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Forge1 Product Introduction

Let’s get to know Forge1 in 5 minutes.

Overview​

Forge1​​ is an industrial-grade product powered by the ​​RK3506J triple-core Cortex-A7 application processor​​. Operating within a temperature range of ​​-40℃ to 85℃​​, it is specifically designed for industrial gateways, HMIs (Human-Machine Interfaces), PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), handheld POS (Point-of-Sale) devices, and home appliance display/control applications.

The embedded ​​2D hardware engine​​ and ​​display output engine​​ minimize CPU overhead to meet demanding graphics rendering requirements.

With a comprehensive set of peripheral interfaces—including ​​RS485​​, ​​USB2​​, ​​RMII​​ (Reduced Media Independent Interface), ​​CAN​​ (Controller Area Network), ​​DSMC​​ (Digital Signal Microcontroller), ​​Flexbus​​, and more—it accommodates diverse application development needs while reducing hardware complexity and development costs.

ArmSoM-Forge1

Hardware Information​

Hardware Interfaces​

armsom-forge1-front-back

Hardware Specifications​

CategorySpecifications
SOC
  • RockChip RK3506J
    • CPU
  • RK3506 Triple-core Cortex-A7 Processor
    • GPU
  • 2D Graphic Engine
  • Embedded high-performance 2D acceleration hardware
    • Memory
  • 512MB DDR3L
    • Storage
  • 512MB NAND
  • Supports MicroSD card expansion
    • Networking
  • 2 × 100M Ethernet
    • Video Output
  • 1 x MIPI DSI (2Lane 1.5Gbps)
    • Audio
  • 1 × Speaker
  • 1 × MIC
    • USB Interfaces
  • 1 × Type C (power & Programming only)
  • 1 × USB2.0 HOST
    • 40-PIN
  • Partially compatible with Raspberry Pi 40-pin for peripheral connectivity
  • Supports UART/SPI/I2C/I2S/PWM/5V Power/3.3V Power
    • Power Supply
  • DC IN 12V/1A
  • Typec 5V/2A
    • Buttons
  • 1x Maskrom Key (enters maskrom flashing mode)
    • OS
  • Officially supported by Rockchip: Buildroot
    • Dimensions
  • 92 mm x 62mm
    • Operating Temperature
  • -40℃ ~ 85℃

