Component Snapshot At-a-Glance
- Model: GE VMIVME-7455 (Original VMIC, later Abaco Systems VME-7455; industrial rugged conformal coated variant)
- Alt. P/N: VMIVME-7452 (IDE HDD + Floppy dual storage carrier, no optical drive); VMIVME-7460 (IDE Flash-only storage board); VMIVME-7750 (VME single-board CPU, unrelated storage)
- Product Series: GE VMIC / Abaco 6U VMEbus Eurocard embedded industrial control storage module family
- Hardware Type: Standard 6U double-height single-slot passive VME carrier PCB, rear P1/P2 full VME backplane connectors, front integrated slim IDE CD-ROM drive bay, internal 40-pin IDE ribbon header
- Key Feature: Fully passive non-processing optical storage carrier, built-in slim-line IDE CD-ROM, supports CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW multi-session media, low power draw, no onboard CPU or logic chips
- Primary Field Use: Add optical media storage to VME single-board CPU systems; deploy VxWorks/Linux RTOS images, upload control firmware, offline backup trend logs for power plant turbine control, military embedded test racks, legacy industrial DCS embedded VME systems.
Hard-Numbers: Technical Specifications
- Protocol Support: VMEbus Rev C.1 parallel backplane, ATA IDE optical drive bus; no onboard fieldbus/network logic
- Port Count: Rear P1/P2 VME system connector, internal 40-pin IDE ribbon header, front slim CD drive ejection slot
- Data Transfer Rate: IDE burst up to 16MB/s; CD-ROM max 40X read speed
- Operating Temperature: 0°C ~ +55°C cabinet operational; -40°C ~ +85°C storage
- Isolation Rating: Basic PCB trace separation, no galvanic isolation (pure passive signal/power routing carrier)
- Power Draw: Max 7W full CD read operation; idle passive board draws <0.8W without disc access
- VME Bus Power Input: Standard VME rack +5V / ±12V backplane power rails
- Supported Optical Media: CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, multi-session data discs; incompatible with DVD media
- Form Factor: 6U VME single slot, dimensions 160 × 233.25 × 22 mm
- EMC Compliance: CE Class A industrial cabinet EMI tolerance, MIL-STD-810 shock/vibration rated for rack embedded systems
- PCB Treatment: Full anti-corrosion conformal coating for power station, shipboard and military rugged environments
- Physical Weight: 0.65kg fully assembled with slim CD-ROM drive
The Real-World Problem It Solves
Legacy VME single-board CPUs only carry limited onboard flash storage; large OS images, firmware upgrade packages and offline diagnostic software cannot be loaded without optical media access.Separate external USB/IDE CD enclosures require extra cabinet space and long external ribbon cables prone to vibration damage in turbine and military rack environments. This single-slot VME carrier integrates CD drive directly into the VME chassis without external wiring.VMIVME-7452 only supports hard disk + floppy media; VMIVME-7455 adds optical disc capability for offline firmware deployment when network access to the control rack is locked out for safety.Where you’ll typically find it:
- Fossil power plant turbine & boiler VME embedded control racks running VxWorks real-time control
- Military vehicle/shipboard embedded test & instrumentation VME systems
- Pulp & paper mill legacy VMIC VME DCS embedded controller racks
- Railway signaling industrial VME real-time monitoring cabinetsThis passive optical storage carrier eliminates bulky external CD enclosures, adds optical media firmware deployment capability in one VME slot, and enables offline field maintenance on isolated legacy VME control hardware.
Hardware Architecture & Under-the-Hood Logic
This is a fully passive carrier board with zero processing MCU or logic chips; it only routes VME backplane power and P2 user-defined expansion signals to the IDE CD-ROM drive interface, all optical disc read/write logic resides on the host VME SBC CPU card.
- VME rack backplane P1 connector pulls standard +5V/±12V power rails to power the front slim CD-ROM drive spindle and laser read circuits.
- P2 user-defined VME pins route IDE control/data signals between the host single-board CPU and front-mounted optical drive.
- Dedicated internal 40-pin ribbon header connects PCB traces directly to the slim CD drive IDE interface; no signal conversion or buffering chips onboard.
- Direct passive trace routing minimizes I/O latency for real-time OS image loading from optical discs.
- Front panel mechanical ejection latch for quick CD disc swap without full module extraction from the VME rack chassis.
Field Service Pitfalls: What Rookies Get Wrong
Swapping VMIVME-7452 HDD/Floppy Or VMIVME-7460 Flash-Only Storage Boards In Place Of VMIVME-7455
New technicians substitute alternate VME storage carriers without matching full part number. VMIVME-7452 lacks optical drive hardware, cannot perform CD-based firmware upgrades; VMIVME-7460 flash-only boards eliminate all removable offline media support for field maintenance.Field Rule: Only deploy VMIVME-7455 for systems requiring CD-ROM optical media support; segregate HDD/floppy and flash-only storage spares in separate labeled storage bins.
Hot-Swapping Module While VME Rack Power Remains Energized
Junior crews extract the VMIVME-7455 carrier while the VME chassis stays powered. Hot removal creates backplane power rail transients that corrupt the host SBC CPU OS image and trigger full control system crash.Quick Fix: Fully power down the VME rack chassis breaker, wait 30s for backplane rail discharge before extracting or inserting the VMIVME-7455 storage module.
Attempting DVD Disc Read On CD-Only Drive
Field crews insert DVD media into the front CD slot; the IDE optical hardware lacks DVD laser decoding circuitry, no disc detection occurs and risks damaging drive laser head.Field Rule: Only use standard CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW data discs compatible with ; DVD media is not electrically supported.
Commercial Availability & Pricing Note
Please note: The listed price is for reference only and is not binding. Final pricing and terms are subject to negotiation based on current market conditions and availability.
