Macroblock Inc. Manufacturer Skill

MPN Structure

Macroblock specializes in LED driver ICs for displays.

MBI[SERIES][MODEL][PACKAGE][-OPTIONS]
    |   |     |       |        |
    |   |     |       |        +-- Options (TR = Tape and Reel)
    |   |     |       +-- Package code (GP, GF, GN, etc.)
    |   |     +-- Model number (024, 039, 153)
    |   +-- Series (5=constant current, 6=DC-DC, 1=scan)
    +-- MBI = Macroblock Inc.

Example Decoding

MBI5024GP
|   | | ||
|   | | |+-- P = PDIP or SOP-24 variant
|   | | +-- G = package type indicator
|   | +-- 024 = 16-channel model
|   +-- 5 = Constant current series
+-- MBI = Macroblock Inc.

MBI5153-TR
|   |   ||
|   |   |+-- TR = Tape and Reel
|   |   +-- (no package code, bare part number)
|   +-- 5153 = 48-channel model
+-- MBI = Macroblock Inc.

Product Families

MBI5xxx Series - Constant Current LED Drivers

16-bit shift register based constant current drivers. The workhorses of LED display drivers.

MBI6xxx Series - DC-DC LED Drivers

Switching LED drivers for backlighting and general LED lighting.

MBI1xxx Series - Scan Drivers

Row/scan drivers for LED matrix displays, work in conjunction with MBI5xxx column drivers.

Package Codes

Options

Channel Count Reference

Handler Implementation Notes

Series Extraction

// Extract series prefix (MBI + first digit)
// MBI5024GP -> MBI5
// MBI6651 -> MBI6
// MBI1801 -> MBI1

if (upperMpn.matches("^MBI5[0-9]{3}.*")) return "MBI5";
if (upperMpn.matches("^MBI6[0-9]{3}.*")) return "MBI6";
if (upperMpn.matches("^MBI1[0-9]{3}.*")) return "MBI1";

Package Code Extraction

// Pattern: MBI[156]xxx[package-code]
Pattern packagePattern = Pattern.compile("^MBI[156][0-9]{3}([A-Z]{1,2}).*$");

// Decode package using lookup table
PACKAGE_CODES.put("GP", "SOP-24");
PACKAGE_CODES.put("GF", "SSOP-24");
PACKAGE_CODES.put("GN", "QFN");

Base Part Extraction

// Extract MBI[156]xxx - the core 7-character part number
// MBI5024GP -> MBI5024
// MBI5153-TR -> MBI5153

Pattern basePattern = Pattern.compile("^(MBI[156][0-9]{3}).*$");

Matching Patterns

// MBI5xxx - Constant current LED drivers
"^MBI5[0-9]{3}[A-Z0-9-]*$"

// MBI6xxx - DC-DC LED drivers
"^MBI6[0-9]{3}[A-Z0-9-]*$"

// MBI1xxx - Scan drivers
"^MBI1[0-9]{3}[A-Z0-9-]*$"

Helper Methods

The handler provides useful helper methods:

// Get channel count for known parts
int channels = handler.getChannelCount("MBI5024");  // Returns 16

// Check driver type
handler.isConstantCurrentDriver("MBI5024");  // true
handler.isDCDCDriver("MBI6651");             // true
handler.isScanDriver("MBI1801");             // true

// Get series description
handler.getSeriesDescription("MBI5");  // "Constant Current LED Drivers"

Replacement Rules

Same Base Part, Different Package

Parts with the same base number but different packages are replacements:

• •MBI5024GP = MBI5024GF = MBI5024GN (same part, different package)
• •MBI5024 = MBI5024-TR (same part with/without tape and reel)

Same Series, Different Model

Parts in the same series with different model numbers are NOT replacements:

• •MBI5024 (16-ch) != MBI5153 (48-ch) - different channel count
• •MBI5024 != MBI5039 - different features (error detection)

Related Files

• •Handler: manufacturers/MacroblockHandler.java
• •Component types: ComponentType.IC, ComponentType.LED_DRIVER

Common MPNs

LED Display Architecture

Typical LED display driver setup:

MBI5xxx (Column Drivers) - Constant current sink
    |
    v
LED Matrix
    ^
    |
MBI1xxx (Row/Scan Drivers) - P-channel switch

• •MBI5xxx: Sinks current through LEDs, controls brightness via PWM
• •MBI1xxx: Selects which row of LEDs is active (scan multiplexing)

Applications

• •LED video walls
• •LED signage displays
• •Indoor/outdoor LED screens
• •LED matrix displays
• •Full-color LED panels
• •RGB LED modules
• •LED backlighting

Learnings & Edge Cases

• •MBI prefix: All Macroblock parts start with MBI.
• •Series digit significance: 5=constant current sink, 6=DC-DC driver, 1=scan driver.
• •Channel count varies: 16-channel parts (MBI50xx) vs 48-channel (MBI51xx/52xx/53xx).
• •Package suffix position: 1-2 letters immediately after the 4-digit model number.
• •No manufacturer-specific ComponentTypes: Handler uses generic IC and LED_DRIVER types.
• •-TR suffix: Tape and Reel is packaging option, not a different part.
• •Column vs Row drivers: MBI5xxx drives columns (current sink), MBI1xxx drives rows (switch).
• •Error detection feature: MBI5039 has built-in LED open/short detection.