-delta ADC and DAC
Analog ConvertersIP-UL-AUDIO-4IP4+4Audio 16-bit sigma-delta ADC and DAC
Analog ConvertersIP-UL-DAQ200IP2+2High speed 16-bit sigma-delta ADC and DAC with FIFO
Analog ConvertersPMC-UL-GPIOPMC8+8General purpose 12 bit ADC and DAC with digital I/O
AudioP1-AUDIOPCMIPStereoSoundblaster compatible audio I/O with amplifier
AudioPMC-AUDIOPMCStereoSoundblaster compatible audio I/O with amplifier
Avionics CommunicationIP-1553IP1Dual-redundant with ILC DDC module
Data StorageIP-FLASHIPUp to 8 MB Flash memory
Data StorageIP-NVRAMIP1 MB battery-backed SRAM
Data StorageP-D64PCMIP64 MB DRAM
Data StorageP-F64PCMIP64 MB Intel StrataFlash
Data StoragePMC-PCMCIAPMCPCMCIA (PC Card) type I or II card socket
Data StoragePMC-USCSIPMC1Ultra Wide SCSI to 40 MB/sec front/rear/SE/DIFF
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-ALTERA-TTLIP32User-programmable FPGA
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-UNIDIGIP24General purpose I/O
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-IIP24General purpose I/O with interrupts
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-IO-12I12OIP24Opto-isolated with interrupts
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-IO-24IIP24Opto-isolated with interrupts
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-IO-24IOIP24Opto-isolated with interrupts
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-O-12I12OIP24Opto-isolated
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-O-24IIP24Opto-isolated
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-O-24IOIP24Opto-isolated
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-PIP16Parallel transfers with hardware handshake modes
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-XILINX-BUFIP24User-programmable FPGA
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLIP-XILINX-XX-BUFIP24Two user-programmable FPGAs
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLP1-IO32PCMIP32General purpose I/O with interrupts
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLP2-IO32PCMIP32"General purpose I/O with interrupts, front panel I/O"
Digital I/O – Buffered TTLPMC-UL-GPIOPMC16"Also includes ADC, DAC, and timers"
Digital I/O – Differential 422IP-ALTERAIP20User-programmable FPGA
Digital I/O – Differential 422IP-UNIDIG-DIP24General purpose I/O
Digital I/O – Differential 422IP-UNIDIG-I-DIP24General purpose I/O with interrupts
Digital I/O – Differential 422IP-UNIDIG-P-DIP16Parallel transfers with hardware handshake modes
Digital I/O – Differential 422IP-XILINX-422IP24User-programmable FPGA
Digital I/O – Differential 422IP-XILINX-XX-422IP24Two user-programmable FPGAs
Digital I/O – High-side (FET)IP-OPTO-DRV IP16Opto-isolated
Digital I/O – Low-side (FET)IP-DRIVER40IP40User-programmable FPGA
Digital I/O – Low-side (FET)IP-UNIDIG-HV-16I8OIP24High voltage
Digital I/O – Low-side (FET)IP-UNIDIG-HV-8I16OIP24High voltage
Digital I/O – Low-side (FET)IP-UNIDIG-IHV-16I8OIP24High voltage with interrupts
Digital I/O – Low-side (FET)IP-UNIDIG-IHV-8I16OIP24High voltage with interrupts
Digital I/O – Mechanical RelayIP-RELAYIP8"Each is DPDT, latching"
Digital I/O – Opto-IsolatedIP-OPTO-DRVIP16Outputs only
Digital I/O – Opto-IsolatedIP-OPTO-INTIP8Supports interrupts
Digital I/O – Opto-IsolatedIP-UNIDIG-IO-12I12OIP24Inputs and outputs
Digital I/O – Opto-IsolatedIP-UNIDIG-IO-24IIP24Input only
Digital I/O – Opto-IsolatedIP-UNIDIG-IO-24IOIP24Programmable as input or output
Digital I/O – Opto-IsolatedIP-UNIDIG-O-12I12OIP24Inputs and outputs with interrupts
Digital I/O – Opto-IsolatedIP-UNIDIG-O-24IIP24Input only with interrupts
Digital I/O – Opto-IsolatedIP-UNIDIG-O-24IOIP24Programmable as input or output with interrupts
Digital I/O – Unbuffered TTLIP-ALTERAIP8User-programmable FPGA includes EIA-422
Digital I/O – Unbuffered TTLIP-ALTERA-TTLIP16User-programmable FPGA
Digital I/O – Unbuffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-EIP24ESD protected
Digital I/O – Unbuffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-E-48IP48ESD protected
Digital I/O – Unbuffered TTLIP-UNIDIG-I-EIP24ESD protected with interrupts
Digital I/O – Unbuffered TTLIP-XILINX-ESDIP24User-programmable FPGA
