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Transitioning From Compact FieldPoint to CompactRIO

Updated Nov 17, 2022

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This document describes recommendations and considerations for transitioning systems based on legacy Compact FieldPoint controllers to the newer generation of CompactRIO controllers.

Contents

Both Compact FieldPoint and CompactRIO offer rugged specifications and industrial I/O that are programmed in the same LabVIEW graphical development environment. In general, CompactRIO systems offer higher performance and more flexibility than Compact FieldPoint systems at similar price points.

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General Comparison of Compact FieldPoint and CompactRIO

The following comparison table shows some of the primary features and capabilities of the two product lines and the maximum specifications that are available in each:

 

Feature Compact FieldPoint CompactRIO
Processor Speed 400 MHz 1.91 GHz
Memory (RAM) 256 MB 2 GB
Storage 256 MB 16 GB
Analog Input Sampling Rate 360 Hz 1 MHz
Analog Input Resolution 16 bits 24 bits
Analog Output Update Rate 200 Hz 100 kHz
Analog Output Resolution 12 bits 16 bits
Analog Channels/Slot 16 32
Digital I/O Rates 1 kHz 40 MHz
Control Loop Speed 10 kHz 1 MHz
Operating Temperature -40 °C to 70 °C -40 °C to 70 °C
Shock 50 G 50 G
Vibration 5 G 5 G

 

Compare CompactRIO controller options.

Browse pricing and specifications for CompactRIO controllers.

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I/O Module Transition Guide

CompactRIO input and output (I/O) modules are called C Series modules. NI offers more than 100 C Series modules, so you can generally find a direct replacement for all Compact FieldPoint I/O modules.

 

Use the following tables as guides to migrate Compact FieldPoint I/O modules to CompactRIO C Series modules.

 

Analog I/O Modules

 

Measurement Type Compact FieldPoint Module Similar CompactRIO Module Notable Specification Differences
Current Input cFP-AI-111 16 Ch, ±20 mA Input NI 9208 16 Ch, ±21.5 mA Input -
RTD cFP-RTD-122 2- and 3-Wire, 8 Ch, 0–4000 Ω Input NI 9226 2-, 3-, and 4-Wire; 8 Ch; 0–4000 Ω Input -
cFP-RTD-124 2- and 4-Wire, 8 Ch, 0–400 Ω Input NI 9216 2-, 3-, and 4-Wire; 8 Ch; 0–400 Ω Input -
Strain cFP-SG-140 8 Ch, Full/Half Bridge NI 9237 4 Ch, Full/Half/Quarter Bridge

The cFP-SG-140 has eight channels with a maximum input range of ±60 mV/V,

whereas the NI 9237 has four channels with a maximum input range of ±25 mV/V.
Thermocouple cFP-TC-120 8 Ch Thermocouple

NI 9211 4-Ch Thermocouple
NI 9213 16-Ch Thermocouple

 -
cFP-TC-125 8 Ch, Ch-Ch ISO Thermocouple NI 9212 8 Ch, Ch-Ch ISO Thermocouple -
Voltage Input cFP-AI-102 8 Ch, ±120 V Input NI 9221 8-Ch +/-60 V Input -
cFP-AI-112 16 Ch, ±10 V Input NI 9205 32 Ch, ±10 V Input -
cFP-AI-118 8 Ch, ±15 V Ch-Ch ISO Input NI 9239 4 Ch, ±10 V Ch-Ch ISO Input The cFP-AI-118 has a maximum input range of ±15 V with 750 V of continuous channel-to-channel isolation, whereas the NI 9239 has a maximum input range of ±10 V with 250 V of continuous channel-to-channel isolation.
Voltage/Current Combo Input cFP-AI-100 8 Ch, ±30 V, ±20 mA Input NI 9207 8 Ch, ±10 V, 8 Ch, ±20 mA Input -
cFP-AI-110 8 Ch, ±10 V, ±20 mA Input NI 9207 8 Ch, ±10 V, 8 Ch, ±20 mA Input -
Voltage/Current Input, Current Output cFP-AIO-600 4 Ch Input, 4 Ch 0–20 mA Output NI 9207 8 Ch, ±10 V, 8 Ch, ±20 mA Input
NI 9221 8 Ch, ±60 V Input
NI 9265 4 Ch, 0–20 mA Output

There is no direct replacement for the cFP-AIO-600, so multiple CompactRIO C Series modules should be considered.

