C6240-1004 by Beckhoff

The C6240-1004 is an industrial PC produced by Beckhoff for the C6 Industrial PC Units series. It mounts in a control cabinet and serves as the primary computing node in an automation cell. The chassis accepts common operating systems, EtherCAT masters, and PCIe expansion cards, so motion control, data acquisition, and supervisory tasks can coexist on one device. Consolidating these functions allows the computer to replace multiple dedicated controllers, simplify panel wiring, and provide deterministic communication with drives, safety modules, and visualization stations on the plant floor.

The housing measures 430 mm in width, 274 mm in depth, and 170 mm in height, providing room for expansion without exceeding a 4U rack profile. Inside, the motherboard provides 7 expansion slots, so additional fieldbus, GPU, or RAID cards can be installed. A protection class of IP20 indicates that the enclosure protects against accidental finger contact and is suited for enclosed cabinets rather than dusty shop floors. The unit can withstand shocks of up to 5 G for 30 ms, reducing the risk of disruption when the machine is transported or experiences tooling impacts. It remains operational in noncondensing ambient humidity of up to 95 percent.

The cabling meets both CSA and EN wiring requirements. The five-pole socket supports conductor cross-sections as small as 1.5 mm², and its contacts have a spacing of 5 mm to maintain adequate clearance. Incoming power conductors can be up to 16 AWG, while the internal terminals support the same conductor size. The connector supports a continuous current of 15 A under CSA requirements or 12 A under the EN standard. Its insulation withstands up to 300 V RMS under CSA requirements or 250 V under the EN standard.