    • RK3506J Block Diagram​

    RK3506J Block Diagram
    rk3506j block diagram

    Pin Definitions​

    40-PIN header
    GPIO NumberFunctionPinPinFunctionGPIO Number
    +3.3V
    1
    2
    		+5.0V
    4RM_IO4/SAI0_SDI0/GPIO0_A4_d
    3
    4
    		+5.0V
    5RM_IO5/SAI0_SDI1/GPIO0_A5_d
    5
    6
    		GND
    59DSMC_SLV_RDYN/RM_IO31/UART5_RX_M1
    FLEXBUS0_D0/DSMC_CSN3/VO_LCDC_D0
    GPIO1_D3_d
    7
    8
    UART0_TX
    RM_IO22/JTAG_TCK_M1/GPIO0_C6_u    		22
    GND
    9
    10
    UART0_RX
    RM_IO23/JTAG_TMS_M1/GPIO0_C7_u    		23
    58DSMC_SLV_CSN0/RM_IO30/UART5_TX_M1
    FLEXBUS0_D1/DSMC_CSN2/VO_LCDC_D1
    GPIO1_D2_d
    11
    12
    		GPIO1_D1_d/DSMC_SLV_D7
    RM_IO29UART5_RTSN_M1/DSM_AUD_LP_M0
    FLEXBUS0_D2/DSMC_DQS1/VO_LCDC_D2    		57
    52DSMC_SLV_D2/FLEXBUS0_D7
    DSMC_D11/VO_LCDC_D7
    GPIO1_C4_d
    13
    14
    		GPIO1_C5_d
    DSMC_SLV_D3/FLEXBUS0_D6
    DSMC_D12/VO_LCDC_D6    		53
    51DSMC_SLV_D1/RM_IO28/SAI2_SDO_M1
    FLEXBUS1_CSN_M5/FLEXBUS0_D8
    DSMC_D10/VO_LCDC_D8
    GPIO1_C3_d
    15
    16
    		GPIO1_C2_d
    DSMC_SLV_D0/RM_IO27SAI2_SDI_M1
    FLEXBUS0_CSN_M5/DSM_AUD_RP_M0
    FLEXBUS0_D9/DSMC_D9/VO_LCDC_D9    		50
    +3.3V
    17
    18
    		GPIO1_C1_d/DSMC_SLV_DQS0/SAI2_MCLK_M1
    FLEXBUS1_CSN_M4/DSM_AUD_RN_M0
    FLEXBUS0_CLK/DSMC_D8/VO_LCDC_D10    		49
    48DSMC_SLV_CLK/FLEXBUS0_CSN_M4
    DSMC_INT1/FLEXBUS1_CLK
    DSMC_RESETN/VO_LCDC_D11
    GPIO1_C0_d
    19
    20
    		SARADC_IN2/GPIO4_B2_z138
    46FLEXBUS0_CSN_M3/FLEXBUS0_D11
    FLEXBUS1_D14/DSMC_CSN0
    VO_LCDC_D13/GPIO1_B6_d
    21
    22
    		GPIO1_B7_d
    FLEXBUS1_CSN_M3/FLEXBUS0_D10
    FLEXBUS1_D15/DSMC_RDYN/VO_LCDC_D1    		47
    44FLEXBUS0_CSN_M2/FLEXBUS0_D13
    FLEXBUS1_D12/DSMC_D6
    VO_LCDC_D15GPIO1_B4_d
    23
    24
    		GPIO1_B5_d
    FLEXBUS1_CSN_M2/FLEXBUS0_D12
    FLEXBUS1_D13/DSMC_D7/VO_LCDC_D14    		45
    GND
    25
    26
    		GPIO1_B3_d
    RM_IO26/SAI2_LRCK_M1FLEXBUS1_CSN_M1
    FLEXBUS0_D14/FLEXBUS1_D11
    DSMC_INT3/VO_LCDC_D16    		43
    41RM_IO24/UART5_CTSN_M1
    FLEXBUS1_CSN_M0/FLEXBUS1_D9
    DSMC_CSN1/VO_LCDC_D184
    GPIO1_B1_d
    27
    28
    		GPIO1_B2_d
    RM_IO25/SAI2_SCLK_M1FLEXBUS0_CSN_M1
    FLEXBUS0_D15/FLEXBUS1_D10
    DSMC_INT2/VO_LCDC_D17    		42
    40FLEXBUS0_CSN_M0/FLEXBUS1_D8
    DSMC_D5/VO_LCDC_D19
    GPIO1_B0_d
    29
    30
    		GND
    38FLEXBUS1_D6/DSMC_D3
    VO_LCDC_D21/GPIO1_A6_d
    31
    32
    		GPIO1_A7_d/FLEXBUS1_D7
    DSMC_D4/VO_LCDC_D20    		39
    37FLEXBUS1_D5/DSMC_D2VO_LCDC_D22
    GPIO1_A5_d
    33
    34
    		GND
    35FLEXBUS1_D3/DSMC_D0/VO_LCDC_CLK
    GPIO1_A3_d
    35
    36
    		GPIO1_A4_d/FLEXBUS1_D4
    DSMC_D1/VO_LCDC_D23    		36
    33DSMC_SLV_INT/DSMC_INT0
    FLEXBUS1_D1/DSMC_CLKN
    VO_LCDC_VSYNC/GPIO1_A1_d
    37
    38
    		GPIO1_A2_d/FLEXBUS1_D2
    DSMC_DQS0/VO_LCDC_HSYNC    		34
    GND
    39
    40
    		GPIO1_A0_d/FLEXBUS1_D0
    DSMC_CLKP/VO_LCDC_DEN    		32
    14-PIN Header
    PinAssignmentDescriptionPinAssignmentDescription
    1RS485_ARS485 Differential Signal (Positive)2RS485_BRS485 Differential Signal (Negative)
    3CAN_LCAN Bus Differential Low4CAN_HCAN Bus Differential High
    5GNDSystem Ground6GNDSystem Ground (Redundant Design)
    7MICIN_PMicrophone Input Positive (Differential)8MICIN_NMicrophone Input Negative (Differential)
    9MICIN_PMicrophone Input Positive (Alternate Channel)10MICIN_NMicrophone Input Negative (Alternate Channel)
    11GNDAudio Signal Ground12VBAT_RTCRTC Battery Power Input
    13SPK_PSpeaker Output Positive (Differential Drive)14SPK_NSpeaker Output Negative (Differential Drive)

