Beckhoff CX82xx | Embedded PC series, compact PLC

Compact PLC with Arm® Cortex®-A53 and Beckhoff RT Linux®

The CX8200 Embedded PC series is a further development of the existing

CX8100 series and combines higher computing power in a compact format

for a wide range of automation tasks. Equipped with a faster, modern Arm®

Cortex®-A53 processor with 64 bit architecture, users benefit from a

significantly higher clock frequency of 1.2 GHz and two cores for compact

controls. The multi-core CPUs allow PLC projects to be distributed to several

cores for significantly enhanced performance.

The CX8200 Embedded PC series forms the link between the CX7000 and

CX8100 series on one hand, and the CX9240 on the other, opening up whole

new application areas and possibilities thanks to the more modern CPU and

the same low power consumption. A particular highlight of the new series is

the significantly faster 1 Gbit Ethernet interface and the expansion of the

main memory to a larger 1 GB LPDDR4 RAM, which represents double the

main memory compared to the predecessor series. What’s more, the series

also offers a USB 3.0 interface that can be used for connecting wireless and

cellular components or additional USB storage media.

The main features of the CX8200 device series include:

• high-performance 1.2 GHz Arm® Cortex®-A53 CPUs with two cores

• 1 GB LPDDR4 RAM

• USB 3.0 interface for wireless and cellular communication

• built-in capacitive 1-second UPS

• TwinCAT NC PTP available

• platform level 20 in TwinCAT 3

The boot and storage medium is an interchangeable, industry-standard microSD

card, which can be accessed via a covered slot. This is used to store not only the

operating system, but also TwinCAT and user projects. As a result, hardware can

be replaced rapidly in the case of service, and software updates can be performed

on site by simply replacing the microSD card. Beckhoff RT Linux® is used as

operating system.

The built-in capacitive 1-second UPS ensures secure backup of persistent application

data on the microSD card, and the date and time are buffered via a maintenance-free

capacitor.

Users benefit from powerful object-oriented programming capabilities and a wide

range of software components (Functions) from the TwinCAT 3 portfolio.

They are cost-optimized for use on the CX8200 device platform. The TwinCAT

automation software turns the CX8200 system into a high-performance PLC and

motion control system. Proven features of the CX8000 series are also proviced,

such as the automatic E-bus/K-bus recognition as well as the extended operating

temperature range between -25 and +60°C for application in climatically demanding

situations.

With the CX8200 series, Beckhoff offers a compact controller that supports a wide

range of bus systems in addition to EtherCAT. The CX8210 EtherCAT slave, the

CX8280 for serial protocols, and the CX8290 for different Ethernet protocols are

available as interfaces. The fieldbus and communication system support will be

extended, e.g. PROFINET, CANopen, PROFIBUS.