Industrial computer enclosures are now the preferred choice for industrial IT implementation. They are reasonably inexpensive, offer protection for all potential hazardous environments, flexible; units can be interchanged within them, and will lengthen the life of any IT equipment enclosed.

Printers, monitors, touch screens, computer towers, desktop PC’s,, keyboards, TV’s, clocks and any other sensitive electronics can be kept inside an industrial computer enclosure. Obviously the type of equipment to be used in the enclosure will govern the size and style of the enclosure, however, where it is going to be used will decide the type of protection the enclosure will require.

Environments such as packing areas, warehouses and storage facilities are often dusty which is why many industrial computer enclosures are designed and built to be dustproof. These enclosures ensure that whatever is kept inside is completely protected from the ingress of dust and dirt. The European IP54 rating system is often given to dustproof computer enclosures as well as the international NEMA 4 rating.

For areas which are moist, damp or even for wash down environments and IP 65 enclosure guarantees protection of the enclosed IT. An IP65 of NEMA 4x enclosure can be washed down and for food processing areas can be manufactured out of food grade stainless steel to prevent any possible corrosion.

Some computer enclosures can offer both dustproof and waterproof resistance (to IP and NEMA satisfaction) they can also deal with extreme temperatures and heavy impact making them ideal for any industrial areas including heavy industry.

Other enclosure are designed and built to protect from theft and vandalism, perfect for any IT left in public or vulnerable areas.

There are many manufacturers of industrial computer enclosures but unfortunately many producers use cheap materials and poor engineering which is reflected in both the price and quality of their products. There is no reason why an Industrial computer enclosure, sited even in a heavy industrial areas should not last a lifetime if it is manufactured correctly.

In December 1968 at a computer network presentation in San Francisco, Doug Engelbart from the Stanford research Institute unveiled his prototype input device.

Made of wood with wheels from a toy car the device was nicknamed by one of Engelbart’s researchers as the ‘mouse’ a name that stuck for over forty years.

It did take another fifteen years for Engelbart’s device to take-off but the computer mouse is now one of the most iconic and easily recognisable symbols of the twentieth century. Unfortunately for Engelbart though, his patent expired over twenty years ago and despite being honoured by president Bill Clinton the scientist hasn’t made a penny from hus invention.

However, despite the continued rise of the desktop computer it looks as if the end of the computer mouse may be in sight.

Touchscreens are fast becoming the new input device for computers. Already a mainstay of industrial computers, touch screens do away with the need for a separate input and output device. However, it has been in recent years that the use of touch screens has really accelerated with the implementation of the technology in mobile phones.

Now, Microsoft, suppliers of the Windows operating system have announced their next generation of operating system Windows 7, is designed solely for touch screen. And some experts predict the computer mouse will become obsolete over the next ten years.

Touchscreens however, are not new technology. The first touch screen was developed at the same time as Engelbart’s mouse but the technology has taken a lot longer to advance.

Industrial touch screens are extremely common but it has only been the last few years since the technology has been capable enough to be used in all types of devices from mobile phones to calculators.

Belts are tightening, budgets are being slashed and some companies are being forced to make redundancies but there are other measures that can be taken to save money.

IT and computers is now one of industry and businesses’ biggest spends. Tens of billions each year is spent by industry and business on IT and computers , much of it to replace existing equipment!

Despite the mass production of computers, the exponential rate they advance and their availability, computers can not be considered a cheap consumable, particularly if you have a network of thousands of machines!

Whilst computers are often out-of-date within weeks of being sold most machines are quite capable of continuing the task they were bought for many, many years, particularly in industry where only simple applications such as process control are required.

Unfortunately though as computers are mass produced, manufacturers pay little heed to extending a computer’s life or considering where they will be used.

Not all environments that a computer is faced with are completely suitable. Some areas are dusty, damp, hot or too cold. All these things will drastically shorten the life of a PC and force a replacement to be bought. While there are specific solid-state industrial computers available these are often highly expensive and quite possibly over-kill for a computer that is just required to process packing labels or stock control.

Fortunately a standard off-the-shelf PC can be made to last three or sometimes four times longer than normal, even in extreme conditions such as dirty warehouses or damp food processing plants simply by housing them in an industrial computer enclosure.

These Industrial computer cabinets will protect a standard PC from dust, dirt, impacts, heat, cold and water and can even be built to be totally dustproof or waterproof to European and USA guidelines. Industrial computer enclosures are relatively inexpensive and can lengthen the life a PC many-fold; ensuring your company saves money and possibly stays afloat during this economic melt-down.

