Foxboro A431:A593 P0924TR Analog Input Interface Module

LED Indicators

The light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the front of the FCP280 module provide a visual indication of the

- FCP280 operating status

- Transmit/receive communication activity on the four extended fieldbus channels

(Fieldbus A and B on each channel) LEDs on copper or fibre optic

network adapters provide visual indication of the following

- Internal and external power supply health status

- Communication activity with the control network A and B links and the FCP280

The EcoStruxure™ Foxboro™ DCS Field Control Processor 280 (FCP280) is a distributed,

optionally fault-tolerant, field-installable controller module.

The FCP280 performs regulation, logic, timing, and sequence control with

connected Foxboro DCS Fieldbus Modules (FBMs).

It also performs data acquisition, alarm detection, and notification.

The FCP280. through a chassis-mounted network adapter, is connects to the Foxboro DCS

control network with standard fibre optic or 100 Mbps copper cable (see figure below).

The FCP280 requires Foxboro DCS Control Core Services Software v9.0 or higher.

A system with the FCP280 and this software is called an EcoStruxure Foxboro DCS Process Automation System.

Enhanced reliability (fault tolerance)

The FCP280's unique, patented fault-tolerant operation improves 

reliability compared to traditional process controllers.

The fault-tolerant version of the FCP280 consists of two modules operating

 in parallel with two Ethernet connections to the control network.

The two FCP280 modules are combined as a fault-tolerant pair,

ensuring continuous operation of the controller in the event of any hardware failure in one of the modules.

Both modules receive and process information simultaneously and faults are detected by the modules themselves.

One important method of fault detection is to compare the communication messages of the modules' external interfaces.

A message leaves the FCP280 only if the two FCP280s agree on the message to be sent (bit for bit match).

Once a fault is detected, both modules run self-diagnostics to determine which module is affected.

The modules run self-diagnostics to determine which module is affected. 

The unaffected module then takes over control without affecting the normal operation of the system.

This fault-tolerant solution offers the following key advantages over redundant-only controllers

when the FBM37 is used with the following devices

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Watlow CLS216‌ CLS200 series temperature controller

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Watlow PPC-TB50 30280-00 terminal board

Watlow CLS2163C1-110200000/CLS204204-C10000AA/CLS2082 controllers

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Watlow PPC-TB50 30280-00 CLS208 208-1200000 terminal board