Tag: Industrial Computers

Medical Computers

Tangent Covers All Bases in PC Needs

Michelle

The average company doesn’t typically replace their computers all at once in a mass hardware refresh. Over years of use, certain models are phased out for newer ones or replaced because of age. And as business processes change and newer software suites require specific system configurations, a wide assortment of computer systems tend to be introduced to the organization. A single type of PC or laptop doesn’t usually suit the needs for all workflows and users, especially in larger enterprises. With such a variety of hardware needs, the lives of the folks in an IT purchasing department are made incredibly easier when they have a single trusted supplier of computer solutions and services.

 

Medical PC
Medical Grade 24″ Computer

Tangent offers dozens of types of computers in a variety of sizes ranging from large 24” medical grade all-in-one PCs to powerful tablets to the most minuscule of rugged industrial mini PCs. They are designed to excel in durability, longevity, and performance in most any working environment. Because business doesn’t just happen in corporate offices, Tangent pours its attention into all types of potential work settings and use cases, whether it be a video editing system in a news van or a data entry computer in a clean room. Tangent’s medical all-in-one PCs are largely designed for use in the healthcare industry but are excellent for any organization that needs protection from environmental infection control and isolation precautions. Their line of business all-in-one PCs are perfect as clean, efficient workstations in places like call centers, home offices, internet cafes, libraries, and more. And if space is a concern, a mini PC is a good consideration.

Rugged Mini Computer
Rugged Mini O

A mini PC is perfect for small spaces like in vehicles, tractors, and airplanes, or for use as a timeclock or as an outdoor computer. All of the computers in Tangent’s product line are easy to sanitize and boast a long useful life due largely to a fanless operation and IP rated protection against contamination and water ingress into the system. The mini PCs have the added benefits of being shock and vibration proof and being able to withstand operating temperatures of up to 158 degrees Fahrenheit. They are excellent for video monitoring systems, factory automation systems, or as network controllers. As different as the purposes for Tangent’s all-in-one and mini computer systems can be, they are both built to provide the best in performance, reliability, and flexibility. 

A Tablet to Fit Industrial Tasks

Michelle

The job requirements for an industrial refinery’s quality control inspector are understandably  hefty. They are required to monitor mechanical works in progress and evaluate completed work to ensure compliance with applicable codes and safety standards. In their work day, they are often on-site reviewing and comparing mechanical drawings for code compliance and for requirements on piping, pressure valves or other hardware repairs. This is a challenging enough job from behind a desk, but quality control inspectors are expected to work outdoors and in inclement weather conditions, as well as to wear fire-retardant clothing and personal protective equipment such as steel-toe shoes, ear and eye protection. The hazardous environment of a refinery requires heavy precautions and experienced workers using the right tools to complete their job. As they need proper attire, inspectors also need similarly protected industrial grade computer equipment in their role.

With a hand-held industrial grade tablet computer, an inspector can actively pull up blueprints and requirements while looking at plant infrastructure, fabricated and welded parts, worker processes, take pictures of questionable or old pipe fittings, red flag components,  complete QA reports and sign off on work. The industrial grade quality of the tablet is important to ensure that it can hold up to the harsh environment, constant movement, and perform to the degree needed.

The Tangent R10 10” industrial tablet has a rugged exterior design that is tested to handily withstand drops of up to four feet. It has PCAP multi-touch, an IP65 rating to prevent water, dust, ash or other contaminant ingress into the computer, and is fanless to also prevent harmful internal buildup. The R10 goes above and beyond other tablets with an optional combo data input accessory that offers smart card, MSR, and fingerprint reader that can be extremely useful for quick and secure access. It also has F1 & F2 programmable keys for fast, and repeatable actions which is useful for an inspector to mark items as pass or not pass on a checklist, or switch between forms, applications or drawings.industrial tablet

This industrial grade tablet’s internal components can be customized to suit the performance and storage needs of its purpose, and it has an optional desk charging stand so the tablet can be used with a full size monitor in the office and immediate be on the go again. Utility, durability, and flexibility can make all the difference in the effectiveness of a quality control inspector, and that has a huge impact on the safety and compliance record of an industrial operation.

