Industrial Pc

Sidewinder · Dec 3, 2014

Well,

I have just had a heck of an outing with a machine control.

(just the relevant bits)]

Called to look at the machine, found a flat BIOS battery on the machine control computer.

Removed the computer, swapped the battery out for van stock.

Re-assembled and re-fitted.

Won't boot!

Could be something to do with the aluminium swarf in the machine!

Anyway, NEC desktop office computer, as I said full of swarf.

Looks like a faulty ram chip, video section of MB u/s, and the power supply shows faulty on test, caps are blown anyway.

So this desktop computer circa 2002, is goosed, machine on stop.

Get client running with a loan machine running XP.

Now need a permanent solution.

Machine control software has a parallel port dongle.

I have the drivers & I have the control software.

Original OS Win98SE, managed to get the macnine running under WinXPPro (on the loan machine), as that was the "licensed" OS.

Machine control SW is a compiled exe file.

M/C builder is no more.

Looks like a VBA app, but, not sure.

I think, I have persuaded the customer to go for an industrial sealed computer.

However as the "dust" around is conductive, I am erring toward IP6x.

Any suggestions as to an IP6x industrial computer, with RS232 & Centronics?

Does not need to be very powerful.

Does not need to be diskless.

I am thinking about fanless though.

I have given the client a budget figure which they are happy with based on some internet research, but, they are open to guidance, and, they want another 5-10 years life from the machine.

I know XP is fine, but I would like to try 7 or 8 to give them some future proofing.

Thoughts please?...

ProDave · Dec 3, 2014

Sounds like the sort of stuff I used to build when I last had a "proper" job. Same era, same spec of machine, serial and parallel ports and all that.

Can you not just find (probably for free) an old motherboard of that era and rebuild? If it ran on Win98SE back then it still will and none of this checking authenticity lark, just install the OS and it works.

Sidewinder · Dec 3, 2014

I could do PD, MB, PSU & RAM, needed, not much left, plus it is still Desktop, office class.

Company is now running 2 shifts Days/Nights, with the possibility of going 3 shifts soon.

The Al swarf will still get in, and I'm not prepared to warranty it unless it is suitable for the environment.

End of.

Why should I?

On an office pc you have fans sucking the stuff in!!!

I feel that it is time to upgrade to a suitable unit, i.e. one designed and built for the usage and environment.

binky · Dec 3, 2014

put pc in a box ie custom enclosure - easy enough to build. Box will need ventilation, but large cacpacity box with a a few suitable vents will effectively provide a dead air space around PC preventing metallic particles ingressing to PC itself. Thinking along the lines of a data cabinet. Sure there are off the shelf industrial versions, but its been a fair while since I did anything like that

Joseph Howarth · Dec 5, 2014

We have these on the factory shop floor, same issues swarf, coolant and metallic dust. So far these have withstood everything we've thrown at them.

We used to have standard desktops but they've suffered with water damage, choked fans we even had a mouse jump out of one before now!

They do various powers and different I/O options. Even machines certified for marine use (salt corrosion resistance etc...)

http://www.nexcom.co.uk/Products/industrial-computing-solutions/industrial-fanless-computer/core-i-performance/fanless-pc-fanless-computer-nise-3110

Only had a couple fail as the hard drives got too hot from mounting them upside down! (fixed now by installing SSD's)

We have the model NISE 3110 as we needed the power of an Intel i processor but they do Intel atom processors cheaper

Dual Gigabit ethernet

4x serial via breakout cable

remote power switch