Digital I/O – Unbuffered TTLIP-XILINX-XX-ESDIP24Two user-programmable FPGAs
EthernetCP-3101CPCI 3U2Dual 10BaseT/100BaseTX Ethernet with front panel RJ45
EthernetIP-ETHERNET-10B2IP110Base2 Ethernet when used with transition module
EthernetIP-ETHERNET-10B5IP110Base5 Ethernet when used with transition module
EthernetIP-ETHERNET-10BTIP110BaseT Ethernet when used with transition module
EthernetP2-100BT-ERPCMIP110BaseT/100BaseTX Ethernet with front panel RJ45
EthernetPMC-100BTPMC1Single 10BaseT/100BaseTX Ethernet with front panel RJ45
EthernetPMC-3101PMC2Dual 10BaseT/100BaseTX Ethernet with front panel RJ45
Industrial BussesIP-488IPGPIB IEEE-488 bus controller/talker/listener
Industrial BussesPMC-ARCNETPMCARCNET with isolated 485 or traditional interface
Industrial BussesPMC-ECANPMCDual isolated CAN busses using Intel 82527
IndustryPack CarriersATC30ISA3Short ISA carrier
IndustryPack CarriersATC40ISA4Long ISA carrier
IndustryPack CarriersCPCI-100A-BPCPCI 3U2Rear panel I/O via J2
IndustryPack CarriersCPCI-100A-FPCPCI 3U2Front panel I/O via Champ50s
IndustryPack CarriersCPCI-200A-BPCPCI 6U4"Rear panel I/O via J4, J5"
IndustryPack CarriersCPCI-200A-FPCPCI 6U4Front panel I/O via SCSI-style connectors
IndustryPack CarriersFLEX104APC/1042Slightly larger than standard PC/104
IndustryPack CarriersIPOC-1747AB2Allen-Bradley Open Controller
IndustryPack CarriersIPPC-2636AVME 6U4Fits onto Motorola MVME 2300/2600 series CPUs
IndustryPack CarriersPCI-40APCI4Full length PCI slot size
IndustryPack CarriersPCI-60APCI6Full length ISA slot size
IndustryPack CarriersSPI-200ISA4DSPLink3 bus provides access to modules
IndustryPack CarriersSPV-200VME 6U4DSPLink3 bus provides access to modules
IndustryPack CarriersVIPC310VME 3U2Front panel ribbon connectors
IndustryPack CarriersVIPC310-HD51VME 3U2High density 51-pin connectors on front panel
IndustryPack CarriersVIPC310-TXVME 3U2Twinax connectors for IP-1553
IndustryPack CarriersVIPC360VME 3U2Carrier with MC68360 CPU
IndustryPack CarriersVIPC616VME 6U4Ribbon cable connectors on front panel
IndustryPack CarriersVIPC618VME 6U4Shielded SCSI-style connectors on front panel
IndustryPack CarriersVIPC664VME 6U4I/O is via rear panel VME64x connectors
IndustryPack CarriersVIPC860-BPVME 6U4Carrier with PowerPC 860 CPU and I/O via rear panel VME64x
IndustryPack CarriersVIPC860-FPVME 6U4Carrier with PowerPC 860 CPU and I/O via front panel Champ50s
Motion Control and MeasurementIP-ENCODER6IP616 bit quadrature position encoder
Motion Control and MeasurementIP-QUADRATUREIP4Quadrature decoder with 24 bit resolution
Motion Control and MeasurementIP-STEPPERIP2Two-axis stepper motor controller
Motion Control and MeasurementIP-SYNCHROIP2Synchro and resolver with 16 bit resolution
PC•MIP and PMC CarriersMC-101PCI1PCMIP mechanical adaptor to short PCI slot
PC•MIP and PMC CarriersMC-101DBPCI1PCMIP mechanical adaptor to PCI slot with debug headers
PC•MIP and PMC CarriersMC-303CPCI 3U3Front and rear I/O for PCMIP
PC•MIP and PMC CarriersMC-607CPCI 6U6Front and rear I/O for PCMIP
PC•MIP and PMC CarriersMC-804PCI4Full length PCI slot PCMIP
Reflective MemoryIP-FIBERIOIP11 Gbit optical ring with 512 KB of shared memory and interrupts
Serial Communication ModulesCP-6201 CPCI 6U16"General purpose async 232 to 115.2 k front and rear I/O, FIFO"
Serial Communication ModulesIP-COMM360IP4MC68360 CPU with TTL serial interfaces
Serial Communication ModulesIP-COMM360-ENIP4MC68360 CPU with TTL serial interfaces for Ethernet
Serial Communication ModulesIP-COMM360-MHIP4MC68360 CPU with TTL serial interfaces for E1/T1
Serial Communication ModulesIP-MP-SERIALIP2High speed sync 232/422 with modem lines
Serial Communication ModulesIP-MP-SERIAL-232IP2High speed sync with modem lines EIA-232 only
Serial Communication ModulesIP-MP-SERIAL-423IP2High speed sync with modem lines EIA-423 only
Serial Communication ModulesIP-OCTAL-232IP8General purpose async 232 with flow control
Serial Communication ModulesIP-OCTAL-422IP8General purpose async 422
Serial Communication ModulesIP-OCTAL-423IP8General purpose async 423 with flow control
Serial Communication ModulesIP-OCTAL-485IP8General purpose async 485
