MaytinhcongnghiepAsk an IPC247 engineer
Stuck choosing a machine or planning an installation? Ask a question — an engineer answers within 24 working hours. No account needed.
Ask a question
Topics
How to ask for a fast answer
Tell us where the machine will be installed, the maximum temperature, what needs to be connected, and what software it will run. The more specific the question, the more directly usable the answer.
Answered questions
Choosing a machine Cheap mini PCs are also compact, some even fanless. Can they replace industrial computers in a workshop? In some cases, yes, but you should know exactly what you are trading off.
Acceptable when: the machine sits in an air-conditioned control room without vibratio… Choosing a machine How does an industrial computer differ from an office PC, given it costs several times more? The CPU may be the same, but an industrial machine is designed to run continuously for years where an office PC would not survive. The differences lie in six ar… Choosing a machine We have seen modular Panel PCs where the display and the computer are two separate modules joined together. What advantage does th… A modular Panel PC consists of a display module (touch, sealed front) and a computer module mounted behind it, joined through a dedicated connector. For example… Choosing a machine Panel PCs range from 7 to 24 inches, in 4:3 and 16:9. How do we pick the size and aspect ratio? Start from the software interface, not from the screen size.
Aspect ratio:
1. Legacy HMI screens designed for 4:3 or 5:4 (resolutions such as 1024×768 or 1280×… Choosing a machine How do IP65, IP66, IP67 and IP69K differ? Can a Panel PC rated IP65 at the front be hosed down? An IP code has two digits under IEC 60529. The first is dust protection, where 6 means fully dust-tight. The second is water protection:
5: withstands water je… Choosing a machine Panel PCs come with projected capacitive (PCAP) or resistive touch. Which suits a workshop? Capacitive touch (PCAP): hard glass surface, light touch, multi-touch (swipe, zoom), more resistant to scratches and cleaning chemicals. Drawbacks: water on the… Choosing a machine Our Panel PC will be outdoors in direct sunlight. How many nits does the display need to be readable? Outdoors in sunlight, choose a display of 1000 nits or more. A typical indoor screen is only about 250–400 nits and is barely readable in sun.
Brightness is no… Choosing a machine The datasheet lists 5 Grms vibration and 50 G shock per MIL-STD-810. What do these numbers mean, and how do we compare machines? Vibration is stated in Grms: the effective acceleration of random vibration over a frequency band, often 5–500 Hz. Higher means stronger vibration tolerance. Sh… Choosing a machine We plan to add a discrete graphics card to an industrial computer for AI. What should we check before buying? A discrete graphics card is the item most likely to derail a plan if not checked carefully, because it affects power, mechanics and thermals at once.
1. Slot: … Choosing a machine Should an industrial computer run two drives in RAID 1? With RAID in place, do we still need backups? RAID 1 writes the same data to two drives. If one fails, the machine keeps running on the other; you fit a new drive and the array resynchronises. Use it on mac… Choosing a machine Should an industrial computer use an M.2 NVMe or SATA SSD? What happens if we fit the wrong type? Speed: SATA III tops out around 550 MB/s; NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 reaches about 3,500 MB/s, and Gen4 is faster still. NVMe only makes a difference with large continuo… Choosing a machine Industrial SSDs cost several times more than consumer SSDs. What is actually different, and is it worth it? They differ in four ways, and the cost is justified when the machine runs continuously or sits in a harsh location.
1. Temperature: consumer SSDs are usually r… Choosing a machine How many GB of RAM should an industrial computer have? Do we need ECC memory? Reference levels by workload, assuming Windows 10/11 IoT:
8 GB: HMI, gateway, a single control application. Below this, current Windows versions feel cramped.
… Choosing a machine Industrial machines come with everything from Atom and Celeron to Core i7. Which level avoids both overspending and underpowering? Choose by what the machine does every day, then add about 30% headroom for software that grows heavier over the years.
Atom, Celeron: data collection, gateways… Choosing a machine The datasheet lists two temperature ranges, operating and storage, plus 95% non-condensing humidity. How do we read them correctly… The two ranges apply to different situations, and mixing them up leads to the wrong machine.
Operating temperature: the machine is running and still guaranteed… Choosing a machine With the same CPU, does a fanless machine run slower than one with a fan? Under light and moderate load there is almost no difference. The gap only appears when the CPU runs hard for long periods in a hot environment.
Modern CPUs thr… Choosing a machine Our food plant washes floors and equipment with pressure hoses every shift. How should we choose a Panel PC for that area? Pressure washdown areas are the harshest environment for a Panel PC, so choose based on how cleaning is actually done.
Protection rating: IP65 covers the front… Choosing a machine One machine runs plant-wide SCADA software with a few thousand tags and historical logging. What configuration and redundancy shou… If the central SCADA machine fails, you lose visibility of the whole plant, so redundancy matters as much as the configuration.
Reference configuration for a f… Choosing a machine Our cold store runs at -25 to -30 °C with workers going in and out all day. What should we watch for with computers and touch scre… A cold store challenges a machine in three places: cold start-up, condensation, and operation with gloves.
Temperature range: choose a machine rated to operate… Choosing a machine We need a small machine to collect data from PLCs, power meters and sensors and push it to a server. What configuration is right? Data collection (an IoT gateway) is usually light on CPU but heavy on interfaces and long-term stability, so do not overbuy performance.
CPU and RAM: a few hun…