Dressing the Part for Modern Industry

Michelle

Dressing the Part for Modern Industry

Interior design legend, Elise de Wolfe, once said that dressing well is largely a question of detail and accessories. As much as this philosophy applies to fashion and design, it can also be said that a great computer system is largely contingent on the details built into it, versatility of use, and available accessories for expansion of capabilities. For example, say that you need an industrial tablet to be a workhorse computer at a construction job site, but also need something to entertain your children in the evening. Many people would cite that these two scenarios are equally hazardous to the health of the tablet PC. Let’s consider that this same system also needs to be able to read smart cards (including credit cards) and barcodes. This sounds like a lot for a tablet to do but Tangent offers products that are not only fully featured themselves, but come built to survive harsh conditions and falls, and are also accessorized to suit many types of business needs.

 

Tangent’s industrial tablet PC, the R10, is encased with a durable and highly protective enclosure with rubber on the corners that also keeps the back of the case from getting scratched when the tablet is laid down flat. The industrial PC is tested to withstand drops from a distance of four feet up. Being jostled around a bit will not damage the internals as there are no moving parts; the PC is built with a fanless design to ensure extreme reliability and a noise-free operation. These details certainly come in handy when working outdoors, or when less-than-careful hands are swinging it around. The casing of the industrial PC is rated IP65 on the back panel and IP64 on the front panel against dust ingress and water spray. The USB ports are also covered to protect against contamination from dirt and liquids.

 

The processing unit of the industrial PC is no wimp, either. The tablet comes equipped with an Intel 3rd Gen Core i7 processor and up to 480 GB of solid state storage. This harks back to the point about there being no moving parts in the industrial PC. Up to 8GB of memory is also offered for the industrial tablet PC. Wireless and bluetooth capabilities come standard on the unit, as well as integrated audio and speakers. Another great feature for customization is F1 & F2 programmable keys for quick access to common commands.

 

And let’s talk about the accessories! The optional combo data input accessory offers a smart card, MSR, and fingerprint reader, along with capabilities for RFID and a barcode reader. This means one could scan an item and then accept payment for it. Of course, this is easier done when the tablet is stationary, so the industrial PC also has an optional desktop charging stand. If you find that a stand is unnecessary and want a smaller charging option, the included standard power module provides a non-intrusive power input for the unit and an added USB port. The many add-ons to the R10 industrial PC make it a beautifully versatile tool for a great range of computing needs.

Industrial Computers – Conducting Business in Extreme Conditions

Michelle

Industrial Computers – Conducting Business in Extreme Conditions

It’s no surprise that extreme weather can have a significant impact on industrial operations, which often times take place while on the move or exposed to the elements. For military personnel working in Afghanistan, summers are blistering hot and winters can be bitterly cold, and a 2007 Air Force Weather Agency report on Iraq’s summer weather marked a record temperature of 124 degrees fahrenheit. Temperatures of that nature are nearly intolerable to human beings, much less to sensitive computer equipment that emit heat on their own. For that and many other reasons, sturdy industrial computers are a necessity to ground forces and any other industry working in harsh conditions.

 

With thermal and shock management in mind, Tangent created a line of rugged industrial PCs to suit a variety of environments, be it frigid or sweltering. Both the Rugged E3 and Rugged E2 have operating temperatures ranging from -13° to 158°F (-25° to 70° C) and storage temperatures ranging from an amazing -22° to 185°F (-30° – 85° C). Another excellent feature is that they have no moving parts to wear out. Being fanless and sealed ensures that dust, humidity, and other contaminants cannot get into the industrial computer and wreak havoc as it often does with standard PCs.

 

How do they manage to regulate extreme temperatures without fans? By using conduction cooling! Tangent’s military-grade industrial computer cases have fin-like design that acts as a heat conduit to draw thermal energy away from the processor and dissipates the heat. Conduction cooling literally conducts the heat away from the source to the cooler outer wall of the enclosure. This makes the enclosure of the industrial computer itself a heat radiator. Although forced air cooling is cheaper and easier to implement, conduction-cooled designs provide greater flexibility than forced-air, particularly for extreme conditions. An added bonus to this cooling method is that it provides a completely noise-free operation for the industrial PC.

 

Besides the excellent cooling components, the sturdy construction of the mini PCs protects them from vibration, sudden movements or drops, which make them prime candidates for use as a vehicle mounted industrial computer. The Rugged Tank is especially suited to in-car applications. In addition to being rated for extreme temperature, the conductive case is MIL-STD-810F military standard tested for shock and vibration. The Rugged Tank industrial computer also has an optional iRIS-2400 remote management module that provides IPMI 2.0 compliant support that monitors hardware operation, can be used to autonomously to reset the machine from a remote location and also provides a reliable remote access tool. A very handy thing to have for a PC that is installed in hard to reach places!

