National Instruments cRIO-9081 CompactRIO Controller

The National Instruments cRIO-9081 (Part Numbers; 781787-11, 781787-01) is a legacy CompactRIO controller designed for advanced control and monitoring applications in industrial automation. For high-performance computer workloads, it combines a potent Intel Celeron dual-core CPU with a Xilinx Spartan-6 LX75 FPGA. The CPU has a 2 MB shared L3 cache and a 256 KB x 2 L2 cache. It runs at 1.06 GHz.

With an operational temperature range of 0°C to 45°C (expandable to 55°C with an NI panel mount kit) and an IP20 ingress protection rating, this robust, fanless controller is appropriate for tough industrial settings. The cRIO-9081 has a wide range of connectivity choices, including two Gen-II Ethernet ports, four USB 2.0 connectors, one MXI-Express port, one VGA port, and two serial ports (RS-232 and RS-485/422). The IEEE 802.3 compliant Ethernet ports allow for a smooth integration into existing network infrastructures and support communication rates of 10/100/1000 Mb/s.

A variety of communication protocols that are frequently used in industrial automation are supported by the serial ports' broad configuration options for baud rate, data bits, stop bits, parity, and flow control. The MXI-Express port improves system connectivity and scalability by enabling 2.5 Gbps high-speed data transfer across a maximum cabling distance of 7 meters. Each USB port can handle data rates of up to 480 Mb/s and a maximum current of 500 mA, making them convenient interfaces for peripheral devices. With its Xilinx Spartan-6 LX75 chipset, the reconfigurable FPGA of the cRIO-9081 allows customers to expedite real-time processing and control operations by enabling the implementation of bespoke logic and algorithms directly on the hardware.

Comprising 132 DSP slices, 46,648 6-input LUTs, 3,096 kbits of block RAM, and 93,296 flip-flops, the FPGA provides sufficient capacity for intricate calculation and signal processing assignments. In terms of memory, the controller has a minimum of 16 GB of nonvolatile storage and 2 GB of DDR3 system memory, which should be enough to run programs and store data. Furthermore, synchronized functioning in distributed control systems requires excellent timing, which an internal real-time clock with an accuracy of 200 ppm (35 ppm at 25°C) delivers.