Industrial computer, as the name implies, is the computer used in the industrial fields. It is based on the hardware equipment of computer application and integrated into a small chassis host. So industrial computer is also called industrial host, industrial control host, industrial control computer, industrial panel PC, industrial mini PC and other names.

At present, the mainstream industrial computers have developed into two types.

One is an industrial computer with only one host computer and no display screen. Such a computer form is generally called industrial mini PC.

The other is an industrial computer with display screen, which is generally called industrial tablet PC.

Why do industrial computers appear?

Before the appearance of industrial computers, ordinary computers were generally used as machines to control industrial production lines. Due to the general structure and unstable performance of ordinary consumer computer, it can not meet the application requirements of industrial site in harsh environment, such as dust-proof, waterproof, anti-static, wide voltage, wide operation temperature and other issues. When ordinary consumer computers are used in production lines. In case of a computer crash, it may cause serious losses. While industrial computers are produced conform to strict specifications standard, to ensure reliable performance under hazard environments. 

The definition of industrial computer is no need unexplained for some people in the industry, but for some people who are not work on this industry, there must be a definition.

Industrial Computer are defined by three characteristics:

The industrial computers' application field is relatively special, including AI intelligence, machine vision, UAV, special equipment, rail transit, new retail, industry 4.0, smart city, automobile manufacturing, library, archives, smart library, rail transit, logistics, clothing, pharmacy, aviation, ticket system, article tracking and anti-counterfeiting. The shape factor and installation options required for each area are different.

Industrial computers are designed and produced by meeting the demanding environmental requirements for customers, such as 7/24 long time reliable operation with anti-vibration, shock resistant, complex signal and extreme temperature conditions.

Usually, the industrial computers are built with long service life that can be used for many years for industrial use.

1. Shape factor and installation of industrial computer

Industrial tablet PCs, industrial monitor and industrial mini PCs are designed for intelligent manufacturing, factory production line, industrial robot and other industrial sites applications. Industrial touch screen tablet PCs and industrial monitors can be panel mounted into the cut-out of the enclosure so that the touch screen area is flush with the surface. When installed in a cabinet door, an industrial panel is usually required to install a touch screen computer. Industrial box PC and fanless embedded system are specially designed for automatic calculation in factory environment. Industrial mini PCs include brackets used mounted so they can be fixed to walls or other surfaces for permanent installation. It is necessary for many production factory applications to use fanless industrial PCs with DIN rail mounting. These installation options are not available on consumer computers.

2. Environment requirements for industrial computer

Most of industrial sites applications need the industrial computers capable of withstanding harsh environment. Some requirements for the PCs include dust-proof, water proof, anti-vibration and shock resistant, anti-interference, wide temperature, wide voltage and 7/24 long time operation.

Fanless industrial computers are the best choice when the computers are used in dusty environments. Industrial computers with fans may fail in performance due to dust contamination. Computers with fans suck in dust, which collects on internal components and blocks the necessary airflow. When the system is affected by dust pollution, its cooling capacity will be reduced. When the Intel processor does not cool properly, a built-in protection mechanism called thermal limit is activated. The thermal limit reduces the clock speed of the CPU to prevent the CPU from overheating, thus reducing the performance of the system. If the system is operated under these conditions for a long time, the internal components under pressure will get damage early. Many of Touch Think's industrial computers have enhanced dust protection. These industrial computers not only have no fans, but also have unique heat dissipation design, die-casting aluminum alloy shell, no threat of dust pollution. So it is suggested that the industrial fanless computer be used in dusty environment.

Many industrial applications require a wide temperature operating condition. For example, the outdoor kiosks, OEM computers, on-board computers, and remote deployment with uncontrolled temperatures. In these examples, it is crucial to choose an industrial computer with high anti-extreme temperature. If not use industrial PCs in these environments, it would result with failure performance during operation. Qualified industrial computers with wide temperature feature keep perfect continuously operation in industrial environments. Touch think's wide temperature industrial tablet PCs and mini PCs have been proven to show excellent performance in these harsh conditions.

3. Industrial PC life cycle

We can say that the most important difference between industrial and consumer grade computer is the life cycle support. Most consumer and business computers offer a very limited procurement life cycle. Unless explicitly stated by the manufacturer, these types of computers are usually out of service within six to twelve months. It may cause problems for industrial solutions. If a computer component changes, the software that can run on a system may not run on the new hardware iteration. Many industrial computer engineers prefer to lock the OS image for deployment on all systems in the field. When a hardware component changes, the OS image is no longer compatible, which requires a new software image to be created when the hardware changes. Managing kinds different software deployments on multiple hardware platforms makes it infrastructure complex and undesirable. Except the main board and electronic components changes, consumer computers are also affected by shape factors. The shape of the PC case and touch screen of the consumer computer will often change, so the consumer computer available after six months may no longer be applicable to the application.

For industrial applications that require 7/24 long time operation, we suggest you choose industrial grade computers.

Touch Think supply 7 inch ~21.5 inch industrial computers, Aluminum alloy housing, IP65 rating for front panel, and three-year warranty. Our products have proven reliable performance in thousands projects of industrial automation, Internet of Things, smart factory and so on. welcome to contact us for products details.