You can terminate a ground wire by attaching a copper ring to one of the front mounting holes on the model.

Figure 35. sbRIO-960x Front Mounting Holes


  1. Front Mounting Holes
Figure 36. sbRIO-962x/sbRIO-963x Front Mounting Holes


  1. Front Mounting Holes

The front I/O connector shields, chassis ground bracket, and mounting holes near the front I/O are connected together internally to form chassis ground. Chassis ground is capacitively coupled to digital ground near each of the IO connectors. For the best possible ESD protection, connect chassis ground at the mounting holes to a low-inductance earth ground.

When connecting the NI sbRIO-96xx to external devices, ensure that stray ground currents are not using the device as a return path. Significant stray currents traversing through the NI sbRIO-96xx can result in device failure.

To verify correct grounding of the NI sbRIO-96xx, make sure the current flowing into the power connector equals the current flowing out of the power connector. These currents should be measured with a current probe after final assembly of the end system. Investigate and remove any current differences.