The IC695CPE310 occupies the upper mid-range of the PACSystems RX3i CPU lineup with 10MB of user memory, three embedded Ethernet ports, and dual serial interfaces. It is the first step in the RX3i ladder that adds DNP3 Outstation protocol — making it suitable for electrical utility and water/wastewater SCADA applications where DNP3 is the standard telemetry protocol.

How does the CPE310 compare to the CPE305?

The CPE310 doubles the Ethernet port count (3 vs 1) and adds an RS-485 port alongside the RS-232, enabling simultaneous Modbus RTU Master and ASCII Serial communication without external converters. User memory grows to 10MB — enough for large, multi-function control programs. The trade-off is a second backplane slot. For applications that need both Modbus RTU Master and DNP3 Outstation, the CPE310 is the minimum viable RX3i CPU.

What protocols does the CPE310 support?

Beyond the RX3i-standard SRTP, Modbus TCP, OPC UA, EGD, and PROFINET, the CPE310 adds DNP3 Outstation for SCADA telemetry, IEC-61850 Client for electrical substation automation, and IEC-104 Server for telecontrol. HART Pass-Through reads configuration and diagnostic data directly from field instruments connected to IC695ALG626/628/728 analog modules. The additional RS-485 port supports Modbus RTU Master — the CPE305's single RS-232 port is limited to Modbus RTU Slave and SNP Slave.

What about migration from legacy GE Fanuc CPUs?

The CPE310 can reuse existing Proficy Machine Edition projects from older CPU310 controllers without software changes. However, note that the RS-232 port on the CPE310 does not supply +5V power on pin 5 — a difference from the legacy CPU310 that may require an external power source for some serial devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the CPE310 run in a redundant configuration?

Like the CPE305, the CPE310 supports Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) through the IC695PNC001 PROFINET Controller for network-level redundancy. CPU-level Hot Standby Redundancy is not supported — upgrade to the CPE330 or CPE400 for synchronized CPU failover.

Is an energy pack included?

Yes. The CPE310 ships with an energy pack that instantly saves user memory to non-volatile flash on power loss. Battery-less NVRAM means no scheduled battery replacements.