Serial Communication ModulesIP-OCTALOPTOIPDW8General purpose opto-isolated 232/422/423/20mA
Serial Communication ModulesIP-OCTALPLUS-232IP8General purpose async 232 with flow control and deep FIFOs
Serial Communication ModulesIP-OCTALPLUS-422IP8General purpose async 422 with deep FIFOs
Serial Communication ModulesIP-OCTALPLUS-485IP8General purpose async/sync 485
Serial Communication ModulesIP-OCTALPLUS-TTLIP8General purpose async TTL with flow control and deep FIFOs
Serial Communication ModulesIP-SERIALIP2General purpose async 232/422 with modem lines
Serial Communication ModulesP1-OCTAL-232PCMIP8General purpose async 232 to 115.2 k
Serial Communication ModulesP1-OCTAL-422PCMIP8General purpose async 422 to 480.6 k
Serial Communication ModulesP2-HSS2PCMIP2"High speed sync 232/422/449/530 with modem lines FIFO, DMA"
Serial Communication ModulesP2-OCTAL-232PCMIP8General purpose async 232 to 115.2 k front panel I/O
Serial Communication ModulesP2-OCTAL-422PCMIP8General purpose async 422 to 480.6 k front panel I/O
Serial Communication ModulesPMC-HSSERIALPMC4"High speed sync 232/422/449/530 with modem lines FIFO, DMA"
Serial Communication ModulesPMC-OCTPRO-232PMC8General purpose async 232 to 115.2 k front and rear I/O
Serial Communication ModulesPMC-OCTPRO-422PMC8General purpose async 422 to 480.6 k front and rear I/O
TelecommunicationsIP-COMM360IP4Synchronous serial and ISDN
TelecommunicationsPMC-8260-400PMC4Quad intelligent PowerPC 8260-based E1/T1 with SCSA bus
TelecommunicationsVIPC860VME 6U4High speed synchronous serial
Temperature MeasurementIP-THERMISTOR IP1612 bit thermistor measurement for 2 or 4 wire devices
TimersIP-UL-ADC40IP1Includes ADCs
TimersIP-UL-AUDIOIP2"Includes ADCs, DACs"
TimersIP-UL-DAQ200IP2"Includes ADCs, DACs"
TimersIP-UNIDIG-TIP4"16-bit timers cascadable into two 32-bit, buffered I/O"
TimersIP-UNIDIG-T-DIP4"16-bit timers cascadable into two 32-bit, differential I/O"
TimersPMC-UL-GPIOPMC2"Includes ADCs, DACs, digital I/O"
Transition ModulesTM-680CPCI 6U6Rear panel I/O for MC-607
Transition ModulesXM-360-16VME 6U16VME-mounted with RJ45s for four IP-COMM360s 422 only
Transition ModulesXM-360-4VME 6U4VME-mounted with HD26s for IP-COMM360
Transition ModulesXM-360-ENVME 6U3VME-mounted with Ethernet for IP-COMM360-EN
Transition ModulesXM-360-MHVME 6U4T1 interfaces up to four IP-COMM360-MH
Transition ModulesXM-664-60VME4Rear panel IndustryPack I/O for VIPC664 and VIPC860-BP
Transition ModulesXM-664-61VME4Rear panel IndustryPack I/O for VIPC664 and VIPC860-BP
Transition ModulesXM-664-80VME4Rear panel IndustryPack I/O for VIPC664 and VIPC860-BP
Transition ModulesXM-860VME 6U4Rear panel serial I/O for VIPC860-FP
Transition ModulesXM-LCD-1Power supply and connector for flat panel displays
Transition ModulesXM-OCTAL19”1619 inch rack mount bar for two IP-Octal series modules
Transition ModulesXM-OCTAL-6U-DVME 6U8VME-mounted with DB25s for IP-Octal series modules
Transition ModulesXM-OCTAL-6U-RJ16VME 6U16VME-mounted with RJ11s for IP-Octal series modules
Transition ModulesXM-OCTAL-6U-RJ8VME 6U8VME-mounted with RJ45s for IP-Octal series modules
Transition ModulesXM-SYNCHRO-1Provides reference and connections for IP-Synchro
Video DisplaysIP-LCDIP1SVGA CRT and LCD display 640x480
Video DisplaysP2-VIDEOPCMIP1CRT display to 1024x768 with front panel output
Video DisplaysPMC-VIDEOPLUSPMC1CRT display to 1280x1024 with front panel output

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SBS ENGINEERING, INC. ANNOUNCES LETTER OF INTENT TO ACQUIRE GREENSPRING COMPUTERS, INC.. https://web.archive.org/web/20170113091436/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/SBS+ENGINEERING,+INC.+ANNOUNCES+LETTER+OF+INTENT+TO+ACQUIRE...-a015812752. dead. 13 January 2017. The Free Library. 14 December 2016. 12 September 1994.
  2. Web site: GreenSpring Computers Adds Eight New Products and PC/104 Solution to IndustryPack Line. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220123552/http://www.geautomation.com/news/greenspring-computers-adds-eight-new-products-and-pc-104-solution-to-industrypack-line/n25. dead. 20 December 2016. GE Automation. 14 December 2016. 14 February 1997.