Automation of production lines is an effective method of increasing productivity, increasing efficiency, reducing cost and reducing waste; essential in the current financial climate.

When it comes to computers, monitors, printers, touchscreens and the other types of sensitive electronics, then there are many areas in industrial processes that are not suitable. Dust, dirt, heavy impacts and the liberal use of water in some areas makes using a conventional PC impossible. These hostile elements will finish off any conventional machine in next to no time.

Many IT administrators for industrial areas automatically think the solution to this problem is to but a rugged, solidstate, waterproof and dustproof industrial computer. However, while these machines offer plenty of protection from many of these industrial elements there are drawbacks.

Cost

Industrial PC’s are very expensive. These machines are built with little or no moving parts and the manufacturing processes means that even the least expensive industrial computer will cost several thousands.

Flexibility

Industrial computers are normally intrinsically sealed units to prevent any ingr4ess of dust or water. Unfortunately this makes them impossible to repair or upgrade simply. If the machine goes down then a specialist engineer has to be called or the machine has to be sent make to the supplier. The cost in downtime from this could be catastrophic.

Outdated Technology

Because of the lack of flexibility of these machines, many industrial computers are built using outdated but trusted technology. Many use older versions of operating systems and the components, while highly reliable do not offer the computing power or efficiency of even a cheap desk top computer.

Solution!

A cheaper, more flexible and more efficient alternative is to by a convetional computer, with the specifications you require for the task and house the unit in an industrial computer enclosure. These industrial computer cabinets can offer the same protection as industrial computers (and often better protection) but cost a fraction of the price. And if the machine does go down or needs upgrading then the unit can be removed from the enclosure in minutes and replaced or repaired.

Industrial computer enclosures are utilised by tens of thousands of businesses interested in protecting their IT investments in hostile areas.

Whilst we are used to seeing computers in our offices and homes, the digital revolution has impacted the industrial and manufacturing sector as well. Computers, touch screen monitors and printers are now a prerequisite for production areas too.

Unfortunately many of these types of areas contains hazardous elements for the average computer; dust, dirt, water, risk of shock and heavy impact, and even potential theft and vandalism in some exposed areas are all potential dangers for computer.

Whilst rugged industrial computers do exist these machines are not very flexible when it comes to repair or upgrade and in some instances they can not perform the task required. An industrial computer enclosure can house any computer or device whether it’s a thin client or highly expensive piece of bespoke IT.

Here are some types of industrial areas that benefit from an industrial computer enclosure:

Food Production

One of the main hazards in food production areas is the liberal use of water. Water is use to wash down surfaces and clean areas. Water can also instantly short circuit a piece of electrical equipment. Many food production areas house their IT in an IP65 stainless steel (food grade) computer enclosure. IP 65 is the European rating that assures the protection that is offered. An IP65 enclosure provides protection from water and even allows the computer enclosure itself to be safely washed down whilst the computer is housed inside, with no risk of the water permeating into the machine.

Packing Areas

Dust is the primary hazard of packing areas. Like water, dust can penetrate a computer and cause all sorts of problems from clogging filters and moving parts, to overheating and even short circuiting. An IP54 computer enclosure guarantees protection from dust, ensuring that no particles find their way into the machine.

Heavy Industry

In heavy industrial areas a whole myriad of problems need to be defended against by a computer enclosure. Dust, dirt, grease and the risk of heavy impact means that a steel computer enclosure offering dust protection (IP54) would be essential, the enclosure would also need additional cooling if the industrial area produces excess heat.

Public and Vulnerable Areas

From shops, police stations, hospitals to even the local high street Information points and computers are used for all sorts of purposes. Unfortunately there are some people that get take advantage of machines left in vulnerable areas and theft and vandalism are potential problems (particularly if the computer holds important data) so computer safes are used in thousands of these areas protecting the machines from  attacks and tampering.

Dust is prevalent in many workplaces. It is not necessarily a lack of good housekeeping that can cause a build up of dust but processes in industrial applications in particular generate lots of dust.

Dust has terrible consequences for people’s health but it can also have other hidden dangers as well as being highly damaging to equipment and machinery.

One of the problems of dust is that it can consist of literally any material from skin cells and paper fibres, to metals, ceramics and chemicals. These different constituents can have differing effects on the health of workers and the machinery.

Face masks, coveralls and gloves can protect your workforce from breathing in any hazardous dust particles but what about the expensive IT solutions that are controlling your production processes? Dust has a myriad of effects on a computer. It can clog moving parts, block filters, cause over heating and even short circuit PCB’s.

In some industries, such as food production, explosive dust clouds can that when they come into contact with electrical items such as computers they can ignite and explode. Even innocuous substances such as flour or custard can have highly explosive results if the dust gathers in enough quantities.

