Product Description:

The 5C500.21 unit is a modular controller base produced by B&R Automation as part of the 5CS Provit Controller System Units series. Within an automation cabinet, it hosts the CPU, fieldbus cards, and drive interfaces that coordinate motion, I/O scanning, and HMI tasks for manufacturing lines. Its architecture offers backplane access to both ISA and PCI resources so machine builders can consolidate control, data logging, and diagnostic functions in one enclosure.

For removable media, it supports a CD-ROM/CD-RW drive on the front panel, allowing software updates or recipe loading without a network connection. Thermal management is handled by a ball-bearing fan with analog control, which lets the controller vary airflow in relation to internal temperature. During battery-backed handoff, the bypass circuit can deliver 80 W to downstream loads so volatile data in companion modules stays alive until input power returns. Local storage is attached over an IDE interface, and this legacy bus keeps wiring simple for hard disks or solid-state adapters. The backplane and option cards together must remain within a 100 W consumption ceiling, which helps limit the total cabinet power budget.

The chassis offers two expansion positions, including one dedicated ISA/PCI combo slot and one additional standard B&R ISA slot, both synchronized to a 33 MHz PCI clock domain. Peripheral cards plugged into the 32-bit PCI connector are limited to 5 V signaling, which aligns with common industrial network adapters. That layout allows legacy interface hardware to operate alongside newer communication cards in the same control base. If input power disappears, logic rails are sustained for 20 ms through the integrated power-failure bypass so the operating system can finish write cycles. The nominal AC input range is 100-240 VAC, with a tolerance window of 85 to 264 VAC and line frequencies between 50 and 60 Hz. A 3-pin DSUB connector simplifies field wiring while keeping ground continuity intact.