Austin, TX. National Instruments has released the IC-3173, a rugged IP67-rated controller for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). IC-3173 controllers feature a dual-core 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, as well as a Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA that can be programmed to provide custom I/O timing, synchronization, control, and image co-processing functionality.

The solid-state IC-3173 controllers are intended for use as an enclosure-less edge node, and operate in accordance with IEC 60529 for reliable performance in dusty and wet environments. In addition to four Power over Ethernet (PoE) GigE ports, two USB 3.0 ports, and two DisplayPorts, the controllers support the IEEE 802.1 Ethernet Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) standard for deterministic, low-latency communications between controllers and other TSN-enabled systems, such as NI’s CompactDAQ Chassis.

“NI’s Industrial Controllers have a robust set of I/O resources that allow us to use one controller for every facet of our automation needs, including testing, vision, motion control, and digital I/O,” says Jordan Larson, manufacturing engineer at Federal-Mogul Powertrain. “By utilizing the built-in EtherCAT Master for motion and conditioned I/O, we have greatly reduced the wiring and debugging time of the automation machines that we build… Using NI’s Industrial Controllers, we have reduced the number of components inside our machines and have all our control software on one platform.”

Each IC-3173 controller also includes 8 GB DDR3 RAM and 64 GB of onboard storage.

For more information on National Instruments’ portfolio of industrial controllers, visit www.ni.com/en-us/shop/data-acquisition-and-control/what-are-industrial-controllers.html.

eletter-11-28-2017