Do you need an Industrial or Rugged Computer?
Industrial computers are necessary for businesses that operate in demanding environments; one where significant wear and tear will require you to replace a consumer grade PC regularly. You will find industrial PCs to be extremely dependable, reliable and durable.
Industrial and rugged computers are designed for tough environments. Also known as rugged computers, they consist of a ruggedized system that performs in a variety of team environments – ranging from industrial to hazardous to military and naval applications. Industrial PCs can handle the toughest conditions, including but not limited to:
- Prolonged Exposure to Outdoor Elements
- Extreme Cold and Hot Temperatures
- Humidity
- Chemicals
- Shock and Vibration
- Dust and Grim
- Power Surges
They are designed to handle anything from industrial to hazardous to military applications because the design of the housing protects the internal components from damage when hit by moving objects, rigorously shaken or dropped. You should also look for product supply roadmaps to ensure that the industrial computer you choose can run unmodified for many years, often for the life of the project or plant.
This guide will help you understand what to look for in an industrial computer, and also teach you how to choose an industrial computer. Let’s examine five questions to ask when purchasing an industrial computer.
- What industries need an Industrial, Rugged or Hazardous Computers?
To meet the critical needs of the industrial environment, industrial computers provide exceptional protection and performance. They help you meet mission-critical tasks and applications because they maximize operations, minimize down time and withstand extremely difficult working conditions.
The most common industries that rely on industrial computers to run their operations are as follows:
- Automotive Industry —
To survive in automotive manufacturing plants, your computing system must be powerful enough to meet your processing needs. It must also have the capabilities to adapt to evolving manufacturing practices.In today’s competitive environment, automotive industry decision-makers need complete control over a variety of disparate manufacturing processes and functions, which includes design, distribution, inventory control, and analysis function. Management can access these functions through industrial computers that are connected to critical functions on the factory floor, which simplifies operation tasks such as monitoring and process control. The automobile industry relies heavily on automation and robotics, which are linked to industrial computing devices.Industrial computing systems
also handle much of the assembly tasks, which makes the environment safer and more reliable, and also increases productivity levels,
even in the most unpredictable working conditions. - Oil & Gas Industry — The oil and gas industry creates a serious
challenge for the tools and equipment that are required to extract and process these critical resources. Major processes locate and identify viable oil or gas reservoirs, such as seismic data processing. These processes require the ability to process huge packets of data and adapt to the extreme environment. Industrial computers work well in this environment because they can withstand a variety of hazards. The ruggedness of the industrial computing equipment and devices ensures that systems can withstand exposure of heat, ingress of dust, exposure to liquid, and resistance to shock and vibration caused by sudden drops. The sturdy construction of industrial computers makes it possible to proceed uninterrupted even when dust, debris, water, oil and
other elements are circulated. - Pharmaceutical Industry — Pharmaceutical manufacturers need
industrial computers to control critical processes and to determine the right compounds and mix rations, as well as to tighten production. You can also document the entire manufacturing process for medical or chemical production, where just a slight deviation or pollutant can lead to significant damage. These computers can help record production data, monitor production and simulate production processes. The design of the computer protects internal components against particles and other contaminants present in the manufacturing environment.
- Food and Beverage Industry — You must document each step of the
process in the food and beverage industry, from incoming goods to delivery to the end-user. This includes activities such as the monitoring and trace-ability of substances used, the machines employed, packages printed and more. The computing devices you use must be constructed under rigorous hygiene conditions, designed to function in hot environments and cold.These industrial computers require numerous interfaces and slots to enable the connection of peripheral devices such as scales. They also require the proper seals, which allow them to come into direct contact with foodstuff. They should also be waterproof to withstand cleaning
and the use of strong disinfectants and high pressure. - Mining Industry — Technological advancements have made
mining operations increasingly more sophisticated. Mining companies rely on industrial computers to guide tunneling machines and to dictate the speed, position and output. This results in a more streamlined, effective and cost-efficient operation. Given the nature of the environmental conditions in the mining industry, the inherent ruggedness of industrial computers more than meets the needs of mining operations without concern for system failure due to extreme fluctuations in temperature, humidity, moisture or dust particles.
- Transportation Industry — The transportation sector places a
heavy reliance on industrial computing solutions to address a variety of needs and tasks. The processing capabilities of rugged computers facilitates the processing power needed for communication, collision avoidance, safety, lighting and location monitoring. The durability of industrial computing devices enables the equipment to withstand the constant stresses that result from an extreme environment and continuous exposure to shocks and vibrations.
