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Last updated: 8 May, 2003 19:15 Eastern Time BEN 5000
General background on the evolution of the BEN DFRs. The original BEN 5000 DFR was designed in Belgium. After a few attempts to penetrate the US market, a new independent sister company was formed in Stanford, CT, to sell, manufacture and support product for the Americas. As this company grew, it relocated to Upstate New York, in the town of Ballston Spa, NY (Fall of 1995). During the time the USA company grew its business, the methods of doing business, as well as its manufacturing and support style, diverged from that of its sister company in Belgium, in response to the needs of the American marketplace. In the late 1990's, demand grew for a smaller, cost reduced BEN DFR. The excellent design team in Belgium released the BEN 500C, or compact BEN. Not as expandable as the 5000 and aimed at the more cost conscious customer, it filled a niche in the marketplace. In 2001-2002, LEM Instruments purchased both EII in Belgium, and EII in the USA. It was decided to relocate the Upstate NY offices to the existing LEM Instruments facilities in Torrance, CA in the summer of 2002.
BEN 5000 Version Split Version A Systems built with this design are based upon the SENS 551 (5551-01 & 5551-02) CPU board. Originally these systems utilized the SENS 550 (5550-00) Multi I/O board for communications. If the system contained the optional HDU (hard disk unit) subsystem, the SENS 552 (5552-00) SCSI-2 Disk Drive Controller and SENS 553 (5553-00) Hard Disk Memory boards were used.
Later, the SENS 554 (5554-XX) High Speed Communications board was released. This replaced the SENS 550 and 553 boards and implemented a RISC microprocessor to greatly increase communications throughput. Integrating the HDD memory on the 554 increased the system reliability by reducing its parts count, and eliminating another board that was 3rd party sourced.
Version B This release of the DFR is a result of significant product improvements and the provision for Ethernet communication options. Systems built with this design are based upon the SENS 557 (5557-01) CPU board. This version is based upon a suite of replacement boards for the
BEN 5000:
General Printed Circuit Board (PCB) identification There have been many versions of the PCB's used in the BEN fault recorders. As technology improves (and becomes obsolete), many improvements have been passed along to the customers in the form of increased performance and integrated functionality. Unfortunately not all of this improvement can be backwards compatible with older equipment. In the first quarter of 1999 there was a significant product redesign (Version A and Version B), and parts between these versions may not be interchangeable. Add to this the fact that during the period of time that the BEN DFRs were being manufactured in Upstate NY, all modules were given a unique part number and revision, and the systems manufactured in Belgium did not use the same numbering, some confusion is bound to arise... Much of the nomenclature developed in the US was implemented to increase the quality control of the product. This allowed an easily identifiable and traceable product, which greatly assisted EIIUSA in becomming ISO 9001 certified. Any time a change was made that affected the rework/PCB board/installed firmware of a module, an additional REV number was changed (ie REV B). Each module also had a red inspector's stamp near the P/N ID tag. In the USA, module numbers were identified by a 4 digit hyphen
2 digit number as follows: where X=1-9 YYY tried to use the European SENS number to provide continuity. -ZZ typically referred to a different version of the module or assembly As indicated above, this number was then followed by a REV mark. In Belgium, modules are identified using a only a SENS number
In the final analysis, you may see modules labeled SENS 424-01 or it may be labeled 5424-01 REV. X. Knowing this should aid you in tracking down information for your parts. Analog Isolation Boards
Power Supplies BEN 5000 Mechanical Assemblies
BEN 500C Printed Circuit Board (PCB) identification There have been many versions of the PCB's used in the BEN fault recorders. As technology improves (and becomes obsolete), many improvements have been passed along to the customers in the form of increased performance and integrated functionality. Unfortunately not all of this improvement can be backwards compatible with older equipment. In the first quarter of 1999 there was a significant product redesign (Version A and Version B), and parts between these versions may not be interchangeable. Add to this the fact that during the period of time that the BEN DFRs were being manufactured in Upstate NY, all modules were given a unique part number and revision, and the systems manufactured in Belgium did not use the same numbering, some confusion is bound to arise... Much of the nomenclature developed in the US was implemented to increase the quality control of the product. This allowed an easily identifiable and traceable product, which greatly assisted EIIUSA in becomming ISO 9001 certified. Any time a change was made that affected the rework/PCB board/installed firmware of a module, an additional REV number was changed (ie REV B). Each module also had a red inspector's stamp near the P/N ID tag. In the USA, module numbers were identified by a 4 digit hyphen
2 digit number as follows: where X=1-9 YYY tried to use the European SENS number to provide continuity. -ZZ typically referred to a different version of the module or assembly As indicated above, this number was then followed by a REV mark. In Belgium, modules are identified using a only a SENS number
In the final analysis, you may see modules labeled SENS 424-01 or it may be labeled 5424-01 REV. X. Knowing this should aid you in tracking down information for your parts. Isolation Boards BEN 500C Mechanical Assemblies
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DISCLAIMER:
The Glenn L. Burt, Consulting Company is not responsible for the accuracy of this content. The user accepts all risks involved in using this information. This information is being provided as-is with no warranty or guarantee. All materials and logos are the property of their respective companies. All remaining content © 2003 by The Glenn L. Burt, Consulting Company. |
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