The sbRIO-96xx includes four onboard temperature monitoring sensors to simplify validation of a thermal solution by indicating thermal performance during validation and deployment.

The sensors measure the CPU/FPGA junction temperature and printed circuit board temperatures that can be used to approximate the primary and secondary side local ambient temperatures. This approach is called digital validation. Alternatively, the traditional analog approach using thermocouples can be used to validate thermal performance. The digital approach is more accurate for determining the performance of the CPU/FPGA but is more conservative for determining the local ambient temperatures. NI recommends using digital validation.

For digital validation, ensure that the reported CPU/FPGA, reported Primary System, and reported Secondary System temperatures do not exceed any of the maximum temperatures listed in this document. Thermal validation is complete if the reported temperatures are within specifications. For more information about how to access the onboard sensors, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code sbriosensors. If the reported Primary System temperature or reported Secondary System temperature exceed the maximum temperatures listed in this document then analog validation may be used for further verification.

For analog validation, measure the local ambient temperature by placing thermocouples on both sides of the PCB, 5 mm (0.2 in.) from the board surface. Avoid placing thermocouples next to hot components such as the CPU/FPGA or near board edges, which can cause inaccurate temperature measurements. In addition to the local ambient temperature, the case temperature of the components should not exceed the recommended maximum case temperature.