Improved Efficiency through Utilization of Industrial Computers
Computers have already formed part of daily life and our becoming more utilized by the human race each and every year that passes by. Most of us, including our children, make use of them for email, internet surfing, online shopping, social networking, and more. An industrial computer serves different purposes depending on the particular industry making use of them. Whatever these businesses are, this type of industrial computer renders its specific purpose.
From factory or plant automation and networking to point of sale kiosks, industrial computers are of great use and importance. Each of these applications has many different uses for the industrial PC . Below are explanations for some uses and applications of an industrial computer.
Factory Automation
Factory and production automation and control systems provide cost savings as it gears toward energy efficiency. The most common examples of facilities operated through the help of an industrial computer are energy management, hospitals and medical centers, water treatment systems, and food and raw material processing facilities. Many of these industries use programmable logic controllers (or PLC) in addition to industrial computers for specific industrial automation purposes.
Implemented mechanical and industrial automation control systems usually bring a rapid return on investment within the first year or two of operation and in many cases in the first few months by finding areas where money is being lost through excessive water/sewer usage, inefficient energy consumption, excessive labor hours, material waste, lack of quality control, etc.
Networking
Communications and networking is actually one of the key functions of any type of pc. Industrial computers help to provide a much more robust and rugged network communication system for several industries. Under this system, software and services are customized through the aid of experienced professionals. Every business benefits from the existence of these systems.
Management in harsh outdoor or public locations and industrial facilities
Operating computers in a various harsh industrial, public or outdoor locations require some additional protection and security via a Nema 4 approved industrial pc or a pc that is protected in a Nema 4 rated enclosure. There are dust, oil, water, dirt, grease, and tamper proof enclosures and cabinets that are perfect for housing a standard computer in harsh environments. Nema 4 approved industrial computers are a reasonable solution, but they are typically proprietary (hard to upgrade with very limited flexibility), extremely expensive, and provide little protection against tampering and theft.
The most inexpensive and flexible solution is a Nema 4 rated enclosure that protects any standard computer against dust, oil, water, dirt, grease, and theft. Enclosures provide a good return on your hardware investment by not only extending the life of all electronic devices in any environment or location, protecting them on harsh surroundings, but also through the reduction or elimination of costly factory production floor downtime. Many plant engineers and plant managers have not calculated what computer or other hardware downtime may cost them in terms of lost production until they have dealt with it the hard way. Industrial pc enclosures provide a durable and practical protection solution that extends the life of computer and LCD display hardware, reduces costly downtime, and offers a much more cost effective alternative to expensive industrial computers . An ROI like this is a sure bet for any business that is installing computers, LCDs, or other electronic equipment in a harsh, public, or outdoor locations where, tampering, theft, or the elements are a concern.