As we move into 2020 and beyond, more and more companies are using technology for industrial automation and intelligent applications, to streamline their business processes and improve efficiency. In the growing industrial market, factories and enterprises are adopting Industry 4.0 and developing automation platforms and equipment.
According to our current observations, a large number of equipment manufacturers have started using more “industrial grade” touch panel PC’s and “industrial” monitors for these automation systems, but still, there are several manufacturers continuing to use normal commercial All-In-One PC’s (Panel PC) or commercial monitors. So, what is the reason why industrial grade PC’s and monitors should be used, compared to commercial grade?
1- Attributes of the motherboard:
Industrial boards are designed for long-term reliability and long-term supply support. When the mainboard is developed and designed, copmonents will be chosen which have long-term availability. The development and design of the motherboard are based on more stringent standards of stability and temperature tolerance, and the component & materials will use more stable and reliable IC components. By comparison, for normal commercial mainboards, in order to achieve low price and high price advantage, the design life cycle and reliability of the mainboard is generally not an issue, so the motherboard material may be much lower quality. Typical industrial mainboards used in panel PC’s or fanless industrial PC’s can reach a life cycle of 5-7 years’ availability, and are designed to operate 24×7 for 5-10 years without failure.
2- Selection of component materials:
Commercial display panels or monitors generally only need to meet the requirements of normal domestic or office use, and their service life will be relatively short. Usually they will use plastic mold manufacturing, which has an advantage in cost. Industrial panel PCs and touch monitors have higher requirements on material quality and stability. Their design structure is often based on aluminium, steel or stainless steel materials, which can be used in rugged industrial field environments ensuring that the machine operates reliably in the industrial environment.
3- Reliability:
Due to the market positioning of commercial all-in-one PC, the reliability certification of their products will be relatively low, while the industrial panel PC is mainly aimed at the critical industrial market, where the requirements for quality and stability will be more important. In general, industrial environment tests, such as vibration, drop, high temperature, humidity, and cooling system are performed before each product is released.
4- More complex integration features:
The commercial all-in-one system or monitor can only be used for simple use. Industrial touch panel PC and monitor products not only can be used by industrial users, but also require more complex integration functions, so that industrial panel PC products can be integrated into the whole industrial field environment, such as IO cards, serial ports, video capture cards, and various bus interfaces.
5- More demanding on-site environment:
In view of the more complex on-site environment, such as dust, oil, outdoor, raindrops, vibration and drop, the industrial Panel’s high-strength metal structure and fanless design ensure that the machine can run stably in the harsh industrial environment. These products will often also carry an “IP” (Ingress Protection) rating for use in wet or dusty environments. Commercial monitors and all-in-ones are limited to a clean, dry indoor environment and cannot be used in harsh environments.
6- Customized and lightly modified design requirements:
For industrial field application requirements, simple modification and non-standard customization will be more common, and ultimately meet the structure and function of customers’ requirements. However, for commercial all-in-one PC’s and monitors, low-cost plastic mold manufacturing structure can not meet customization requirements. The small quantity of industrial projects does not cover the commercial products modification cost.
Conclusion: In general, the difference between industrial and commercial monitor and PC products comes down to long lifecycles, rugged and reliable design, and small-volumes with customized attributes. These features make Industrial Grade Panel PC’s and Monitors highly suitable for industrial applications.
CyberVisuell specialises in modular design and manufacturing of Embedded Box Computers and Industrial LCD & Panel PC products, which quickly solves the problem and pain-points of industrial customers. Pre-sales tehcnical advice and after-sales service are prioritised, to provide complete and rapid support for customers.
ESIS is a major supplier of technical electronic equipment in the Australian market since 1971. Their vast range of products offers solutions to meet a wide variety of needs. Choose from a powerful line-up of Panel PC’s and industrial LCD’s, or feel free to contact us for product related queries.
Article Courtesy of CyberVisuell.
