A global manufacturer in Asia producing a wide range of high-quality fastening products and merchandise needed an industrial PC (IPC) solution to drive better production efficiency. The solution needed to be widely deployed on production lines across the company’s global manufacturing sites. High computing power and legacy compatibility were key. The solution also needed to be modular, to allow the manufacturer to change and upgrade add-on cards (motion, frame grabber, GPU) and add new functions according to production needs.
Project requirements
The manufacturer wanted an innovative platform that could fit both existing and future needs. However, the specification included processing requirements beyond what regular industrial PCs or IPC solutions can deliver – meaning a server grade system was required. Buying a server solution proved too expensive for what the manufacturer wanted, plus they would only utilise part of its capacity, which was an unnecessary waste.
To mitigate the cost of purchasing expensive servers, the manufacturer decided to combine a CPU + GPU solution. The GPU could be used for graphics and to provide an additional source of powerful processing. The standard way to integrate a GPU card is to insert it into a slot on the motherboard, and that usually means a 4U chassis. But the customer only wanted a 2U size chassis which can’t accommodate full-sized GPU cards — so what to do?
Full-sized or double decker graphics cards are taller than a standard 2U chassis, so the card needed to be installed vertically via a rear adapter connected to the motherboard, which holds the card horizontal. Also a full size RTX GPU card with thermal heat sink can weigh a lot and installation may damage the connector or cause unstable signal transmission. Advantech offered the ACP-2020G 2U rackmount chassis for ATX and uATX motherboards, which is a premier IPC solution that uses the Intel Gen 10 processor and chassis with a special bracket design. This can hold full sized / double decker GPU cards and effectively disperse heat via dual 100 CFM fans.
System description
Advantech’s ACP2020G chassis with NVIDIA® Quadro RTX™ A6000GPU card and AIMB-787 motherboard was selected to be deployed in all the company’s manufacturing sites. It was the most cost-effective IPC solution that met their expectations in the most efficient way. Advantech specially designed the innovative card holder bracket in ACP-2020G to support heavy GPU cards, so that the whole system can run at peak performance. Of course a GPU card running at full capacity generates heat, so there are 2 x 100 CFM fans installed that make good use of the built-in 850W 80 plus platinum grade power supply.
System implementation
ACP-2020G: 2U Rackmount Chassis for ATX and uATX Motherboard.
AIMB-787: Industrial ATX Motherboard with Intel® 10th generation Core™ i9/i7/i5/i3/Pentium®/Celeron® processor and Q470E chipset.
GPU Card: NVIDIA® Quadro RTX™ A6000.
Conclusion
The IPC solution delivers on high performance computing, legacy compatibility, and most importantly, cost efficiency.
The ACP-2020G’s 2U footprint saves space and its card holder bracket is designed for full-sized GPUs with heat sinks. It can also accommodate motion cards and frame grabber cards, as well as single, double,and even triple decker GPUs as well.
It benefits customers who want to upgrade their system to server level but don’t need full server performance. It greatly optimises production efficiency while minimising capital investment.
ESIS is the leading supplier of outstanding industrial electronic equipment in the Australian market since 1971. Check out our exclusive range of Fanless PCs, Industrial PCs (IPC Solution), Rugged Tablets, HMIs, Panel PCs and other electronic components. Our products are certified and made with high-quality custom materials for accurate results. Contact us for a detailed product catalogue or to share your queries.
Article courtesy of Advantech.