For this reason many computers, monitors and printers used in industrial areas are housed in dustproof computer enclosures. These industrial computer cabinets are normally rated to European IP or International NEMA rating systems to describe the amount of dust protection they offer. Some are also ATEX compliant (ATEX – European explosive atmospheres guidelines).

Dustproof industrial computer enclosures are used in all types of businesses from heavy industry to food production and packing areas.

Whilst police constables in most forces are now equipped with body armour, Avon and Somerset Police are using it to protect another type of PC – their computers.

The force has installed Armagard’s Penc 300 compact computer enclosure in custody suites to protect their valuable new computer equipment and it has already withstood an attack.

The force needed the protection as the computer equipment identifies whether somebody is over the drink drive limit or not and the machine is often on the receiving end of disgruntled suspects.

‘The computer housed in this enclosure will display if somebody has failed a breathalyser test. Seeing such things can make some subjects irate.’ said Avon and Somerset’s information and technology officer, Adrian Mitchell.

Unfortunately this means the expensive computer equipment is within reach of occasionally aggressive suspects and that one in particular thought he would take his dismay out on the computer system after it gave a positive reading.

However, the computer was protected by an Armagard Penc 300, designed to withstand even the most severe shocks and despite the suspects best efforts the system remained undamaged.

“Unfortunately for him the computer cabinet came off better as the enclosure did exactly what it is designed to do.

“We are extremely pleased with the job the enclosure did, without it I’m fairly certain the subject would have ripped it from the wall but as it was there is hardly a mark on it -it certainly faired better than its attacker,” said Mr Mitchell.

He added: “We decided to use the enclosures because the custody suites are very busy, and in particular, these computer systems are housed next to the breathalyser machine and as they are fairly expensive pieces of equipment we were concerned about an incident such as this which is why we purchased the enclosures.:

He said that the force was so pleased with the job of the enclosures that they have already installed this year that they will be ordering several more and will install them in other custody suites in the near future.

“We are extremely pleased with the job the enclosures have done they are performing absolutely the way they are supposed to do,” added Mr Mitchell.

Our Enclosure in a Bristol police station

Why indeed, after all, isn’t a computer enclosure just a metal box? Well that is what many of our competitors believe and mass produce clumsy steel cases and sell them as industrial computer enclosures.

However, here at Armagard we pride ourselves on our engineering prowess, after all with over two decades of experience designing and manufacturing industrial enclosures for electrical equipment.

We know that a computer enclosure is not just a metal box. All out computer, printer and TFT enclosures are built to the highest engineering standards ensuring they are perfectly sealed and the prospective enclosed PC has adequate ventilation and cooling.

All our industrial computer enclosures are built to both European and International guidelines and ratings and some are even safe to use in the most hazardous of areas including explosive atmospheres.
Whether it is an IP65 stainless steel waterproof computer enclosure for a food processing plant or an IP54/Nema 4 dustproof housing for a printer situated in a packing area, Armagard has the correct product, engineered to the highest quality.

At Armagard we don’t believe in hard selling or cold calling, we find our customers know exactly what they want and come to us when they need it, here are some of our satisfied customers that keep coming back to the world’s leading industrial computer enclosure manufacturer- Armagard.

Computers are now as essential a part of production lines as they are in office environments. A computer running a production line will save money, increase efficiency and reduce waste.

Unfortunately many production lines are unsuited for the delicate electronics of a computer. Not only can production lines be dirty and full of dust many areas, particularly food preparation and processing ones, are often regularly washed down.

You do not need to be a computer expert to realise that water and computers do not mix well together. Even a few splashes of water can penetrate a computer’s housing and permanently disable the components inside.

In food preparation environments water is liberally used to clean and sterilise areas and if a conventional PC was used it wouldn’t last more than one shift.

Waterproof industrial computers are available but these expensive machines are built using out dated technology and offer very little flexibility, especially when they need to be repaired or upgraded.

Fortunately waterproof computer enclosures are designed and built to the same European and International guidelines as bespoke industrial PC’s. These waterproof computer cabinets are usually rated IP65 or NEMA 4 and are able to not only withstand the odd splashes but also total wash-down. Often these PC cabinets are built in food grades stainless steel, ideal for food preparation areas, and can be washed down alongside the rest of the working areas.

These sealed units offer greater flexibility than a bespoke waterproof computer as the housed PC can be a simple off-the-shelf processor or something more specific for the needs of the processes the machine will be controlling.

These waterproof computer enclosures often come with washable keyboards and mice too allowing compete freedom in wash-down environments.