- Aerospace Industry — Companies in the aerospace sector rely on
industrial computers to combine multiple streams of science, engineering and business to navigate within Earth and outer space. These entities rely on industrial computers to meet a variety of needs in the commercial, military and industrial sector. Consequently, industrial computers have become the default computing device of choice. This type of computing equipment can withstand weather punishing temperatures that would normally affect electronic components. It can also withstand experiments that involve gas clouds, as well as function in outer space to process data.
- Manufacturing — Computers have been a staple on plant floors
since the 1970. Technological advances have made processing and factory device automation smarter, and they provide the ability to measure, monitor and communicate their own conditions. In the past, manufacturing robots could only perform monotonous tasks, repeatedly. Today, cyber-physical concepts enable robots and their controllers to assess a situation and determine what operation to perform next.
- Power Generation — Connecting homes, businesses and machines to the electrical grid requires high-performance computing systems that are fast, flexible, scalable and rugged.
Companies that generate and distribute electricity cannot afford to work with tools and devices that might compromise their operations. The unique environmental conditions of power stations demand industrial grade computing devices. Typically, power stations are located outdoors or in environments that can destroy unprotected electronic equipment and components. The remote locations of some power stations expose these components to some of the harshest elements possible. Power stations must be equipped with computers that can resist dirt, water, extreme thermal conditions, shock and vibration. The high standards and rugged features of industrial computers make them the best devices for these environments.
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Military — Today’s armed forces depend on computers for everything from communication and education to purchasing supplies and safe-guarding secrets. While military computers do everything, they also need to go everywhere. Exposure to water, chemicals, sand and other harsh environments is inevitable. The military needs rugged computers that can stand up to whatever the armed forces put them through. They also need to take full advantage of today’s leading technology to keep our dedicated forces protected and able to tackle all challenges.
- How to choose an Industrial Computer?
With an ever-expanding variety of industrial and rugged PCs on the market, which have different capabilities and levels of durability, the process of buying an industrial computer can quickly become overwhelming. You can easily find yourself inundated with a variety of rugged systems to choose from, making it difficult to identify the best rugged PC for your operational and work application demands.
Let’s start with something you might be most familiar with –identifying the processing speed and memory. This part is just like choosing your desktop for your home or office, even though the similarities between consumer grade PCs and rugged PCs end there.
Processor, RAM and Hard Drive
How powerful do you need your industrial computer to be? As we mentioned before, you want to first consider the processor, RAM and hard drive (aka the technical capabilities) for the computer you need.
- Microprocessor
- RAM
- Storage Media
- Interface Ports
- Performance
At Daisy, we use the latest Intel technology in our rugged PCs. Intel manufactures the most common processors on the market. Newer computers contain either a dual- or core-hard processor. Selecting a processor and the supporting chipset requires you to consider the raw number along with the i/o and memory requirements. If your system requires limited i/o or minimal i/o performance, you can choose a pentium processor. If your application requires multiple channels of x16 pcie, you can use a single xeon, but the dual intel xeon processors will provide optimal performance.
Not all microprocessors are compatible with every motherboard. The different motherboards have varying processor sockets, which allow for the assimilation of only matching processors types. Some motherboards have non-socketed on-board processors already assimilated, but make sure you’re familiar with the type of processor or on-board boards.
For industrial applications, the i/o requirements can exceed the standard usb, storage media and display connections. In addition, many applications require i/o add-in cards, which require a pci or pci connection to achieve the best performance. You must select a system with the right selection of slots. Many legacy i/o boards have only pci interface and cannot accommodate the newer systems.
The processing power must also consider the RAM, the hard drive size and the processor speed. The more RAM available, the faster the system operates and the more applications you can run simultaneously. The amount of hard drive space determines how much data you can store. A faster processor allows for faster operation of the applications. In most cases, faster processors perform better, but keep in mind that processor speeds vary depending on the brand. If you need to analyze the data or save data on your hard drive, the processing power will be a key determinant of performance.
The processor clock speed and memory size are important factors to consider when determining what to look for in an industrial computer. The required i/o performance and number of expansion ports are critical determining factors as well.
As you evaluate these items, remember that industrial applications have long-term operation requirements, so you should also consider the availability of long-term support.
Enclosure Types for Industrial Computers
Industrial and rugged computers are typically housed in a stainless steel, fully sealed to withstand the elements. In fact, many of the industrial computers designed at Daisy are enclosed in a NEMA 4 or 4X rated enclosure that are mostly intended for outdoor use because they have a superior level of protection from extreme environments. NEMA 4X also protect against corrosion, which is especially important when working in wet conditions.
