Anyone who is using PC based controllers will want to apply the flexibility and power of the latest PC technology under circumstances in which space restrictions are severe. For this reason Beckhoff developed the powerful computers in the C6200 series in a variety of versions, so adding an additional product line to the extensive Industrial PC family. As the computer moves out to the control cabinet, all the display and operating elements of the Control Panel, including 10, 12 or 15 inch displays, keyboard, floppy drive, touch screen or touch pad and electromechanical keys, are installed at a central location on the machine. All the pullout computers have connections at the front. Along with optimal exploitation of the space, the greatest emphasis was placed during development on easy access to all the components. The configuration of the PC is given in detail on the front of the housing. The status LEDs and a secured reset key are also located there.

Three constructions lend individuality to the PC range
The smallest member of the C6200 Industrial PC series is the C6220, measuring 295 x 202 x 270 mm. This tiny PC, weighing in at only 7 kg, has an Intel Celeron or Pentium III processor running at up to 850 MHz on a motherboard taking PISA plug-in cards, and contains a floppy disk or CD-ROM drive as well as four slots for cards up to 19 cm long. Further features are an on-board graphic adapter, a 2 1/2 inch IDE hard drive with a capacity of 10 GB, along with 64 MB of RAM that can be increased up to 512 MB. The interface to the outside is provided by an onboard Ethernet adapter having 10/100 Base-T connection. Two serial RS232 connections, two USB ports and a parallel interface complete the control cabinet PC. Available options include fieldbus interface cards, other interface cards and modem or ISDN adapters. CP-Link interface cards provide straightforward connection to the Beckhoff Control Panel.

In the next step up in the C6200 series, the C6240, the ATX standard ensures longterm compatibility with all newly appearing PC components. Designed as a 7-slot housing with an ATX motherboard, up to 4 ISA and up to 5 PCI cards along with an AGP graphic card in a variety of ISA/PCI combinations, and with lengths of up to 220 mm, can be fitted. A CD-ROM drive as well as a floppy drive is a possible option. The housing of the C6240 has a similar construction to its little brother the C6220, but is built with standard ATX components. For uninterrupted opera-tion it can also be fitted with an uninterruptible power supply. This extremely compact device, the C6240, whose dimensions are 430 x 202 x 270 mm, weighs 12.3 kg, and, like all the other versions of this PC family, is available in protection class IP 20.

Flexible as it may be fitted in various positions
As well as the particularly compact C6240 version, Beckhoff have added a third and larger version to the family. This long, narrow C6250 computer, measuring 219 x 680 x 266 mm, can be fitted into the switch cabinet either vertically or horizontally. Its performance is identical to that of the C6240. The difference is simply the generous amount of space made available. Thus it is not only possible to install a second 3 1/2 inch hard disk, but also to add standard floppy, ZIP, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM and DVD-RAM drives. Regardless of which way it is fitted, the C6250 offers the advantage of connections on the front side as well as good access to the drives, which are always mounted horizontally.

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