Forge1 Product Introduction
Letβs get to know Forge1 in 5 minutes.
Overviewβ
Forge1ββ is an industrial-grade product powered by the ββRK3506J triple-core Cortex-A7 application processorββ. Operating within a temperature range of ββ-40β to 85βββ, 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 ββ2D hardware engineββ and ββdisplay output engineββ minimize CPU overhead to meet demanding graphics rendering requirements.
With a comprehensive set of peripheral interfacesβincluding ββRS485ββ, ββUSB2ββ, ββRMIIββ (Reduced Media Independent Interface), ββCANββ (Controller Area Network), ββDSMCββ (Digital Signal Microcontroller), ββFlexbusββ, and moreβit accommodates diverse application development needs while reducing hardware complexity and development costs.
Hardware Informationβ
Hardware Interfacesβ
Hardware Specificationsβ
Category | Specifications |
---|---|
SOC | |
CPU | |
GPU | |
Memory | |
Storage | |
Networking | |
Video Output | |
Audio | |
USB Interfaces | |
40-PIN | |
Power Supply | |
Buttons | |
OS | |
Dimensions | |
Operating Temperature |
RK3506J Block Diagramβ
RK3506J Block Diagram

Pin Definitionsβ
40-PIN Headerβ
GPIO Number | Function | Pin | Pin | Function | GPIO Number |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
+3.3V | 1 | 2 | +5.0V | ||
130 | I2C1_SDA_M0 / UART3_RTSN / I2S1_SDI3 / GPIO4_A2_d | 3 | 4 | +5.0V | |
131 | I2C1_SCL_M0 / UART3_CTSN / I2S1_SDI2 / GPIO4_A3_d | 5 | 6 | GND | |
1 | REF_CLK_OUT_M0 / GPIO0_A1 | 7 | 8 | UART0_TX_M0 / JTAG_MCU_TCK_M1 / JTAG_CPU_TCK_M1 / GPIO4_D0_d | 152 |
GND | 9 | 10 | UART0_RX_M0 / JTAG_MCU_TMS_M1 / JTAG_CPU_TMS_M1 / GPIO4_C7_u | 151 | |
0 | GPIO0_A0 | 11 | 12 | I2S1_SCLK / UART1_RTSN / GPIO4_A5_d | 133 |
13 | 14 | GND | |||
15 | 16 | ||||
+3.3V | 17 | 18 | |||
138 | SPI0_MOSI / PDM_SDI0 / I2S1_SDO3 / GPIO4_B2_d | 19 | 20 | GND | |
139 | SPI0_MISO / PDM_SDI2 / I2S1_SDI1 / GPIO4_B3_d | 21 | 22 | ||
140 | SPI0_CLK / I2S1_SDI0 / GPIO4_B4_d | 23 | 24 | SPI0_CSN0 / PWR_CTRL1 / GPIO4_B6_u | 142 |
GND | 25 | 26 | PWM6_M0 / SPI0_CSN1 / PDM_SDI3 / GPIO4_C1_d | 145 | |
147 | I2C0_SDA_M0 / PWM0_M0 / GPU_AVS / GPIO4_C3_d | 27 | 28 | ARM_AVS / PWM1_M0 / I2C0_SCL_M0 / GPIO4_C4_d | 148 |
29 | 30 | GND | |||
31 | 32 | GPIO4_C0 / PWM5_M0 / FEPHY_LED_LINK_M0 / UART3_TX_M1 | 144 | ||
143 | GPIO4_B7 / PWM4_M0 / FEPHY_LED_SPD_M0 / UART3_RX_M1 | 33 | 34 | GND | |
134 | UART1_TX_M0 / I2S1_LRCK / GPIO4_A6_d | 35 | 36 | ||
37 | 38 | GPIO3_B2 / SPI0_CLK / I2S1_SDI0 | 106 | ||
GND | 39 | 40 | GPIO4_A7_d / UART1_RX_M0 / I2S1_SDO0 | 135 |
14-PIN Headerβ
Pin | Assignment | Description | Pin | Assignment | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | RS485_A | RS485 Differential Signal (Positive) | 2 | RS485_B | RS485 Differential Signal (Negative) |
3 | CAN_L | CAN Bus Differential Low | 4 | CAN_H | CAN Bus Differential High |
5 | GND | System Ground | 6 | GND | System Ground (Redundant Design) |
7 | MICIN_P | Microphone Input Positive (Differential) | 8 | MICIN_N | Microphone Input Negative (Differential) |
9 | MICIN_P | Microphone Input Positive (Alternate Channel) | 10 | MICIN_N | Microphone Input Negative (Alternate Channel) |
11 | GND | Audio Signal Ground | 12 | VBAT_RTC | RTC Battery Power Input |
13 | SPK_P | Speaker Output Positive (Differential Drive) | 14 | SPK_N | Speaker Output Negative (Differential Drive) |
Development Resourcesβ
SDK Source Codeβ
Official Imageβ
