EC: PACSystems RXi

Hardware - Integrated HMI controllers: The PACSystems RXi control and computing platform, designed for the needs of the Industrial Internet, is based on leading-edge computing and network technology, and supported by an emerging ecosystem of cloud-based support tools. This is a Control Engineering 2013 Engineers' Choice finalist.

By Control Engineering November 12, 2012

The PACSystems RXi platform builds on GE’s deep expertise in the design of embedded control platforms as well as industry-standard open architecture technologies that deliver what companies in today’s economy need improved performance, integration into the Industrial Internet, and greater uptime and low total cost of ownership (TCO). 

To provide the performance sophisticated control applications need today, the core of the product family is a COM Express architecture with multi-core CPUs, which will allow GE to offer a range of products that will be refreshed without impacting the user’s application. The RXi platform offers a full complement of high speed interfaces, with multiple gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0 ports. These high performance features are coupled with GE’s PACSystems control engine to deliver uncompromised performance and application flexibility. 

The PACSystems RXi family of controllers has built-in redundant Profinet interfaces, delivering high performance, high uptime control solutions. RXi Industrial PC (IPC) configurations are unique in the industry, able to run HMI, Historian and analytics applications right at the machine, even in harsh environments. This facilitates better real time control of operations and improved integration into plant-wide and enterprise systems. The RXi platform supports GE’s new cloud-based collaborative automation platform development and deployment paradigm.

The platform’s Profinet-based distributed architecture combines high performance control with distributed I/O for lower installation and maintenance costs coupled with redundant I/O networking for high reliability. The RXi runs the same high performance PACSystems control engine found in GE RX7i and RX3i products, enabling seamless application portability between form factors. The RXi platform can be used as a rugged industrial PC platform for the flexibility of an industrial PC for factory floor computing with the reliability of a PLC.

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www.ge-ip.com/products/family/pac_systems_controllers  

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