Sequent Microsystems Releases Ideal Cooling Solution for Raspberry Pi
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CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA (January 13, 2021) - Sequent Microsystems released a Smart Fan for Raspberry Pi. It is the only cooling system for the popular computer that keeps a constant temperature using a proportionally controlled fan.
Raspberry Pi-4 has been welcomed by the Pi enthusiasts eager to use the increased processing power. However, the processor can draw up to 3 Amps, so the credit card size computer has to dissipate up to 15W of power. A cooling system is required. Numerous solutions are available, but most have two major flaws: the fan runs always at full speed, making too much noise, and physical arrangement blocks access to the GPIO pins. The Sequent Microsystems Smart Fan, which has a HAT (Hardware on Top) form factor, stacks on the Raspberry Pi expansion bus and yet leaves all the GPIO pins available for use by other add-on cards. An on-board step-up power supply boosts the 5V voltage from Raspberry Pi to 12V, allowing precise control of the fan RPM. The 32-bit processor of the Smart Fan receives commands from Raspberry Pi over the I2C interface and adjusts the power to the fan using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). The user can specify the operating temperature of the Raspberry Pi processor and the fan will operate at just the right speed to maintain that temperature. The fan can be controlled from the command line, from a Python script, or from the browser, using the supplied NodeRed interface. The project is open source, with the software downloadable from GitHub, and the fan schematics from the manufacturer's website. MSRP is $25, with substantial discounts for quantity orders. "Our current line of Raspberry Pi add-on cards are all stackable, however, we could not find a stackable fan on the market so we decided to design our own", explains Mihai Beffa, CEO and founder of Sequent Microsystems. "We expected the Smart Fan to be well received by the Raspberry Pi community, but frankly, the support received on Kickstarter greatly exceeded our expectations. The fact that our Kickstarter campaign was oversubscribed in just a few hours is an indication of the need for this product"