[Greg McKaskle]

The roboRIO is conformally coated. In addition, the internal power rails are monitored and current limited. If the rails are shorted, the DS will log an error message, increment a counter on the power tab, and the power LED on the roboRIO will indicate the failure. If this happens, you should try to clear the short to restore correct operation.

I encourage teams to observe good practices and try to keep debris, metallic and otherwise, from falling into electronics. But to answer the OP, failures of the digital breakout board should not necessarily predict failures of the roboRIO.

If anyone does experience a failure, please contact NI so that it can be investigated fully.

Greg McKaskle