 

In the unfortunate event of a crash, the Rugged series industrial computers come equipped with RAID support and the E series even has removable drive bays to quickly swap out bad hard drives. This also helps to meet offsite data retention and storage requirements organizations often have for auditing purposes. Both form and function play heavily into the construction of the Rugged industrial computer series to ensure reliable and consistent performance in any work capacity or environmental situation and aims to be as flexible as possible to meet the demands of ever changing industries and the climates they do business in.

 

Fanless Computers: Still Running Cool!

Michelle

Fanless Computers: Still running cool!

 

Making a computer with a single fan is good engineering, making them fanless is an art. TANGENT offers fanless computers which are reliable and robust to meet your demanding requirements of ruggedness and performance.

What are major problems with the fans that require us to build fanless computers?

  • Noise: Fans produce noise during normal operation. As the installed system becomes older, the fan becomes nosier. In some applications, noise above a certain level is unacceptable.
  • Maintenance: Fans suck in dirt and clog the filters. This requires frequent cleaning of filters. In certain embedded systems, access to the computer for maintenance is not feasible. Problem of choking of filters exacerbates if the computer in installed in a dusty environment.
  • Failure: A fan is a moving part, with an electric motor. This can fail, resulting in overheating of the computer and eventual system shutdown or even total system failure.

Fanless computer eliminates these problems completely. The computer becomes quieter, becomes more robust and requires less maintenance.

Why are fans required in computers anyway? Well, computers need a lot of processing power that requires high-performance components, especially the CPU. These components generate a lot of heat. If this heat is not removed rapidly and continuously, the system will over-heat and will eventually fail. Fans provide an easy and cheap way to remove this generated heat by blowing air across the hot components and out of the computer casing, keeping the temperature inside the computer within the acceptable limits.

However, the limitations of fans in a dusty environment are significant and in certain application, noise is a major issue. To minimize noise generated by fans and reduce heat generation, various techniques such as; variable and low-speed fans with efficient CPU heat sinks, logic to slow down or shutdown the CPU when not in active use are incorporated. However, the best way to remove the fan-related problems is to remove the fan altogether, replacing it with an alternate heat removal system.

A computer with a good performance is simple to build, but a fanless computer requires a good design. Heat load is carefully calculated and the heat removal system is designed to match the heat load in worst case operating conditions. A system of heatpipes is used to remove the unwanted heat out of the system.

Heatpipes are made of copper or copper alloy, capable of transferring a large amount of heat. Inside the heatpipe there is liquid under low pressure that boils into vapor when it absorbs heat. This vapor then condenses back into liquid at the cooler surfaces of the heatpipe and releases the heat. Heat is taken from the CPU by one end of the heatpipe, and transferred to the other end of the heatpipe in contact with a larger heat sink, which is the Aluminum casing of the computer system. This casing comes in contact with the ambient air and thus dissipates the heat in the air, thereby cooling the system.

TANGENT’s Fanless Rugged Mini PC line is designed with industrial and military grade components and specifications for reliable operation under a demanding environment which require reliable and noiseless operation.

Model Rugged S is specially designed for use in industrial and medical applications. It can be used in mobile medical carts, anesthesia module and display systems. It provides optional ISO ports to meet the needs of Critical Care environments.

Model Rugged S meets rugged design specifications and medical UL60601-1 certification. It comes with built-in watchdog timer for automatic re-start on a non-fatal system fault, optional 4k V Isolation card for patient protection, and an optional TPM for added security.

ruggeds MINI RUGGED S

TANGENTS’s newest model Rugged G is also a fanless computer, designed to handle 12, 19, or 24V DC system power input, a wide range of operating temperatures, and can be installed in a variety of industrial environments.

rUGGED-g-MINI-PC Rugged G

Rugged G’s fanless design is ideal for dusty factory floors and offers a lot of installations options for wall or DIN rail mounting. 4 COM ports, 6 USB ports, and a Digital I/O port, provide maximum connectivity from this rugged industrial Mini PC. Rugged G can operate in extreme operating temperature range of 14° to 131°F (-10° to – 55°C).

Industrial Computers: Solutions for Modern Factories and Workplaces

Michelle

Industrial Computers

Every part of our lives has started revolving around the need for computers and automation. The shift from an analogue way of life to an automated way of life has been quite sudden. Computing has become an integral part of industries, but the needs for the right hardware is most certainly different. It is due to the changing requirements and needs at the industrial level that escalated the need for industrial computers.

