Dust proof PC

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michaelt

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Ultimate Geek

#102679 19-May-2012 09:10

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I can't find it.

Can anyone suggest a cheap option for a dust-proof PC in a dirty industrial environment. I'd prefer at least Atom level performance, although that's not necessary.

Having at least one RS-232 serial port would be an advantage.

At the moment I'm considering buying a second-hand fanless laptop from trademe. There's a few cheap Panasonic Toughbooks but I think they have the Mobile Pentium 4 1.7Ghz CPU and I'm a bit worried about performance and heat generation.

Any ideas?

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#627637 19-May-2012 09:42

I hear there's a new Panasonic Toughbook series coming out any minutes now.

michaelt

425 posts

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#627663 19-May-2012 11:07

Thanks, however that's probably more money than I'm looking to spend.

I don't need anything particularly rugged, just dust-resistant. Doesn't necessarily need to be a laptop.

I guess an alternative to a dust-proof PC is anything I could blow out easily with compressed gas. I usually have oxygen cylinders on-hand, however that might be a bit of a fire hazard.

blackjack17

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#627667 19-May-2012 11:29

what size dust would it be? Could you just add some filters to the intake?

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michaelt

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#627672 19-May-2012 11:39

All sizes. Most of it is fairly large (paint/steel from grinders) but a fair amount of smaller dust as well. I think any filters would get clogged pretty quickly. I'm more inclined towards a sealed passively cooled system.

gzt

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#627673 19-May-2012 11:46

This probably has a fan - http://www.rutherfordmarine.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=173. but ask. There are more along that line available elsewhere.

knoydart

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#627683 19-May-2012 12:47

What applications are you looking to run? I have a CF-18 Toughbook from a seller on Trade Me, put as much ram as I could fit in it and it works well for general day to day stuff. The left hand side does get a bit warm when its charging for a few hours (when the machine is on) but Panasonic have the laptop to be passively cooled. The smaller toughbooks don´t have a DVD drive so you will have to bring on data via FTP or USB unless you get an external drive.

grant_k

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#627684 19-May-2012 12:49

Seems like you need something along these lines:

http://www.jenlogix.co.nz/product-details.cfm?catID=209&prodID=423&/eBOX510-820-FL

That one is definitely fanless, but you would need to put something in front of the connectors so no dust got in there. There is a whole range of units in this family:

http://www.jenlogix.co.nz/products.cfm?catID=209&/Embedded%20Systems

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michaelt

425 posts

Ultimate Geek

#627685 19-May-2012 12:50

I'm planning to use it for data acquisition from lab instruments over RS-232 or USB. Will probably use Excel to generate reports, then print them over the network.

Those jenlogix units seem interesting. Any idea how much they go for?

grant_k

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#627686 19-May-2012 12:53

michaelt: I'm planning to use it for data acquisition from lab instruments over RS-232 or USB. Will probably use Excel to generate reports, then print them over the network.

So it looks like you don't need any monitor?

In that case, the eBox units mentioned above would be a good fit. Most of them have an RS-232 port, and all of them have USB.

grant_k

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#627687 19-May-2012 12:54

michaelt: Those jenlogix units seem interesting. Any idea how much they go for?

It's some years since I worked with them so I don't have any up-to-date knowledge of pricing. I will send the company owner an email and suggest he contacts you.

knoydart

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#627689 19-May-2012 12:57

How often do you want to collect data - once a minute, once a second?
You are not rendering video so could you optimise or at least install a lightweight O/S to allow lower spec hardware to be used?

They may not be the cheapest machines but they get my vote

michaelt

425 posts

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#627690 19-May-2012 12:57

Probably will need a monitor actually, which is why I was looking mostly at second-hand laptops. Those units do have VGA, but that brings up the question of how much dust an LCD can handle.

grant_k

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#627691 19-May-2012 13:00

michaelt: Probably will need a monitor actually, which is why I was looking mostly at second-hand laptops. Those units do have VGA, but that brings up the question of how much dust an LCD can handle.

LCD monitors cannot handle a lot of dust, but they are less susceptible than PCs with fans!

You could either put a standard monitor in some sort of enclosure (cheapest way), or Jenlogix also has a range of Industrial monitors:

http://www.jenlogix.co.nz/products.cfm?catID=137&/Heavy%20Industrial%20Displays

There is also a range of Panel-PCs which do the whole job in one unit:

http://www.jenlogix.co.nz/products_parent.cfm?catID=125&/Panel%20PCs

michaelt

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#627692 19-May-2012 13:02

I'm still setting all of this up. Was looking at using one of the following ADC's:
http://www.taskit.de/en/products/interface/if/rs232-adc16-24.htm (probably the 16-bit version)
http://www.taskit.de/en/products/interface/gpio/gpio-ai.htm

Am more concerned with accuracy than sampling speed. According to the manual for the first ADC I'll probably need to drop the sampling rate to 15 Hz or below.

Basically, I'll be entering a sample ID into the system, running the sample through the instrument and having it record the result. Will need a display and a keypad of some kind.

EDIT: Corrected second link.

grant_k

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#627694 19-May-2012 13:04

michaelt: I'm still setting all of this up. Was looking at using one of the following ADC's:
http://www.taskit.de/en/products/interface/if/rs232-adc16-24.htm (probably the 16-bit version)
http://www.taskit.de/en/products/interface/gpio/index.htm

Am more concerned with accuracy than sampling speed. According to the manual for the first ADC I'll probably need to drop the sampling rate to 15 Hz or below.

Jenlogix have a big range of ADCs as well. It would be easier dealing with a local company.

michaelt:Basically, I'll be entering a sample ID into the system, running the sample through the instrument and having it record the result. Will need a display and a keypad of some kind.

Or you could use a touchscreen to do the same thing. In that case, a Panel-PC would be a tidy solution.

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