The ArmSoM team uses buildroot as the official operating system for Forge1. How to Flash Imageπ€
Downloadβ
The following systems have been tested and verified by ArmSoM official:
Network disk address:
Google Drive linklogo | Description | Download |
---|---|---|
buildroot | buildroot 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 Resourcesβ
User Manualβ
Tools Preparationβ
- ββPower Supply (Choose either):ββ
- DC IN 12V/1A
- Type-C 5V/2A
- βSystem Installation (Choose either):ββ
- ββBoot from onboard eMMC:ββ
- USB Type-C data cable (to connect the Forge series device and a PC via the Type-C port for image burning).
- βBoot from MicroSD/TF card:ββ
- MicroSD/TF card (Class 10 or higher, at least 8GB SDHC) and a card reader.
Image Flashingβ
Interface Usageβ
If this is your first time using the ArmSoM-Forge1 product, please familiarize yourself with its hardware interfaces to better understand subsequent content.
Hardware Interface | Forge1 |
---|
Debug Serialβ
Connect the USB-to-TTL serial cable as shown below:
Forge1 Pin | Connection | Serial Module |
---|---|---|
GND (Pin 6) | β | GND |
TX (Pin 8) | β | RX |
RX (Pin 10) | β | TX |
Ethernetβ
- 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.
- The system will automatically assign an IP address to the Ethernet interface via DHCP on startup.
- To view the IP address in Forge1βs 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
- Use the
ping
command to verify network connectivity (pressCtrl+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 Interfaceβ
Model | Forge1 |
---|---|
USB | 1Γ Type-C (PD & Programming), 1Γ USB 2.0 HOST |
Testing USB Storage Devices
- Insert a USB flash drive or external HDD into the Forge1βs USB port.
- Verify detection with:
root@armsom:/# cat /proc/partitions | grep "sd*"
major minor #blocks name
8 0 122880000 sda
- Mount the USB drive:
root@armsom:/# sudo mount /dev/sda1 /test/
- Check usage and mount point:
root@armsom:/test# df -h | grep "sd"
/dev/sda 4.7G 4.7G 0 100% /test
Audioβ
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
RTCβ
β’ Forge1 includes an LK8563S RTC IC.
β’ 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 DSIβ
Maximum Resolution: 1280x1280@60fps.
CAN FDβ
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
β’ Send Standard Frame:
cansend can0 123##1DEADBEEF
β’ Send Extended Frame:
cansend can0 00000123##1DEADBEEF
β’ Monitor CAN Messages:
candump can0 &
Availabilityβ
The Forge1 will remain in production until at least May 2035.
Accessoriesβ
We designed the official accessory ββArmSoM-Sigeββ to help you achieve optimal performance from your computer.
Purchase Samplesβ
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 Sige7?β
- 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
Notesβ
- 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.
- Assembly should be performed in an electrostatic-safe environment, avoiding operations in dry and low-humidity conditions.
- 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.
- When handling the device, avoid friction or collisions to prevent the generation of static electricity that could cause damage.
- When holding the device, try to avoid direct contact with the chips on the mainboard to prevent static damage.
- Do not plug or unplug wires or other devices while the device is operating to avoid damage from electrical surges.
- 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.