What are Industrial Computers?

Industrial Computers may have the same specifications of the PC that normal consumers use at home. The difference however is in the materials that are used in making these computers. For an industrial computer, the materials that go into making chips is made to be tougher, for it to withstand rough conditions like dust, high temperate, humidity, power surges, vibration, burglary, long operation hours and the list goes on.

How can Industrial Computers be useful today?

Computers are everywhere, the reason behind this is because our lives have started depending on computing to a much larger extent as compared to our dependency on them 10 or even 5 years ago. Imagine a situation where the main server of a bank goes down due to elevated temperature, the damage could be huge, not only to the organization but to that of the consumers as well. Industrial computers are designed to withstand hot temperatures with the help of heatsinks and ventilation.

Factories and heavy industries tend to use computers in conditions that a normal computer cannot withstand, therefore, having computers that can work flawlessly in tough situations would be the right pick for them. Industrial computers use stainless steel and conform with IP66 protection that keeps them safe against dust and water damage.

Industrial Computers are being used for operating and managing outdoor tasks, take a car parking booth, for instance. The parking booth is programmed to allow only members and people who pay for the parking ticket, therefore, the computer operating this should be secure enough to keep an unauthorized person from having access to the system. Similarly, outdoor conditions may also apply which includes rain, dust, dirt of all kind etc. Moreover, the booth must be connected to a ticketing machine and multiple sensors to ensure that only the authorized cars can pass.

A modern industrial computer, can cater for all the applications mentioned above. These computers come with protection against rough natural conditions. Adding on, these computers have multiple ports for them to be interfaced with multiple sub-systems. Moreover, the connectors, for instance, USB ports are covered with physical locks that help with keeping the security and integrity of the system intact.

Industrial VS Rugged Mini PCs

Michelle

Industrial vs Rugged Mini PCs:

What’s the difference?

Tangent Industrial PCs can be found in air, water and land vehicles such as trains, tanks, submarines, boats and emergency vehicles.

Tangent Rugged Mini PCs can also be found in the above-mentioned vehicles but are designed to go one step further in ensuring consistent performance and reliability in the most extreme conditions. Our Mini Rugged PCs can withstand extreme temperatures ranging from -25°C and as hot as 70°C.

Where Tangent Industrial computers can be found with fans and vents, Tangent Rugged Mini PCs are entirely fanless and ventless ensuring performance in the harshest air quality scenarios with high dust concentrations, no movement parts ensure vibration and shock resistance and noise-free operation.

Top Features of Tangent Rugged Mini PCs

Michelle

Top Features of Tangent Rugged Mini PCs

With our line of over 10 Rugged Mini PCs and adjustable specifications, it’s no wonder why Tangent is the go-to provider for Rugged Mini PCs.

At Tangent, you can find the right Mini PC for your needs.

Below are some key features you can find in our lineup of Rugged Mini PCs.

Industrial Grade,
Medical Grade UL60601-1

Rugged Mini S meets rugged design specifications and medical grade, UL60601-1, requirements. Ideal for Healthcare or Industrial applications.

Multiple USB Ports

RUGGED E1

4 USB Ports

TANGENT E1

RUGGED E2

8 USB PORTS

rugged-mini-s

Extreme Temperature Range Operation

RUGGED E2

Environmental
Operating temp: -13° – 158°F (-25° – 70° C)
Storage temp: -22° – 185°F (-30° – 85° C)

rugged-mini-s
RUGGED 0

Temp Range
Operating temp: -4° – 140°F (-20° – 60° C)
Storage temp: -40° – 185°F (-40° – 85° C)

Rugged 0

Swappable Drive

RUGGED E3

Use the two removable drive bays to meet offsite
data retention and storage needs.

RUGGED E3

Wide Input Voltage Range

RUGGED E2

9 to 48V DC Power input range allows for integration into various environments.

rugged-mini-s

Multiple Connectivity

RUGGED MINI S

Plenty of ports to enhance use and functionality.

Input/Output Ports
2x USB 2.0
2x USB 3.0
6x Serial (Full PCIe model: 4x Serial)
1x DVI
2x RJ45
Audio Ports

rugged-mini-s

IP67 / IP69K

RUGGED O

Protected against ingress of dust and high-temperature, high-pressure water.

Rugged 0

 

For the full list of Tangent Rugged PCs, side-by-side comparisons of features and performance visit us at: https://www.tangent.com/industrial-computer/rugged-mini-pc/ or click HERE.