
An industrial PC is a computer intended for industrial purposes (
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
of
goods
In economics, goods are anything that is good, usually in the sense that it provides welfare or utility to someone. Alan V. Deardorff, 2006. ''Terms Of Trade: Glossary of International Economics'', World Scientific. Online version: Deardorffs ...
and
services
Service may refer to:
Activities
* Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty
* Civil service, the body of employees of a government
* Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
), with a
form factor between a
nettop
A mini PC (or miniature PC, nettop, or Smart Micro PC) is a small-sized, inexpensive, low-power, Legacy free PC, legacy-free desktop computer, desktop computer designed for basic tasks such as Web navigation, web browsing, accessing web appl ...
and a
server rack
A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple electronic equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide. The 19 inch dimension includes the edges or ''ears'' that protrude from each side of the ...
. Industrial PCs have higher
dependability
In systems engineering, dependability is a measure of a system's availability, reliability, maintainability, and in some cases, other characteristics such as durability, safety and security. In real-time computing, dependability is the ability to ...
and
precision
Precision, precise or precisely may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Precision'' (march), the official marching music of the Royal Military College of Canada
* "Precision" (song), by Big Sean
* ''Precisely'' (sketch), a dramatic sketch by the Eng ...
standards, and are generally more expensive than
consumer electronics
Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...
. They often use
complex instruction sets, such as
x86
x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel, based on the 8086 microprocessor and its 8-bit-external-bus variant, the 8088. Th ...
, where
reduced instruction sets such as
ARM
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between ...
would otherwise be used.
History
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
released the 5531 Industrial Computer in 1984, arguably the first "industrial PC". The IBM 7531, an industrial version of the IBM AT PC was released May 21, 1985.
Industrial Computer Source
Industrial Computer Source was a company launched in 1985 with the publication of their firsIndustrial Computer Sourcebook Industrial Computer Source was also known as ICS. Industrial Computer Source became notable for the volume of Sourcebooks ...
first offered the 6531 Industrial Computer in 1985. This was a proprietary 4U
rackmount
A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple electronic equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide. The 19 inch dimension includes the edges or ''ears'' that protrude from each side of the ...
industrial computer based on a clone IBM PC motherboard.
Applications
Industrial PCs are primarily used for process control and/or data acquisition. In some cases, an industrial PC is simply used as a front-end to another control computer in a
distributed processing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems, defined as computer systems whose inter-communicating components are located on different networked computers.
The components of a distributed system commun ...
environment. Software can be custom written for a particular application or an off-the-shelf package such as
TwinCAT, Wonder Ware, Labtech Notebook or
LabView can be used to provide a base level of programming.
Analog Devices got exclusive sales for OEM European industrial market and provided MACSYM 120 combined IBM 5531 and MACBASIC a multitasking basic running on C/CPM from Digital Research. Analog and digital I/O cards plugged inside PC and/or extension rack made MAC120 as one of the most powerful and easy to use controller for plant applications at this date.
An application may simply require the I/O such as the
serial port
A serial port is a serial communication Interface (computing), interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in Pa ...
offered by the motherboard. In other cases,
expansion card
In computing, an expansion card (also called an expansion board, adapter card, peripheral card or accessory card) is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot (also referred to as a bus sl ...
s are installed to provide analog and digital I/O, specific machine interface, expanded communications ports, and so forth, as required by the application.
Industrial PCs offer different features than consumer PCs in terms of reliability, compatibility, expansion options and long-term supply.
Industrial PCs are typically characterized by being manufactured in lower volumes than home or office PCs. A common category of industrial PC is the
19-inch rack
A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple electronic equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide. The 19 inch dimension includes the edges or ''ears'' that protrude from each side of the ...
mount form factor. Industrial PCs typically cost considerably more than comparable office style computers with similar performance.
Single-board computer
A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonst ...
s and
back plane
A backplane or backplane system is a group of electrical connectors in parallel with each other, so that each pin of each connector is linked to the same relative pin of all the other connectors, forming a computer bus. It is used to connect sev ...
s are used primarily in industrial PC systems. However, the majority of industrial PCs are manufactured with
COTS
COTS may refer to:
* Commercial off-the-shelf, products that are commercially available and can be bought "as is"
* Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, a NASA program for delivery to the International Space Station by private companies
* ...
motherboards.
A subset of industrial PCs is the
Panel PC
A panel PC, also known as a panel-mounted computer, touch panel PC, or industrial panel PC, is a combined industrial PC and Computer monitor so that the entire computer can be mounted in any manner available for mounting a display alone. It elimina ...
where a display, typically an LCD, is incorporated into the same enclosure as the motherboard and other electronics. These are typically panel mounted and often incorporate touch screens for user interaction. They are offered in low cost versions with no environmental sealing, heavier duty models sealed to
IP67
The IP code or International Protection code indicates how well a device is protected against water and dust. It is defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) under the international standard IEC 60529 which classifies ...
standards to be waterproof at the front panel and including models which are
explosion proof
In electrical and safety engineering, hazardous locations (HazLoc, pronounced ''haz·lōk'') are places where fire or explosion hazards may exist. Sources of such hazards include gases, vapors, dust, fibers, and flyings, which are combustible ...
for installation into hazardous environments.
Construction and features
Virtually all industrial PCs share an underlying design philosophy of providing a controlled environment for the installed electronics to survive the rigors of the plant floor. The electronic components themselves may be selected for their ability to withstand higher and lower operating temperatures than typical commercial components.
* Heavier metal construction as compared to the typical office non-rugged computer
* Enclosure form factor that includes provision for mounting into the surrounding environment (19" rack, wall mount, panel mount, etc.)
* Additional cooling with air filtering
* Wider operating temperature range than normal PCs, with the widest temperature ranges being -40 to 75°C
* Alternative cooling methods such as forced air, liquid, and conduction
* Expansion card retention and support
* Enhanced
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
filtering and gasket
* Enhanced environmental protection such as dust proof, water spray or immersion proof, etc.
* Sealed MIL-SPEC or Circular-MIL connectors
* More robust controls and features
* Higher grade power supply
* Controlled access to the controls through the use of locking doors
* Controlled access to the I/O through the use of access covers
* Inclusion of a
watchdog timer
A watchdog timer (WDT, or simply a ''watchdog''), sometimes called a ''computer operating properly timer'' (''COP timer''), is an electronic or software timer that is used to detect and recover from computer malfunctions. Watchdog timers are wide ...
to reset the system automatically in case of software lock-up
See also
*
Embedded system
An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is e ...
*
Rugged computer
A rugged computer or ruggedized computer is a computer specifically designed to operate reliably in harsh usage environments and conditions, such as strong vibrations, extreme temperatures and wet or dusty conditions. They are designed from incepti ...
References
{{Computer sizes
Classes of computers
Industrial computing
Personal computers