    Development Resources​

    SDK Source Code​

    📚

    Source Code

    For ARM development boards running Linux

    Official Image​

    The ArmSoM team uses buildroot as the official operating system for Forge1. How to Flash Image📤

    Download​

    The following systems have been tested and verified by ArmSoM official:

    Network disk address:

    Google Drive link
    logoDescriptionDownload
    buildrootbuildroot for Forge1:
    Linux Kernel 6.1, support RT-Thread 4.1,
    support bare metal programs, support multi-core heterogeneous AMP,
    Preempt-RT/Xenomai real-time patches,
    lightweight UI framework LVGL.    		Google Drive link

    Hardware Resources​

    Google Drive link
    📄

    Forge1 SCH

    📃

    Forge1 2D

    📜

    Forge1 SMD

    User Manual​

    Tools Preparation​

    • ​​Power Supply (Choose either):​​
      • DC IN 12V/1A
      • Type-C 5V/2A
    • ​System Installation (Choose either):​​
      • ​​Boot from onboard eMMC:​​
      • USB Type-C data cable (to connect the Forge series device and a PC via the Type-C port for image burning).
    • ​Boot from MicroSD/TF card:​​
      • MicroSD/TF card (Class 10 or higher, at least 8GB SDHC) and a card reader.

    Image Flashing​

    🎇

    Flash System Image

    Interface Usage​

    If this is your first time using the ArmSoM-Forge1 product, please familiarize yourself with its hardware interfaces to better understand subsequent content.

    Hardware InterfaceForge1

    Debug Serial​

    Connect the USB-to-TTL serial cable as shown below:

    armsom-sige7-debug

    Forge1 PinConnectionSerial Module
    GND (Pin 6)→GND
    TX (Pin 8)→RX
    RX (Pin 10)→TX

    Ethernet​

    1. Connect one end of an Ethernet cable to the Forge1's Ethernet port and the other end to a router. Ensure the network is available.
    2. The system will automatically assign an IP address to the Ethernet interface via DHCP on startup.
    3. To view the IP address in Forge1’s Linux system: 
    root@armsom:/# ip a  
    1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000  
        link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00  
        inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo  
           valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever  
    2: can0: <NOARP,ECHO> mtu 16 qdisc noop state DOWN group default qlen 10  
        link/can  
    3: eth0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state DOWN group default qlen 1000  
        link/ether 9e:06:ad:d5:e3:91 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff  
    4: eth1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000  
        link/ether 7e:09:de:1d:0c:46 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff  
        inet 192.168.1.150/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global dynamic noprefixroute eth1  
           valid_lft 43173sec preferred_lft 37773sec
    1. Use the ping command to verify network connectivity (press Ctrl+C to exit): 
    root@armsom:/# ping www.baidu.com  
    PING www.baidu.com (183.2.172.17): 56 data bytes  
    64 bytes from 183.2.172.17: seq=0 ttl=52 time=10.838 ms  
    ...  
    ^C  
    --- www.baidu.com ping statistics ---  
    6 packets transmitted, 6 received, 0% packet loss

    USB Interface​

    ModelForge1
    USB1× Type-C (PD & Programming), 1× USB 2.0 HOST

    Testing USB Storage Devices

    1. Insert a USB flash drive or external HDD into the Forge1’s USB port.
    2. Verify detection with: 
    root@armsom:/# cat /proc/partitions | grep "sd*"  
    major minor  #blocks  name  
       8        0  122880000 sda
    1. Mount the USB drive: 
    root@armsom:/# sudo mount /dev/sda1 /test/
    1. Check usage and mount point: 
    root@armsom:/test# df -h | grep "sd"  
    /dev/sda        4.7G  4.7G     0  100% /test

