B&R X20 CPUs and Modules NZ | X20CP1586 X20CP3586 CompactFlash

B&R X20 CPUs and Modules

B&R / X20 CPUs and modules

B&R's own order data says it in capitals: order application memory separately. The CompactFlash card is not supplied with an X20 CPU, and without it the controller has no application.

X20 is the B&R controller and I/O system. This page covers the CPUs and the module range; the brand page covers the three-part slice design.

The CompactFlash is a separate order

The most common X20 ordering mistake, and B&R flags it themselves.

Included with an X20 CPU
Power supply module
One X20TB12 terminal block
Slot covers
X20AC0SR1 right end cover plate

Not included
The CompactFlash application memory

So a replacement CPU arrives ready to mount and with nothing to run.

On a machine repair that is usually fine, because the card comes across from the failed unit. On a new build or a spare, the card is a line item.

Tell us whether you have the card.

The digit after CP is the slot count

A clean decode, and it is the main thing separating two otherwise identical CPUs.

Prefix	Insert slots for X20 interface modules
X20CP0xxx	Compact CPUs
X20CP1xxx	1 slot
X20CP3xxx	3 slots

The pairs

X20CP1586 and X20CP3586 are the same computer. Both are clocked at 1.6 GHz with 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM, and both carry USB, Ethernet, POWERLINK and removable CompactFlash as standard.

The CP1586 has one insert slot and the CP3586 has three.

So if a machine needs two or three communication modules, only the CP3 will take them. And a CP1 in place of a CP3 leaves modules with nowhere to go.

The same pairing runs through the range: X20CP1483 with X20CP3484, X20CP1585 with X20CP3585, and so on.

The -1 suffix is more memory

Easy to overlook and it matters.

Model	DRAM
X20CP1483	32 MB
X20CP1483-1	64 MB

Same CPU, twice the memory. If the application was sized for the -1, the plain version may not run it.

Send the trailing digits.

The CPU families

Range	Notes
X20CP0201, 0291, 0292, 0482, 0483, 0484	Compact CPUs
X20CP1301, 1381, 1382	Entry, including -RT variants
X20CP1483 to 1486	1 slot
X20CP3484 to 3486	3 slots
X20CP1583 to 1586	1 slot, higher performance
X20CP3583 to 3586	3 slots, higher performance
X20XC	Compact variants
X20cCP	Coated versions, for harsh environments

The last digit is the performance level within a series. A CP1486 sits above a CP1483.

The lower-case c is the coated range. X20cCP1586 is the conformally coated X20CP1586, for condensation and corrosive atmospheres. They look identical.

X20CP1586 in detail

A representative current CPU.

Item	Specification
Processor	Intel Atom E680T, 1.6 GHz, plus a dedicated I/O processor
Memory	512 MB DDR2 SDRAM, 1 MB SRAM
Application memory	Removable CompactFlash
Interfaces	1x RS232, 1x Ethernet, 1x POWERLINK V1/V2, 2x USB, 1x X2X Link
Ethernet	Gigabit capable
Slots	1 insert slot
Cooling	Fanless
Supply	24 V DC
Ambient	-25 to +60 °C
Width	150 mm on the rail

The battery backs up the SRAM

Worth knowing because it is a consumable.

X20 CPUs carry a battery, with status indicated by an LED and readable in software.

It backs up the SRAM, which holds retained data rather than the application. The application is on the CompactFlash and is unaffected.

On a flat battery
Retained data is lost, such as counters, recipes and positions
The application still boots from CompactFlash
The real time clock loses time

So a battery warning on an X20 is not urgent in the way it is on a platform that holds the program in RAM. It still needs doing, and the machine will lose its retained values when it goes.

The interfaces are isolated from each other

A detail worth knowing when chasing a communication fault.

On the X20CP1586, Ethernet, POWERLINK and X2X Link are electrically isolated from each other, from the other interfaces, and from the PLC.

So an earth or noise problem on one network should not propagate to another. If it appears to be doing so, the cause is usually external to the CPU.

Poll response chaining

The onboard POWERLINK interface supports poll response chaining mode, for higher real-time network performance.

That matters on a machine with many POWERLINK nodes and tight cycle times. A replacement CPU without PRC support would not sustain the same cycle, so match the model rather than the general specification.

The CompactFlash cards

Capacity is in the number and the suffix is the generation.

