Arbor Box PC For Limited-Space Applications

Arbor Technology's FPC-5100 series box PC is targeted at industrial control applications and is built with the Intel 945GME/ICH7M chipset. It supports the Intel socket M Core Duo/Core 2 Duo/Celeron M processors. The FPC-5100 series is said to offer high performance, wide range DC power input (10-28V), high shock and vibration resistance and heat-prevention design, expanded temperature range, rich I/O ports, easy installation and maintenance, and multiple display integration.

Arbor said the FPC-5100 series is suitable to be installed in limited space for industrial automation, automatic fare collection, intelligent transportation, digital signage, gaming machines, and vehicle system applications. To improve the rate of heat transfer, the case is made of aluminium and designed with fins that increase the surface area for more effective heat dissipation. A rich communication interface is essential to success in industrial automation application.

The FPC-5100 series is equipped with two DDRII memory DIMM sockets (up to 4GB), 2.5in HDD/SSD drive bay, CF socket, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, seven USB 2.0 ports, six serial ports, 16-bit digital I/o port, IEEE 1394a port, PCI slot and Mini-card slot. The FPC-5100 series, measuring 254.8 x 187 x 80mm, supports an industrial temperature range of -20C to +70C to meet tough requirements in space-critical and harsh-environment applications. The robust design is said to enhance the product reliability and stability certified by industrial product quality tests including anti-vibration (3G), anti-shock (60G) and anti-crash (80G).

Additionally, the mechanical modular design facilitates maintenance or possible upgrades. The modular box PC can be modified to fit many different applications according to customers' requests. For example, the FPC-5100A is equipped with a hot-swappable system cooling fan, which is convenient for users to replace it without having to turn off the computer. Arbor said the FPC-5100 series is a flexible and reliable automation control solution. It empowers the user to select components, such as the CPU, storage, and hot-swappable fan module, depending on the performance level that they want the appliance to achieve.

Touch-Screen PC Uses Enhanced LED Technology

American Industrial Systems (AIS) has introduced a lightweight 10.4in semi-rugged touch-screen tablet PC utilising a low-power, high-efficiency 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor. The large touch-screen display features enhanced transflective LED technology providing vibrant colour and sharp text in all environments, including direct outdoor sunlight, for running applications, reading documents and surfing the web. Connection options include a built-in 802.11 b/g/n WLAN module, Bluetooth v2.0 +EDR, and available 3G and GPS modules for increased range and tracking information.

Everything is packaged within a chassis weighing 2.6lb, which features IP54-rated water/dustproof resistance, multiple 3ft-drop rated, plus enhanced shock and vibration protection. Mobile reporting, logging and POS ordering can be performed in a variety of environments including, rain, dust and in vehicle. The unit is completely sealed, including the I/O connections, to an IP54 dust/waterproof rating. The rugged housing with rubber bumpers provides enhanced shock protection and vibration-resistant operation.

Optional standard and glass-film-glass (GFG) resistive touch screens are also available for durability during heavy commercial usage that would wear out standard touch screens. A complete line of optional accessories are custom designed to attach onto the rugged tablet PC to extend the use of the outdoor tablet to many applications. GPS, 3G cellular wireless, MSR (magnetic swipe reader) credit card reader, barcode scanner, shock-absorbing rubber bumpers, upright stand, second battery and charging cradle are all currently available.

Mixing and matching optional modules such as the MSR credit card reader, barcode scanner and 3G wireless can turn the semi-rugged tablet PC into a mobile POS station, which is said to be suitable for amusement parks, drive through, mobile field sales automation, event parking and outdoor exhibits. The custom engineered hot-swappable second battery is designed to allow 24/7 continuous operation without any downtime. The primary and secondary battery combine for up to six hours operating time while running the Intel Atom Z530 processor.

