London 23rd January 2017, element14, the development distributor, today announces exclusive global availability of the new BitScope Blade range, offering the ability to conveniently power and mount multiple Raspberry Pi’s.
BitScope Blades are designed for building scalable computing solutions ranging from stand-alone servers, routers and workstations up to full compute clusters, private clouds, networked physical computing and Industrial IoT systems.
Every Blade can be used with simple plug packs, 12V batteries, solar power systems, low cost uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and even passive power over Ethernet (PoE) solutions to up 48V. They may be used individually on the desktop, wall mounted or multiple Blades may be installed in racks for large scale deployment. Blades offer full access to Raspberry Pi I/O for displays, cameras, keyboards, expansion boards and peripherals including BitScopes, Raspberry Pi HATs and the Raspberry Pi 7” Touchscreen Display.
BitScope Blade is available in three editions based upon the number of Raspberry Pi boards mounted:
- BitScope Blade Uno is a flexible power and mounting solution for one Raspberry Pi computer and optional HAT. It is the perfect computing platform for makers, students and engineers using the Raspberry Pi.
- BitScope Blade Duo is a desktop, rack or wall mountable power and mounting solution for a pair of Raspberry Pi computers, ideal for building a reliable stand-alone desktop & server system with the Raspberry Pi.
- BitScope Blade Quattro is a desktop, rack or wall mountable power and mounting solution for four Raspberry Pi computers, ideal for creating compute clusters, private clouds or build farms with the Raspberry Pi.
Claire Doyle, Global Head of Raspberry Pi and Single Board Computing for element14, said: “The BitScope Blade is a really exciting addition to our ecosystem of Raspberry Pi accessories as it increases potential to use the Raspberry Pi within new applications as well as providing power reliability required for industrial use. We work with an increasing number of start-ups designing-in the Raspberry Pi for commercial and industrial use. This new product has the potential to create a step-change in opportunities within the industrial sector, and facilitate a revolution in the use of single board computers within industry”
Bruce Tulloch, CEO of BitScope Designs, said: “Our experience working with hundreds industrial customers using BitScope with Raspberry Pi demonstrated the key problem most of them faced was finding a cost effective, reliable and scalable power and mounting solution for Raspberry Pi and its accessories. BitScope Blade is our solution, customised specifically to the needs of our industrial, commercial and educational customers.”
The product is expected to appeal to professional engineers, students and hobbyists as a solution to broaden industrial design applications for Raspberry Pi.
The BitScope Blade products are available from Farnell element14 in Europe, Newark element14 in North America and element14 in Asia Pacific. For more information on the BitScope Blade range please visit the element14 community.
About us
element14 is part of the Premier Farnell group of businesses, a global technology leader with over 80 years in the high service distribution of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, production, maintenance and repair. Premier Farnell uses this experience to support its broad customer base, from hobbyists to engineers, maintenance engineers and buyers as ‘The Development Distributor’, working with leading brands and start-ups to develop new products for market, and supporting the industry as it seeks to develop the current and next generation of engineers.
Premier Farnell focuses its offering around four core customer journeys:
- Education to Maker – Premier Farnell is an official manufacturer of two of the most popular Maker Boards, Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone Black, and exclusive manufacturer of educational programming boards such as the BBC micro:bit and Codebug. Customers are supported through element14.com, the largest online engineering and maker community, also providing support to educators and parents through its new STEM space.
- Research and Design Services – Premier Farnell is the No.1 for Development Kits, having worked with the world’s leading Semiconductor companies to design and manufacture their latest development boards in house. A deep understanding and design knowledge of the latest Semiconductor Devices available also supports Premier Farnell’s broader design assistance offering, providing a similar service to customers of all sizes who are seeking additional engineering support.
- Design through to Production – Premier Farnell provides an entire solution for design to manufacturing customers, with the broadest range of Semiconductor and Passive inventory available, a world class line card, same day despatch, a strong board level Interconnect proposition and growing Electromechanical proposition. In addition, it has the technical support capabilities to meet all customers’ needs, from simple cross-reference to complex design.
- Bench to Board – Premier Farnell offers one of the industry’s broadest ranges of Test & Measurement equipment and a leading line card for all Tool & Production supplies supporting customers from the testing of initial designs to delivering essential maintenance activity to keep their operations running.
Premier Farnell is a business unit of Avnet Electronics Marketing, the components operating group of Avnet, Inc., (NYSE:AVT). Premier Farnell trades as Farnell element14 in Europe, Newark element14 in North America, and element14 throughout Asia Pacific. The Premier Farnell Group is supported by a global supply chain of more than 3,500 suppliers and has an extensive inventory profile developed to anticipate and meet the needs of innovative customers everywhere.
Key facts:
- Operations in 38 countries and 43 local language transactional websites
- More than 3,500 leading suppliers
- More than 650,000 products stocked with access to over four million more on demand
- More than 440,000 members of the element14 community
- Leaders in providing information on REACH, Conflict Minerals and EU RoHS legislation
For more information, visit the website at http://www.premierfarnell.com