  • For combination voltage and current inputs, the NI 9207 has eight channels of ±10 V and eight channels of ±20 mA. All 16 channels have 24-bit resolution and 500 S/s sample rates.
  • For extended voltage input ranges, the NI 9221 has eight channels with a maximum input range of ±60 V, 12-bit resolution, and 800 kS/s sample rates.
  • For current output channels, the NI 9265 has four 0–20 mA output channels with 16-bit resolution and 100 kS/s per channel update rates.
Voltage/Current Input, Voltage Output cFP-AIO-610 4 Ch Input; 4 Ch, ±10 V Output NI 9207 8 Ch, ±10 V, 8 Ch, ±20 mA Input
NI 9221 8 Ch, ±60 V Input
NI 9263 4 Ch, ±10 V Output

There is no direct replacement for the cFP-AIO-610, so multiple CompactRIO C Series modules should be considered.

  • For combination voltage and current inputs, the NI 9207 has eight channels of ±10 V and eight channels of ±20 mA. All 16 channels have 24-bit resolution and 500 S/s sample rates.
  • For extended voltage input ranges, the NI 9221 has eight channels with a maximum input range of ±60 V, 12-bit resolution, and 800 kS/s sample rates.
  • For voltage output channels, the NI 9263 has four ±10 V output channels with 16-bit resolution and 100 kS/s per channel update rates.
Current Output cFP-AO-200 8 Ch, 0–20 mA Output NI 9266 8 ch, 0–20 mA Output -
Voltage Output cFP-AO-210 8 Ch, 0–10 V Output NI 9263 4-Ch +/-10 V Output
NI 9264 16 Ch, ±10 V Output		 -

 

Digital I/O Modules

 

Measurement Type Compact FieldPoint Module Similar CompactRIO Module Notable Specification Differences
Sinking Input cFP-DI-300 8 Ch, 0–30 V Digital Input NI 9421 8 Ch, 0–30 V Digital Input -
cFP-DI-301 16 Ch, 0–30 V Digital Input NI 9421 8 Ch, 0–30 V Digital Input
NI 9425 32 Ch, 0–30 V Digital Input		 -
cFP-DI-304 32 Ch, 0–30 V Digital Input NI 9425 32 Ch, 0–30 V Digital Input -
Sinking/Sourcing Input cFP-DI-330 8 Ch, 0–250 V Digital Input NI 9437 8 Ch, 24–250 VDC Digital Input

The cFP-DI-330 is a sinking/sourcing digital input module with a 0-250 VDC/VAC maximum input range, whereas the NI 9437 is a sinking digital input module with a 24-250 VDC maximum input range.

Sinking/Sourcing Input,

Sourcing Output

 cFP-DIO-550 8 Ch Input, 8 Ch Output NI 9375 16 Ch Input, 16 Ch Output The cFP-DIO-550 has eight channels of sinking/sourcing digital input, whereas the NI 9375 has sixteen channels of sinking digital input.
Relay cFP-RLY-421 8 Ch, 0–250 V SPST 10 Hz Relay NI 9482 4 Ch, 0–250 V SPST 1 Hz Relay The cFP-RLY-421 has eight relay channels with a maximum switching frequency of 10 Hz, whereas the NI 9482 has four relay channels with a maximum switching frequency of 1 Hz.
cFP-RLY-423 4 Ch, 0–250 V SPDT 10 Hz Relay NI 9482 4 Ch, 0–250 V SPST 1 Hz Relay