The fanless processor provides silent operation and high reliability, with long lifetime support from Intel. Windows XP Embedded Professional and XP Embedded operating systems are both supported. The AIS 3G and GPS enabled semi-rugged tablet PC provides a mobile automation, mobile communication and mobile terminal to industrial, commercial and retail environments where reliability, quality, flexibility and service are paramount.

Stealth Rack Server/PC Is Noise-Free And Reliable

Stealth Computer has launched the model SR-2625F, a fanless, noise-free rack server available in single or dual system designs. The space-saving 3.5in high (2U) rack-mountable steel chassis is said to be easily deployed into any standard 19in EIA rack cabinet. The Stealth SR-2625F noise-free rack-mount server/PC is engineered with Intel's Penryn family of Core 2 Duo Mobile processor technology. The fanless systems have been designed without cooling fans to prevent dirt and dust from each being drawn in that could potentially cause failures.

Each system features a rugged aluminium chassis that acts as a passive heat sink that dissipates internal heat build-up while providing noise-free, reliable operation. The dual system design option is said to provide cost savings in rack space with the option of having two systems deployed in the space of one. The SR-2625F fanless rack server features a multitude of I/O connectivity, such as: Gigabit LAN, 8-USB 2.0, 1-Serial, 1-eSATA 1-DVI, 1-HDMI and Audio 7.1 ports with optional Wi-Fi 802.11g.

Each system supports up to 4GB of memory and has a built-in 2.5in high-shock hard drive with up to 500GBs of storage space for archived data. For applications that require extra-high shock, vibration and wide temperature ranges, optional SSD (solid state hard drives) are available. Systems are compatible with Microsoft Windows 7/Vista/XP, Linux, and so on, and can be custom configured to meet the needs of the customer. The SR-2625F fanless rack PC is said to be ideal for numerous applications, including: audio/video recording; embedded control; digital signs; interactive kiosks; thin-clients; and human/machine interface applications.

AIS PC Solutions Have Embedded Intel Architecture

American Industrial Systems (AIS) has introduced a line of industrial Panel PC solutions featuring embedded Intel architecture and Windows embedded operating systems. The solutions have been designed to meet a variety of applications, including control automation, HMI, heating-ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) control, military, marine, transportation, digital signage and medical industries.

AIS has combined LCD Technology with the latest embedded platforms to create solutions including medical tablet PCs, military rack-mount panel computers, marine panel PCs, digital-signage engines, rugged vehicle PCs, touch POS Systems, access-management systems, HMI touch systems and standard industrial panel PCs. These off-the-shelf products are highly ruggedised and utilise industrial-grade components to guarantee the high reliability and life cycle. Several enhancement technologies are utilised, such as MIL-810F.

Features include: stock/vibration compliance, wide temperature-range operation, IP65 water/dustproof rating, anti-corrosion coatings, sunlight readability enhancements and touch-screen integration. At the heart of the systems are Intel processors, including the Atom and Core 2 Duo Processors that feature high performance and low power consumption (Atom) to energy-conservation standards.

Industrial PC Separates The Display From The PC

Xycom Automation's new 1510 Industrial PC answers a common need to separate the display from the PC. The 1510 series Xycom Industrial PC is a "node" box (without integrated display) with up to 700 MHz Pentium III performance for demanding factory automation applications. Coupled with the Xycom 3015 LCD flat panel monitor, the 1510 gives the user an array of options to choose from. The 1510 Xycom Industrial Computer offers a 10-slot passive backplane with 8 available expansion slots including 4 full-length ISA, 3 full-length PCI, and 1 half-length PCI.

Ian Law, Xycom Automation's Sales Director, explains "There is a large group of factory Automation customers that require a "blind" PC solution with ISA and PCI expansion, or have good reason to physically separate the display from the rest of the PC. Many of these customers have accepted the limitations of using commercial grade PCs with an Industrial Computer LCD monitor. Because these same customers usually require ISA expansion and the commercial market has abandoned ISA expansion capability, these customers are left with even less desirable solutions.