    Audio​

    List Audio Devices 

    root@armsom:/# aplay -l  
    **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****  
    card 0: rockchiprk730 [rockchip-rk730], device 0: dailink-multicodecs HiFi-0

    Recording 

    arecord -D hw:0,0 -f S16_LE -t wav -c2 -r 16000 -d 3 t.wav

    Playback 

    aplay t.wav

    RTC​

    • Forge1 includes an LK8563S RTC IC.
    • Insert a 2-pin RTC battery to power the RTC.

    Verify RTC Device 

    root@armsom:/# dmesg | grep rtc  
    [    6.407133] rtc-hym8563 6-0051: registered as rtc0

    Sync System Time to RTC 

    root@armsom:/# hwclock -r                # Read RTC time  
    root@armsom:/# hwclock -w                # Write system time to RTC  
    root@armsom:/# poweroff

    Post-Reconnection Check
    After reconnecting the RTC battery: 

    root@armsom:/# hwclock -r  
    2023-11-03 10:35:40.461910+00:00  
    root@armsom:/# date  
    Fri Nov 3 10:36:01 UTC 2023

    MIPI DSI​

    Maximum Resolution: 1280x1280@60fps.

    armsom-forge1-display

    CAN FD​

    List Network Interfaces 

    root@armsom:/# ifconfig -a  
    can0: <NOARP,MTU=16> ...

    CAN Configuration 

    ip link set can0 down  
    ip link set can0 type can bitrate 1000000 dbitrate 3000000 fd on  
    ip -details link show can0  
    ip link set can0 up

    CAN FD Testing
    • Send Standard Frame: 

    cansend can0 123##1DEADBEEF

    • Send Extended Frame: 

    cansend can0 00000123##1DEADBEEF

    • Monitor CAN Messages: 

    candump can0 &

    Availability​

    The Forge1 will remain in production until at least May 2035.

    Accessories​

    We designed the official accessory ​​ArmSoM-Sige​​ to help you achieve optimal performance from your computer.

    Card Image

    Display-7-HD

    A 7-inch touchscreen display designed for interactive projects such as entertainment systems and information dashboards.

    Purchase Samples​

    ArmSoM Official Website: https://www.armsom.org/product-page/forge1

    ArmSoM Official AliExpress Store: https://aliexpress.com/item/3256807356692995.html

    ArmSoM Official Taobao Store: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=895906881225

    For OEM & ODM, please contact: sales@armsom.org

    What do others say about the Forge1?​

    • CNX: $23 ArmSoM Forge1 industrial SBC is powered by Rockchip RK3506J SoC
    • itsfoss: ArmSoM's Forge1 Looks Like A Versatile Solution for Embedded and Multimedia Applications
    • electronics-lab：ArmSoM Forge1 SBC Features Rockchip RK3506J SoC with Cortex-A7/M0 Cores for Industrial and Audio Applications
    • notebookcheck：Forge1: Neue IoT-Alternative zum Raspberry Pi startet günstig
    • taoofmac：The ArmSom Forge1

    Notes​

    [Electrostatic Protection]
    1. Before handling the device, please ensure you wear an anti-static wrist strap or take electrostatic discharge measures to prevent damage to the development board.
    2. Assembly should be performed in an electrostatic-safe environment, avoiding operations in dry and low-humidity conditions.
    3. When not in use, store the device in an anti-static bag and keep it in a suitably temperature-controlled, low-humidity environment to prevent static electricity buildup.
    4. When handling the device, avoid friction or collisions to prevent the generation of static electricity that could cause damage.
    5. When holding the device, try to avoid direct contact with the chips on the mainboard to prevent static damage.
    6. Do not plug or unplug wires or other devices while the device is operating to avoid damage from electrical surges.
    7. When connecting or disconnecting the GPIO/MIPI expansion interfaces, make sure to turn off the power and disconnect the power cable to prevent damage from electrical current.