Industrial computers are well-known, but what exactly is a fanless embedded industrial computer? How does it differ from traditional industrial computers? To address these questions, professionals have provided answers: the differences between traditional industrial computers and fanless embedded industrial computers can primarily be categorized based on structural and functional distinctions for reference.
Structural Differences of Industrial Computers
Traditional industrial computers use a combination of a 4U type cold-rolled steel chassis + gold finger motherboard (full-length or half-length card) + backplane + high-power power supply.
This structure has some unstable factors:
(1) The CPU card must be inserted into the backplane, which can lead to poor contact issues, such as vibration, loosening during transport, or oxidation of the gold finger, all of which can prevent the system from booting;
(2) It requires connecting some ATX signal wires between the backplane and CPU card;
(3) The CPU card is powered by the backplane, and if there are issues with the backplane, it will affect the power supply to the CPU card, leading to system instability (e.g., unreasonable design of the power supply circuit on the backplane); the CPU is externally inserted (PGA package), which poses connection risks and requires a fan for cooling. The connection between the fan and CPU and its lifespan are major safety hazards;
(4) The power supply has excessive power consumption, and the power supply requires a fan for cooling. If the fan fails, it can cause damage to the power supply and motherboard;
(5) The structure of the CPU card + backplane complicates installation (wasting time, needing to install the backplane before the CPU card), affecting work efficiency and making mass installation challenging.
The structure of fanless embedded industrial computers uses an all-aluminum casing + embedded motherboard + external low-power power supply.
System Advantages:
(1) The all-aluminum structure allows for better heat dissipation, is smaller and lighter, making it easier to install and transport.
(2) It uses advanced embedded, low-power CPU motherboards and integrates related peripheral interfaces on the CPU motherboard, reducing connection issues and avoiding related loosening problems.
(3) The embedded CPU motherboard uses a single +5V or +12V DC power supply, and is equipped with an AC adapter, making the on-site power supply options more diverse and reliable.
(4) Since the CPU on the embedded motherboard uses BGA (onboard) packaging, there are no concerns about connection issues, and the fanless design greatly improves reliability, thoroughly addressing the heat dissipation and lifespan issues of traditional industrial computers.
(5) For customer installation, only external ports need to be used to connect the hard drive and memory, allowing for immediate use, shortening installation time, and improving work efficiency.
Summary: The numerous connection wires between the CPU card and backplane or external interfaces can lead to loose connections or incorrect connections, resulting in overall system instability (similar to issues caused by fans in the system); fanless embedded industrial computers employ advanced technology to fundamentally resolve the issues that traditional industrial computers cannot, making the system more stable and the structure more streamlined.
Functional Differences of Industrial Computers
Traditional industrial computers are driven by the CPU card on the passive backplane with related interface cards.
Existing Risks:
(1) The signal paths between the CPU card and related peripheral cards are long, leading to signal attenuation and interference. (This has a greater impact in high-precision signal acquisition industries.)
(2) Since peripheral cards must be plugged into the passive backplane, their ability to drive more peripheral cards can sometimes be limited by the motherboard’s driving ability (e.g., sometimes the third PC device on the passive backplane cannot work).
(3) There are bridge chip monitoring issues on the backplane.
(4) Traditional industrial computers do not reserve interfaces for more advanced peripherals (e.g., AGP slots cannot meet higher display performance requirements, causing inconvenience for customers who either have to pay higher costs for PCI graphics cards or cannot achieve certain functionalities).
Advantages:
(1) More expansion slots, providing traditional ISA and PCI expansion.
(2) Traditional ISA and PCI devices are inexpensive.
Using embedded motherboards, expansion methods like PC104 or PCI104 are adopted.
System Advantages:
(1) Embedded motherboards generally use PC104 (equivalent to ISA), PCI104 (equivalent to PCI), MIN PCI, etc., resulting in shorter signal lines, less signal attenuation and interference, and more secure and reliable connections.
(2) PCI and ISA bridge chips are integrated onto the motherboard, providing stronger system driving and monitoring capabilities.
(3) The embedded motherboard integrates DIO CONTROL ENGINEERING China copyright, TV-OUT, audio, single and dual network ports, multiple serial ports, and multiple USB ports, offering customers a richer interface and making expansion easier. Lower costs.
(4) The LCD interface is a significant feature of the embedded motherboard, allowing users to connect directly to LCD displays, reducing the hassle of A/D conversion compared to traditional VGA mode, and minimizing safety hazards.
(5) It can run standard operating systems while also providing embedded operating systems: Windows CE, Linux, Windows XPE, etc., making the system simpler, faster to boot, more stable, and avoiding issues such as system damage from unexpected shutdowns.
Disadvantages:
(1) Relatively weak expandability, not providing traditional ISA interfaces.
(2) Expansion devices like PC104 are relatively expensive.
Summary: Traditional industrial computers present inconveniences in practical system applications due to their motherboard’s driving and monitoring issues, and the lack of mainstream interfaces can lead to increased procurement costs for customers. Embedded motherboards offer a richer and more mainstream interface selection, providing customers with a wide range of options and reducing costs.
