Powerful industrial PC and panel PC solutions

LAPP Australia’s partnership with industrial and embedded PC manufacturer, Vecow, is delivering robust and advanced solutions to Australian industries.

Industrial computers are designed for rugged industrial applications and often have application-based design enhancements compared with commercial PCs:

• Fanless designs allow stable operation in harsh environments.
• Industrial computers can operate at extreme operating temperatures from -40°C to +70°C.
• Computer temperature specifications are reliant on the entire system operating. LAPP Australia can install high performance, high specification industrial rated RAM (-40°V to 95°C) and SSDs (-40°C to 85°C).
• Low power consumption computers can operate at low DC voltages: often from voltages as low as 6 V.
• Ignition systems are sometimes used to efficiently monitor and control the PC startup and shutdown.
• Surge protection and isolation can help to secure system operation.
• Some applications require an industrial PC to work in an ultra-compact space. There are several compact industrial PC models designed to fit in something like an autonomous mobile robot (AMR).
• IP-rated industrial PCs are designed to work in the most challenging of environments with support for solid particle protection and liquid ingress protection. The IP67 models are capable of being under up to 1 m of water for 30 minutes and are also resistant to vibration, shock and dust.
   

“Industry 4.0 technology advancements have created a huge market for rugged industrial PCs, panel PCs and industrial monitors,” said Robert Lloyd, Industrial Automation & Networking Manager, LAPP Australia.

Typical applications include edge AI, machine vision, smart robotics, AMRs, IoT, real-time SCADA servers, factory automation, data acquisition, in-vehicle, or vessel computing systems, and many more.

“Vecow has a strong global pedigree in industrial-grade computer products, so their product ranges ideally complement LAPP’s industrial connectivity solutions,” said Lloyd. “LAPP Australia has the local knowledge and resources to comprehensively back Vecow products across Australia, including product specification, installation, maintenance, and ongoing support.”

Industrial PC models use many traditional computer architectures including Xeon; Core i9, i7, i5 and i3; NVIDIA Jetson; Atom; Raspberry Pi etc. However, the computer architecture is usually designed for the industrial PC’s embedded hardware, which is often more specialised than a conventional computer system. Some differentiators include:

• Multi-core CPUs may be used for memory intensive applications such as AI and 3D vision processing
• High performance communications may be inbuilt including 5G, 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi, LTE, GPRS, UMTS and GMSL (Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link) for high-speed video links.
• Digital I/O may be provided to interface with external devices.
• PoE and POE++ LAN connections may be available to directly communicate to PoE devices such as security cameras.
• CANbus connections may be available for controlling external devices.
• Ethernet ports are often high specification as an external switch may not be an option, so 10 Gb Ethernet or multiple 2.5 Gb LAN ports are relatively common.

Increasing popularity of industrial panel PCs

“Panel PCs are becoming increasingly common, as they can be a compact solution that replaces the role of a traditionally separate computer and monitor,” said Lloyd.

Industrial panel PCs range from 10.1" to 21.5" in size with up to 1920 x 1080 (16:9) full HD TFT resolution.

Industrial panel PCs have many of the properties of industrial PCs in that:

• Panel PCs are often fanless to prevent ingress of dust and noise free.
• They are designed for tough environments: -5°C to +55°C.
• They have 7H anti-scratch surfaces.
• Most communications options are supported, including WiFi, 4G, 3G, LTE, GPRS, UMTS.
• They have high shock vibration resistance.
• They offer low power consumption at 9-48 VDC.
   

“Panel PCs are more than just a display. The industrial displays are touchscreens, supporting 10-point projected capacitive multi-touch capability. For industrial environments, gloves can also be used to operate them,” added Lloyd.

In addition to panel PCs, industrial displays are available from 15" to 24" with up to 16:9 full HD resolution. Industrial displays are commonly used where a display is required but a panel PC is not suited due to size, or the panel PC does not offer the flexibility of connecting to specialised devices. The industrial displays are rated IP65 for the front panel and can be panel mounted or VESA mounted.

For information on industrial PCs go to https://lappaustralia.com.au/en/industrial-pcs.

For panel PCs go to https://lappaustralia.com.au/en/panel-pcs.