Beckhoff Automation Introduces the CX5000 Embedded PC with Intel® AtomBeckhoff Automation Introduces the CX5000 Embedded PC with Intel® Atom

^{MOTION CONTROL}: Beckhoff Automation has announced the new CX5000. While utilizing energy-saving Intel® Atom™ ^{technology, the CX5000 delivers up to 1.6 GHz processing power. In addition, the CX5000 is designed with a rugged magnesium housing— the first such Embedded PC from Beckhoff. The magnesium housing is also very light weight, offering improved mechanical stability and resistance to EMC.}

The powerful DIN rail-mountable PAC features a fanless design with a maximum power loss of 12.5 Watts. This new automation concept is made possible by the latest processor generation from Intel, the Atom^™. The CX5000 also offers great potential for cost optimizations. An added benefit, the CX5000 with the Atom^™ processor is around 30 percent less expensive than other devices with comparable performance.

The CX5010 is equipped with a 1.1 GHz Intel® Atom™ ^{processor, while the CX5020 features a 1.6 GHz processor. The new CX series is positioned in the mid-range of Beckhoff’s scalable Embedded PC family, which currently includes five CPU classes. In terms of performance, the CX5000 series is positioned between the well-established CX1010 and CX1020.}

With dimensions of just 3.9-in x 3.9-in x 3.6-in / 100 mm x 100 mm x 91mm (W x H x D) including the power supply unit and I/O interface, the CX5000 is exceptionally compact. The DIN rail-mountable and fanless devices feature a direct I/O connection to Beckhoff Bus Terminals or EtherCAT® Terminals. In contrast to the other CX device families, the CX5000 series has a fixed number of system interfaces. EtherCAT Terminals offer a wide range of expansion options, including integration of fieldbus masters or slaves such as those for DeviceNet, PROFIBUS, PROFINET, CANopen, etc.

Two independent Gigabit Ethernet ports and four USB 2.0 interfaces are available on the CX5000. A Beckhoff Control Panel or a standard DVI monitor can be easily connected to the DVI-D interface. An interchangeable Compact Flash card is used as the boot and storage medium leading to a completely solid state device. The operating system can be Windows CE or Windows XP Embedded. TwinCAT® automation software from Beckhoff transforms a CX5000 system into a powerful PLC and Motion Control system that can be used with or without visualization.

-Edited by Kelsey Anderson