Industrial computers are also available in NEMA 1 rated enclosures that are designed for indoor use only, protecting workers from hazardous parts and ingress of solid foreing objects (i.e. falling dirt).
Once you identify the enclosure type, consider whether you need a fully sealed, membrane keyboard and pointing device built into the computer. Some industries, such as food, pharmaceutical and chemical require KVM extenders to have on-site control of the computer while it is located up to 1.5km away from the worksite.
Special Design Features for Rugged Computers
Most rugged computers share similar design philosophies with a primary focus on providing a controlled environment that protects the installed components. Industrial computer manufacturers choose components for these devices based on their ability to withstand extreme variances in temperature. Common design features include:
- Heavier metal construction (i.e. stainless steel)
- Enclosed form factor and the ability to mount into the surrounding locale
- Additional cooling that includes air filtering
- Alternative cooling methods such as liquid, conduction and forced air
- Expansion card retention and support
- Enhanced EMI filtering and gasketing
- More robust controls and features
- Secured access to controls
- Watch-dog timers that reset the system in the event of a software lock-up
- Controlled access to control
In this vain, you may want to decide if you need one of the following special industrial computers for your application:
- Modular Industrial Computers —allow you to modify and adapt the industrial computer system to meet critical needs and expand to accommodate future applications. You can also upgrade individual parts without the need to invest in an entirely new industrial computer system. For example, an industrial modular system will allow you to install a new hard drive if you need more storage capacity or to combine data-acquisition equipment with a faster analog-to-digital convert for applications that require faster sampling.
- Fanless Industrial Computers have heat sink passive convection cooling, which allows for quiet operation in hazardous and rugged locations where you do not want a noisy CPU. You can purchase fanless rugged PCs that offer waterproof and wide-temperature range options for placement outdoors, next to heat generating equipment or in wet environments. These fanless rugged PCs are suitable for field bus employment, transportation automation controls, HD graphic processing, process control systems and more.
- Waterproof Hazardous Computers can function in the harshest environment. Some of the challenging conditions and elements these computers can endure include humidity, dirt, dust, bacteria, watery spray and cold temperatures. Such conditions would annihilate any regular computer. The system is composed of more than waterproof enclosures. It also includes industrial grade components designed to operate 24/7 in rugged, challenging conditions. Many companies in the food and beverage industry use waterproof computers in wash down areas because of their reliability and performance.
- Portable Industrial Computers are exactly as described – portable units that can be carried throughout the harsh environment or even mounted in different locations throughout the site. Taking a rugged computer on the go enables you to monitor the job site and/or collect critical data easily and on the go. Portable units can also easily be mounted in different locations.
Mounting Devices & Industrial Accessories
Industrial accessories is a broad term to describe the many different products that will help you further customize your industrial computer for your work environment and personnel needs. This includes keyboards, pointing devices, keyboard-video-monitor (KVM) extenders and variable action buttons (VAB) to control the computers in different ways and locations.
It also includes mounting devices that let you mount (for a lack of better term) the industrial PC or industrial display in a manner that best suites your hazardous work environment. You can choose from flush mounts, panel mounts, pedestal mounts and wall mounts. These are the most common options as to placing the industrial workstation or industrial display in your work environment and allowing for easy access for your employees.
If you need a portable option, Daisy manufactures those as well!
- How do industrial computers improve business productivity and efficiency?
Industrial computers are tough. You pay for their durable design, but it also means you are investing in a rugged computer that is going to last for a while (especially in harsh environments). We continue to emphasize that these rugged PCs optimize performance – but the question is, how do they increase productivity, efficiency and performance?
Industrial PCs, first and foremost, can make your work environment safer. They are designed to operate in environments where hazards may be present and can withstand drops, shock, vibrations and splashing.
To operate efficiently in harsh environments, they operate with minimal moving parts which ultimately reduces energy consumption; decreasing operational costs for this industrial technology.
Rugged PCs tough design also means they continue to operate when consumer grade computers typically crash. They reduce scrap materials, use less manual labor, identify potential malfunctions and improves processes.
We delve into this further below:
- Reduced Energy Consumption— Industrial computers can help decrease waste in energy consumption and material usage. They can also reduce rework, minimize scrap and reduce manual labor.
