Date: 29/01/2010

New Cradle module from TangentBlue for third-party development on NI's CompactRIO platform

TangentBlue has introduced the TB 3001, a new Cradle module for the National Instruments CompactRIO that accelerates the development process for prototypes and custom devices.

The TB 3001 Cradle Module is a carrier board used to provide hardware design elements required by National Instruments CompactRIO MDK (Module Development Kit), used to create a new modules by focusing on the application-specific elements of the design.

The TB 3001 provides common CompactRIO design elements, including I/O isolation, Schmitt trigger buffering, ID EEPROM, sleep power down control, and ID Select holdoff control. The TB 3001 also provides daughterboard connectors that mate with the application-specific I/O, and a choice of isolated 3.3V or a developer-defined power rail.

The TangentBlue Cradle Module is available for National Instruments CompactRIO and Single-board RIO targets, and includes templates for custom daughterboard design.

Nathan Shepard, President of TangentBlue, stated, "We are excited to release a cradle module that complements the CompactRIO MDK so well. The TB 3001 Module is designed to seamlessly deliver the power of the FPGA in the CompactRIO for prototype and custom module designs. By allowing developers to skip the delay and investment associated with meeting design requirements specified by CompactRIO, the TangentBlue Cradle Module provides a springboard into module development at a fraction of the development cost. The Cradle Module is also ideal for initial production runs and for low volume applications, including special-purpose I/O and hardware design class projects."

Regarding the release of the TangentBlue Cradle Module, Greg Crouch, Embedded Systems Business Manager at National Instruments, said, "Developers have been asking for a hardware foundation on which to develop new CompactRIO devices, and we are happy to see an out-of-the-box solution for module design and debugging as well as a platform for student design projects and experimentation. The TangentBlue Cradle Module is consistent with the CompactRIO MDK reference design, and it is a good starting point for third-party CompactRIO module development."

For more details visit www.tangentblue.com, www.ni.com