Anindustrial PC is a computer intended for industrial purposes (production ofgoods andservices), with aform factor between anettop and aserver rack. Industrial PCs have higherdependability andprecision standards, and are generally more expensive thanconsumer electronics. They often usecomplex instruction sets, such asx86, wherereduced instruction sets such asARM would otherwise be used.
IBM released the 5531 Industrial Computer in 1984,[1] arguably the first "industrial PC". The IBM 7531, an industrial version of the IBM AT PC was released May 21, 1985.[2]Industrial Computer Source first offered the 6531 Industrial Computer[3] in 1985. This was a proprietary 4Urackmount industrial computer based on a clone IBM PC motherboard.
Industrial PCs are primarily used for process control and/or data acquisition. In some cases, an industrial PC is simply used as a front-end to another control computer in adistributed processing environment. Software can be custom written for a particular application or an off-the-shelf package such asTwinCAT, Wonder Ware, Labtech Notebook orLabView can be used to provide a base level of programming.Analog Devices got exclusive sales for OEM European industrial market and provided MACSYM 120 combined IBM 5531 and MACBASIC a multitasking basic running on C/CPM from Digital Research. Analog and digital I/O cards plugged inside PC and/or extension rack made MAC120 as one of the most powerful and easy to use controller for plant applications at this date. An application may simply require the I/O such as theserial port offered by the motherboard. In other cases,expansion cards are installed to provide analog and digital I/O, specific machine interface, expanded communications ports, and so forth, as required by the application.
Industrial PCs offer different features than consumer PCs in terms of reliability, compatibility, expansion options and long-term supply.
Industrial PCs are typically characterized by being manufactured in lower volumes than home or office PCs. A common category of industrial PC is the19-inch rackmount form factor. Industrial PCs typically cost considerably more than comparable office style computers with similar performance.Single-board computers andback planes are used primarily in industrial PC systems. However, the majority of industrial PCs are manufactured withCOTS motherboards.
A subset of industrial PCs is thePanel PC where a display, typically an LCD, is incorporated into the same enclosure as the motherboard and other electronics. These are typically panel mounted and often incorporate touch screens for user interaction. They are offered in low cost versions with no environmental sealing, heavier duty models sealed toIP67 standards to be waterproof at the front panel and including models which areexplosion proof for installation into hazardous environments.
Virtually all industrial PCs share an underlying design philosophy of providing a controlled environment for the installed electronics to survive the rigors of the plant floor. The electronic components themselves may be selected for their ability to withstand higher and lower operating temperatures than typical commercial components.
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