- Improved Machine Productivity— Manufacture are using industrial computers to help optimize shop floor performance. For example, Audi realized a significant increase in productivity by gathering data from machines and plants in real-time to reduce waste and minimize error during the production processes.Another example is BorgWarner Cooling System. They use industrial computers to collect and analyze operating data. Operators, at the floor level, can view dashboards and use the output to view downtime information or identify points of failure along the assembly line or deviations from the production goals. · Predictive maintenance — Downtime has a negative effect on the bottom line of any Many companies are implementing built-in sensors in manufacturing equipment, which link to industrial computers that can monitor usage patterns and provide output alerts to plant maintenance staff.
- Data Collection and Management- The right industrial computer. should use sophisticated data-gathering software to identify machines or processes that are not performing at peak levels. The real-time transparency of manufacturing data makes it easier for employees to work more productively and efficiently. It also aligns overall activity with production targets and other organizational goals.
- What is the total cost of ownership for rugged computers?
You might think that the industrial computer industry started the Internet of Things (IoT); the growing trend of connecting machines that communicate with one another to the Internet to help companies improve performance, streamline processes and position their organizations to compete more effectively in a global marketplace.
In fact, Gartner published research showing that vertical specific business industries will increase spending on the Internet of Things based products from $393 Billion in 2014 to $3,010 Billion in 2020! Industrial, rugged and hazardous computers are a major portion of where industries will continue to invest their financial resources to optimize performance and increase communication flow.
Industrial computers are considered investments because of the total cost of ownership. We cannot emphasize enough that when choosing the right rugged PC for your work application, these costs will be offset by increased productivity, performance and ultimately revenue. That said,
There is no doubt that industrial computers will make up a significant portion of your total upfront costs. We caution you that with ongoing pressure to lower expenses, we see more companies purchase systems that cannot withstand the harsh and demanding environments – requiring increased replacement costs and production downtime.
When analyzing the total cost of ownership for a rugged PC, we look at both tangible (hard) costs and intangible (soft) costs of these industrial computers. This lets you ascertain the true cost of ownership.
Hard Costs / Tangible Costs
- System, Hardware Acquisition & Deployment— when assessing different what to look for in an industrial computer industrial computers, you must investigate the range of standards and non-standard features, as well as how they affect price. In addition, consider the cost of components, such as network interface, hardware/software, storage and ram, required to carry out the essential functions of the application you design. Data shows that approximately 15% of the cost of it assets are used for the cost of hardware. Your evaluation must carefully consider cost versus performance, so you can accurately evaluate and compare systems.
- Cost — Industrial computer systems, if chosen correctly, are investments in operational flow. A system that costs less, but delivers sub-par performance, does not provide real value to the organization. It actually compromises critical tasks.
- Service & Technical Support — Support costs will vary depending on the complexity of your installation, and you must calculate the cost related to day-to-day ongoing operation. Most service contracts cover support, so you can directly compute the cost and make any necessary comparisons.
You will also need to determine the built-in cost of deployment, as well as the cost of documentation for the installation expense and ongoing operations. If you have more specialized rugged and hazardous hardware and software requirements, these items inherently cost more because of the service skills required, compared to a system with open standards and easily available components. Support cost can consume as much as 70% to 85% of the total costs.
- Employee Training — TCO should also consider the cost of training staff to perform basic tasks on the new system.
- Maintenance — You should investigate the expense of updating software and hiring the people with the skills required to perform the include the expense of the operating system, application licenses, and associated costs needed to support the application and any intended functions.
- Scalability — Many companies will need to consider the cost of scalability, especially those computing in high-growth sectors. You should be able to scale up and scale out to manage increases in business activities, while at the same time controlling costs.
- System Integration — Other hard costs you must include in TCO include the integration of industrial computers with an existing infrastructure and the overall interoperability expense. An essential requirement of any industrial computer is the ease of integration with existing legacy systems where you already have a significant capital investment and may not be interested in a wholesale replacement.
Intangible/Soft Costs
Soft costs have a significant impact on your bottom line, but they can be more challenging to calculate and factor into your evaluation. They include:
- Upgrades/Add-Ons
- Operational costs
- Risk Mitigation
- Replacement Costs
- Device Failure & Downtime Expenses (including lost productivity)
If you can effectively deal with the range of costs associated with your industrial computer, you’re more likely to realize efficiency and cost saving over the life of the device.
- What’s the Next Steps: Buying a Rugged Computer
Consider Daisy Data! Collaborate with an industrial computer provider that can help you determine what factors are the most important for your particular application. The best providers also offer tips for buying a rugged computer. If you have questions or would like to learn more about your rugged computer options, contact one of our representatives contact us today. We can also give you a quote request a quote for the right rugged computer solution to meet your needs.