RFQ / B&R Automation

An X20 I/O slice is three separate parts: a bus module, a terminal block and the electronic module. When one fails, you usually need one of the three. Tell us which.

B&R is on a great deal of European machine building in New Zealand, particularly packaging, plastics and printing. X20 I/O, Power Panel HMI and ACOPOS servo.

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Reference pages

The three-part slice

The defining feature of the X20 system, and the thing that most changes how you order it.

Why B&R did it this way

The bus module and terminal block stay on the rail. The backplane and the field wiring are both independent of the electronics.

What that means when you order

Most X20 failures are the electronic module. The bus module and terminal block are passive and rarely fail.

So the usual answer is a single part, at a fraction of the cost of a slice. Tell us whether you are replacing or adding and we will quote accordingly.

Reading an X20 module number

The letters are the function and the digits describe the channels and specification.

Do not infer the channel count

The digit after the letters relates to channel count, but not reliably.

On analogue modules the digit is generally literal. On digital modules a 9 means 12, and letters appear in that position on the high-density range.

So read the number as an identifier rather than a specification. Send the whole thing.

The later digits carry the specification

And this is where two similar numbers diverge.

One character, and it is the resolution. A 13-bit module in place of a 16-bit one will work and will measure more coarsely, which on a weighing or pressure application may not be acceptable.

The same applies across the digital range. X20DI6371, X20DI6372 and X20DI6373 are all six-channel inputs and are different modules, because filter time, voltage, sink or source and wiring arrangement live in those digits.

Temperature modules are sensor-specific

RTD and thermocouple are different measurement principles and the modules are not interchangeable. Check the sensor before ordering.

Safety I/O sits in the standard rack

A genuine architectural advantage worth knowing about.

The X20DS4389 safe digital input module fits the standard X20 rack and uses openSAFETY over the X2X Link to reach SIL 3 and PL e.

So there is no separate hardwired safety network. Safety and standard I/O share the same rail and the same backplane.

Two consequences worth flagging:

A DS module in the rack is a safety component. It is not a standard input module with a different number, and a replacement must match.

And a machine with no visible safety relay may still have a certified safety function, running in the same rack as everything else.

As always, whether a substitution is valid belongs with whoever holds the machine's safety assessment. We supply what you specify.

The power budget

The same constraint as every modular I/O system, and the same misleading symptom.

An X20PS power supply module must be added when the consumption of the connected slices exceeds what the existing supply provides.

Supplies are placed across the rack rather than only at the head, to keep voltage stable as the I/O count grows.

If a station has recently been extended and modules toward the far end are misbehaving, check the supply before ordering a replacement module. The symptom looks exactly like a faulty module.

The continuous power bus

Worth knowing when ordering bus modules.

The X20BM11 is described as a bus module with continuous power bus. Other bus module variants exist precisely because you sometimes want to break the power bus rather than continue it.

That is how a rack is segmented into separately supplied groups. Substituting the wrong bus module type joins two segments that were meant to be separate.

Send the existing bus module number rather than assuming X20BM11.

Bus controllers and base modules

The bus controller connects X2X Link I/O nodes to POWERLINK, and can run the X2X Link cycle synchronously with it.

Bus controllers exist for other networks too. The controller is chosen by the network the plant runs, and they are not interchangeable. Tell us the network.

End plates come with the base module

A small point that saves an order line.

The X20BB80 includes the left and right end cover plates, X20AC0SL1 and X20AC0SR1.

So you do not order those separately with a base module. You do if one has been lost.

The coated range

Worth checking on any machine in a wet, corrosive or condensing environment.

B&R produces a conformally coated X20 range, denoted by a lower-case c, as in X20cCP1586.

Coated and standard modules look identical. If the existing module is coated and the replacement is not, it will work and it will not last as long in that environment.

Check the label rather than the appearance.

Motion on the I/O rack

Worth knowing if a machine seems to be missing its drives.

B&R brings motion control for small motors directly onto the I/O rack with modules such as the X20SM1426 stepper module, so format adjustment axes and feed mechanisms have no external drive at all.

If a machine has small motors and no corresponding drives in the panel, that is why.

What B&R makes

The software

Automation Studio is the B&R engineering tool, covering PLC, motion, HMI and safety in one environment.

X20 modules carry no user configuration. The station is described in the Automation Studio project and modules are addressed by position on the rail.

So an X20 spare is genuinely a spare. Combined with the three-part design and hot swapping, B&R is one of the easier platforms to hold spares for.

The CPU is the exception

An X20 CPU takes its application from a CompactFlash card, and the card is not supplied with the CPU. B&R's own order data says so explicitly.

So a spare CPU on the shelf needs a card with the application imaged onto it. See our X20 CPU page.

How to give us what we need

The full module number. The later digits carry the resolution and signal specification.

Which of the three parts you need. Electronic module, terminal block or bus module.

Whether you are replacing or adding. Adding needs all three.

The bus controller and network, if you are extending a station.

A photo of the rail. B&R labels the front clearly and one photo usually identifies a whole station.

What we can supply

Current production. X20 electronic modules, bus modules, terminal blocks, bus controllers, base modules, power supplies, CPUs and safety I/O. Plus Power Panel HMI and ACOPOS servo. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Discontinued. Legacy System 2005 and 2003, earlier Power Panel and ACOPOS generations. Surplus and tested used.

Individual parts. Terminal blocks, bus modules and end plates separately, which is usually the cheaper fix.

We buy B&R

X20 modules resell readily because they carry no configuration and are self-identifying.

If you are stripping a machine, keep the bus modules and terminal blocks with the electronic modules. A complete slice is worth more than an orphaned electronic module. See Sell To Us.

Common questions

Can you get a part that is not listed on your site?
Usually. The site shows what we hold, not what we can source.

Do I need the terminal block as well?
Only if it is damaged or you are adding a new slice. On a module replacement the existing one stays on the rail with the wiring in it.

Can I hot swap an X20 module?
Yes. That is what the three-part design is for.

Does a CPU come with the CompactFlash?
No. Application memory is a separate order.

Do you supply used equipment?
Yes, where new is not available, tested and clearly described.

What is the lead time?
Ex stock items ship the next working day within New Zealand. We give you a firm lead time with the quote.

Do you quote in NZD?
Yes, in NZD including GST for New Zealand customers.

Related

For distributed I/O from other brands see Beckhoff EtherCAT Terminals, Siemens ET 200SP, Allen-Bradley POINT I/O and Phoenix Contact Axioline.

See also Siemens, Allen-Bradley, Schneider, ABB, Omron, Mitsubishi, Beckhoff, SICK, Phoenix Contact and Pilz.

Send us your part numbers

Tell us which of the three parts you need. Most X20 failures are a single electronic module. Quotes in NZD including GST.

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Industech is an independent supplier of new, surplus and used industrial automation equipment. We are not an authorised distributor of, approved by, sanctioned by, or affiliated with B&R Industrial Automation. B&R, X20, X67, ACOPOS, Power Panel, Automation Studio and X2X Link are trademarks of B&R Industrial Automation GmbH. POWERLINK and openSAFETY are managed by the Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group. All trademarks, brand names and part numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.