Fanless Industrial Fieldbus Computer

NEXCOM introduces its new NIFE 100 fanless industrial fieldbus computer. The PC-based controller NIFE 100 supports the Intel® Atom™ processor E3800 product family and integrates fieldbus technologies to consolidate computing, communication, and control capabilities onto one robust platform. The NIFE 100 links enterprise domain and operation domain to enable smart and digital manufacturing. Advanced manufacturing requires integration of multiple control tasks, processing high volumes of data, and cross-protocol communication. The NIFE 100 satisfies these requirements by performing a wide variety of tasks ranging from aggregating field data and performing endpoint data analytics to controlling field devices. 

To enable cross-protocol communication, the PC-based controller NIFE 100 supports seven fieldbus protocols, including PROFINET, PROFIBUS, EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, EtherCAT, CANopen, and Modbus. An internet connection is also available. As a result, the NIFE 100 can integrate PLCs, remote I/Os, and legacy field devices using different protocols and across different control subsystems and take field data to the cloud to enable big data analytics. -more-  NEXCOM to Introduce NIFE 100 Fanless Industrial Fieldbus Computer at the Industrial Automation North America Show Co-located with IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show 2014Page 2 By building Automation-of-Things onto one platform, the NIFE 100 can transform factories with a simplified control scheme, simplified control network architecture, and reduced maintenance efforts. For use in industrial environments, the NIFE 100 is designed to operate under tough factory conditions. To mitigate the effects of voltage fluctuation and electrical noises, it also provides isolation protection on COM ports by default and optional power isolation.

The built-in 128KB of NVRAM can ensure the data is saved in case of sudden power outage. In addition, CFast and a SSD protect data from mechanical vibration. Moreover, the PC-based controller can withstand wide temperatures ranging from -20℃ to 70℃ and be bolted on a DIN rail or factory wall. The NIFE 100  features an open architecture to integrate existing building blocks of industrial automation from NEXCOM ecosystem partners. The building blocks consist of Intel® Atom processors, Hilscher Fieldbus technology, CODESYS SoftLogic kernel, and PLC and distributed I/O modules from world-class providers. Based on the Intel® Gateway Solutions for the Internet of Things, the NEXCOM NIFE 100 provides a quick and secure solution to implementing Automation-of-Things for smart and digital manufacturing.