There is no SPDT replacement in CompactRIO. The NI 9482 is a 4-channel SPST

relay module with a maximum switching frequency of 1 Hz.
cFP-RLY-425 8 Ch, 0–250 V SPST 0.5 Hz Relay NI 9482 4 Ch, 0–250 V SPST 1 Hz Relay The cFP-RLY-425 has eight relay channels with a maximum switching current of 3 A at 250 VAC and 5 A at 125 VAC. The NI 9482 has four relay channels with a maximum switching current of 1.5 A at 250 VAC.
Sinking Output cFP-DO-403 16 Ch, 5–30 V Digital Output NI 9477 32 Ch, 5–60 V Digital Output -
Sourcing Output cFP-DO-400 8 Ch, 5–30 V Digital Output NI 9472 8 Ch, 6–30 V Digital Output -
cFP-DO-401 16 Ch, 5-30 V Digital Output NI 9472 8 Ch, 6–30 V Digital Output
NI 9476 32 Ch, 6–36 V Digital Output		 -
cFP-DO-410 8 Ch, 5–30 V TTL Digital Output NI 9474 8 Ch, 5–30 V Digital Output -
Pulse Width Modulation cFP-PWM-520 8 Ch, 5–30 V Digital Output NI 9474 8 Ch, 5–30 V Digital Output¹ -
Quadrature Encoder cFP-QUAD-510 4 Ch ,1 MHz Input NI 9411 6 Ch, 2 MHz Input¹ -
Sinking Counter cFP-CTR-500 8 Ch, 50 kHz Sink Counter NI 9361 8 Ch, 1 MHz Sink Counter -
Sourcing Counter cFP-CTR-502 8 Ch, 50 kHz Source Counter NI 9422 8 Ch, 4 kHz Sink/Source Digital Input¹ The cFP-CTR-502 has a maximum clock rate of 50 kHz, whereas the NI 9422 has a maximum clock rate of 4 kHz.
Sinking Pulse Generation cFP-PG-522 8 Ch, 5–30 V Sink Digital Output NI 9474 8 Ch, 5–30 V Source Digital Output¹ The cFP-PG-522 is a sinking digital output module with a maximum current drive of 16 A, whereas the NI 9474 is a sourcing digital output module with a maximum current drive of 8 A.

 

¹Some CompactRIO modules have specialty digital function support in Scan Mode. See all specialty digital supported modules.

 

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Ethernet Interface Migration Options

CompactRIO also provides options for expansion I/O over standard Ethernet similar to the cFP-1804 and cFP-1808.

 

The recommended migration options for those systems are:

Compact FieldPoint Ethernet Interface Similar CompactRIO Ethernet Expansion
cFP-1804 4-Slot Ethernet Interface NI 9147 4-Slot Ethernet RIO Expansion Chassis
cFP-1808 8-Slot Ethernet Interface NI 9149 8-Slot Ethernet RIO Expansion Chassis

 

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Application Programming

Both Compact FieldPoint and CompactRIO are programmed using LabVIEW to offer a similar programming experience. Figure 1 shows the block diagram of an example Compact FieldPoint application. Five channels are being read using the FP Read.vi functions.

                            Figure 1. Compact FieldPoint Programming Example Using FP Read.vi Function Calls

 

Instead of using FP Read.vi functions, a corresponding CompactRIO application would take measurements using I/O variables that you drag and drop from the LabVIEW Project Explorer. Figure 2 shows the same code from Figure 1 but with the FP Read.vi functions replaced with CompactRIO I/O variables.

Figure 2. CompactRIO I/O values are read using I/O variables instead of the previously used FieldPoint Read functions.

 

Each C Series I/O module is configured using the LabVIEW Project Explorer, and I/O variables appear as resources for use in the LabVIEW application. Figure 3 shows an example of an I/O variable being added to the block diagram for a control application by dragging and dropping it over.

Figure 3. CompactRIO I/O values are read by dragging and dropping I/O variables from the LabVIEW Project Explorer onto the block diagram.

I/O variables in the LabVIEW project take advantage of a special programming mode for CompactRIO called the Scan Interface mode, where I/O is continuously sampled at a fixed scan rate in hardware. The LabVIEW program can then read the current input value or set a new output value using the I/O variables in software.

Read how the Scan Interface programming mode works.

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Programming CompactRIO With LabVIEW FPGA

If you have the LabVIEW FPGA Module installed on your development computer, you can take advantage of the second programming mode for CompactRIO called FPGA mode.

FPGAs are reconfigurable chips that are included in every CompactRIO system. They provide high-speed control, custom triggering, and signal processing options for I/O.

Learn more about LabVIEW FPGA.

Watch short videos of how LabVIEW FPGA programming works with CompactRIO.

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