Card	Capacity
5CFCRD.0512-06	512 MB
5CFCRD.1024-06	1 GB
5CFCRD.2048-06	2 GB
5CFCRD.4096-06	4 GB
5CFCRD.8192-06	8 GB
5CFCRD.016G-06	16 GB
5CFCRD.032G-06	32 GB

Older cards appear as 0CFCRD.0512E.01 and similar, and B&R has used -03, -04 and -06 generation suffixes across the range.

The generation is not cosmetic. Send us the number on the existing card and we will match it rather than guessing from capacity.

An industrial CF card is not a camera card. Substituting a commercial card of the same capacity is a common shortcut and an unreliable one, because the write endurance and temperature range differ.

The insert slots take communication modules

What the CP1 and CP3 slot count is actually for.

Various bus and network systems are integrated into the X20 system through communication modules, fitted into the CPU's insert slots.

Module	Type
X20CS1020, X20CS1030, X20CS1070	Communication interface modules

So a machine needing PROFIBUS, CAN, serial or another protocol alongside POWERLINK uses a CS module in a slot.

When quoting a CPU replacement, ask what is in the slots. The modules usually move across, and the slot count has to match.

Reading a module number

Letters	Function
DI	Digital input
DO	Digital output
AI	Analogue input
AO	Analogue output
AT	Temperature input
DC	Counter modules
DS	Safe digital, openSAFETY
SM	Stepper motor
CS	Communication interface
CP	CPU
BC, BB, BM, TB, PS, HB	System modules

Do not infer the channel count

A warning worth stating plainly.

The digit after the letters generally relates to channel count, but not reliably. The digital input range includes X20DI2371, DI4371, DI6371, DI8371, DI9371, X20DID371 and X20DIF371.

Module	Channels
X20DI6371	6
X20DI9371	12
X20DID371, X20DIF371	Higher densities

Letters appear in the channel position on the high-density modules, and a 9 already means 12 rather than 9.

So read the number as an identifier, not a specification. Send the whole thing and we will confirm what it is.

The later digits are where similar modules diverge

X20DI6371, X20DI6372 and X20DI6373 are all six-channel digital inputs and are different modules. The same applies to X20DO6322 and X20DO6529.

Input filter time, voltage, sink or source, and wiring arrangement all live in those digits.

Matching on channel count and voltage alone is how the wrong module gets ordered.

The module families

Family	Examples
Digital input	X20DI2371, DI4371, DI4760, DI6371, DI8371, DI9371, DID371, DIF371
Digital output	X20DO2322, DO4322, DO4529, DO6322, DO8322, DO9322, DOD322, DOF322
Analogue input	X20AI2622, AI4622, AI4632, AI8221
Analogue output	X20AO2622, AO4622
Temperature	X20AT2222, AT4222 for RTD, X20AT2402 for thermocouple
Counter	X20DC1176, DC1196, DC1376, DC1396, DC2396, DC4395
Safety	X20DS4389 and the DS range
Motion	X20SM1426 stepper
Communication	X20CS1020, CS1030, CS1070

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.

What to send us

The full module or CPU number, including any trailing digits and any lower-case c.

Whether you have the CompactFlash card, and its number.

What is in the CPU insert slots.

Which of the three parts you need, on an I/O slice.

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 CPUs across the CP0, CP1 and CP3 ranges, the coated equivalents, CS communication modules, the full I/O module range, bus modules, terminal blocks, bus controllers, power supplies and CompactFlash cards. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Discontinued. Earlier X20 CPUs and modules. Surplus and tested used.

CompactFlash separately. It is not supplied with a CPU and it is sometimes the actual fault.

Holding X20 spares

Straightforward on this platform, because modules carry no configuration.

Item	Why
One of each electronic module type you run	Hot swappable, no configuration
A spare CompactFlash with the application imaged	The card is not supplied with a CPU
CPU batteries	Consumable. Retained data goes with them
A few terminal blocks and bus modules	For damage rather than failure

The imaged spare card is the one worth doing. With it, a CPU failure is a mount-and-boot job.

We buy B&R X20

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

Keep complete slices together, and keep CompactFlash cards with their CPUs where the application is not confidential. See Sell To Us.

Send us your part numbers

Tell us whether you have the CompactFlash card. It is not supplied with the CPU. Quotes in NZD including GST.

Request a quote

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, X2X Link, ACOPOS and Automation Studio are trademarks of B&R Industrial Automation GmbH. POWERLINK and openSAFETY are managed by the Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group. Intel and Atom are trademarks of Intel Corporation. All trademarks, brand names and part numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.