Name: FORCE CPCI-680 | Rugged CPCI SBC with PMC Site | Legacy Military/Aerospace System Maintenance Risk - XINYEDA
SKU: CPCI-680 FORCE

FORCE CPCI-680 | Rugged CPCI SBC with PMC Site | Legacy Military/Aerospace System Maintenance Risk

Model: CPCI-680
Brand: FORCE Computers (acquired by Emerson Network Power, later Artesyn Embedded Technologies; product line discontinued)
Core Function: High-performance 6U CompactPCI single board computer based on the PowerPC MPC7410 processor, designed for rugged embedded computing in defense, aerospace, and industrial applications
Lifecycle Status: Obsolete – product line discontinued after FORCE acquisition; no official support or manufacturing since mid-2000s
Procurement Risk: Very high – genuine units exist only in surplus, decommissioned systems, or limited broker inventory; risk of misrepresented or non-functional units is significant
Critical Role: Often serves as the central processing node in mission-critical systems such as radar signal processors, flight simulators, or naval combat systems; failure can disable entire subsystems with operational or safety implications

Category: ABB SKU: CPCI-680 FORCE

Description

Key Technical Specifications (For Spare Parts Verification)

Product Model: CPCI-680
Manufacturer: FORCE Computers
Form Factor: 6U CompactPCI (233.35 mm × 160 mm), compliant with PICMG 2.0
Processor: Motorola (now NXP) MPC7410 PowerPC G4, typically 400–500 MHz
Memory: Up to 512 MB soldered SDRAM (non-expandable via DIMM)
Storage: Onboard flash (typically 32–64 MB); supports PMC site for SCSI/SATA/IDE expansion
PMC Site: One IEEE P1386.1-compliant PMC slot (rear I/O via J3/J4/J5)
Cooling: Air-cooled or conduction-cooled variants available (check part number suffix)
Operating Temperature: Commercial (0°C to +55°C) or extended (-40°C to +70°C) depending on revision
I/O Interfaces: Dual Fast Ethernet (10/100), dual RS-232/422, USB 1.1, VGA
Backplane Interface: 32-bit/66 MHz PCI on P1/P2; 64-bit optional on P3/P4
Power Consumption: ~25–35 W typical, depending on configuration

FORCE CPCI-680

System Positioning and Downtime Impact

The FORCE CPCI-680 was widely deployed in early-2000s defense and aerospace programs as a high-reliability computing engine for real-time signal processing, command and control, and data acquisition. It commonly resides in 3U or 6U CompactPCI chassis alongside specialized I/O or DSP boards, often interfacing with radar, sonar, or electronic warfare payloads. Due to its role as the primary application host, a failure of the CPCI-680 typically halts all software execution—leading to loss of situational awareness, sensor data processing, or weapon system coordination. In military platforms, this may degrade mission capability; in test or simulation environments, it can halt certification activities with cascading schedule impacts.

Reliability Analysis and Common Failure Modes

Although built to MIL-STD standards, the CPCI-680 exhibits predictable aging issues. The most frequent failure point is the onboard electrolytic capacitors in the power regulation circuitry, which degrade after 15–20 years, causing voltage droop, spontaneous reboots, or failure to POST. The MPC7410 processor’s ball grid array (BGA) package is also susceptible to thermal fatigue in cyclic environments, leading to intermittent crashes or complete CPU failure. Additionally, the PMC connector and rear transition module (RTM) pins are prone to corrosion or mechanical wear, especially in field-deployed systems.

A critical design limitation is the lack of modern error-correcting code (ECC) memory and reliance on soldered RAM—making memory faults unrecoverable without board replacement. The absence of watchdog timers in some firmware revisions further reduces fault resilience.

Recommended preventive actions include:

Performing periodic power-on burn-in tests (minimum 72 hours) on spares before deployment
Inspecting PCB for capacitor bulging, solder cracks, or trace delamination under magnification
Verifying PMC site integrity with continuity testing
Maintaining full system images and boot media compatible with legacy VxWorks or Linux kernels

FORCE CPCI-680

Lifecycle Status and Migration Strategy

FORCE Computers was acquired by Emerson in 2005, and the CPCI-680 was phased out shortly thereafter. Artesyn (successor to Emerson Embedded Computing) does not offer a direct replacement, and technical documentation is no longer distributed by the OEM. Continued use is increasingly untenable due to component obsolescence, software incompatibility with modern toolchains, and inability to meet current cybersecurity requirements (e.g., lack of secure boot, TPM).

Interim solutions include sourcing tested surplus units with full functional validation or engaging third-party firms that perform “re-balling” of the CPU or capacitor rework—but success rates decline as original components age.

The strategic path forward is migration to a modern, supported 6U CompactPCI or VPX platform. Vendors such as Kontron, Curtiss-Wright, or Abaco offer PowerPC- or x86-based SBCs with long-term availability guarantees, enhanced reliability (conduction cooling, ECC memory), and support for modern RTOS (e.g., VxWorks 7, Linux LTS). Migration requires:

Rehosting or recompiling legacy application code
Updating device drivers for new I/O architectures
Potentially redesigning backplane or chassis if moving to VPX
Revalidating real-time performance and safety certifications

Given the complexity, organizations should initiate a technology insertion study now. Even if immediate replacement isn’t feasible, establishing a verified spare pool and formal migration roadmap is essential to manage operational risk over the next 3–5 years.