I. Industrial PC Motherboard Layout Structure
Arrangement of industrial computer motherboard layout structure:
(1) To fit the same number of expansion slots into a smaller space while maintaining stability and limiting interference, the rationality of the industrial control computer motherboard structure design is particularly important. A slight design flaw can lead to system crashes. In this regard, manufacturers with weak capabilities are prone to making mistakes, resulting in unstable motherboards and poor performance. Therefore, I suggest that unless there are special requirements, it is better to use the reference design industrial control computer motherboard. How to identify whether it is a reference design depends on your mastery of chipsets.
(2) The positions of interface components on the motherboard of an industrial control computer are generally fixed and cannot be changed at will. This is the case for expansion slots such as PICMG and interfaces such as keyboard, mouse, and USB. They must be positioned in accordance with the holes on the chassis. However, sometimes a new chassis cover is provided to replace the original cover to achieve a new interface layout.
(3) CPU and chipset layout: Since the circuit connecting the CPU and chipsets is important, and the chipset has special design requirements, and the chipset manufacturer has very clear requirements for the design of the CPU, chipset and its surrounding areas, the layout is almost always based on the reference design.
(4) Apart from the expansion slots, CPU, and chipsets, other components can be arranged relatively freely. For example, the ATX power connector should be designed to be far away from the CPU fan to allow for better heat dissipation inside the case.
(5) The layout of the industrial computer motherboard should be reasonable. Some designs of industrial computer motherboards are not well thought out. If you need to pay attention to some details when purchasing, such as the capacitors near the CPU interface of some industrial computer motherboards affecting the installation of the fan, etc., these are things you should pay attention to when purchasing.
II. Application Advantages of Fanless Industrial PCs
Through the above introduction, you should now have a basic understanding of the layout and structure of industrial PC motherboards. In this section, we will mainly discuss the application advantages of fanless industrial PCs.
A fanless industrial PC, also known as a fanless industrial computer, mainly consists of a motherboard, CPU, memory, and storage devices. The CPU is the primary heat source in an industrial PC. To ensure normal operation and effective heat dissipation, fanless industrial PCs typically use a closed aluminum alloy chassis. Internal heat is conducted through special thermally conductive materials to the entire chassis, thus dissipating heat across the aluminum alloy surface. This not only solves the heat dissipation problem but also provides dust and vibration protection, while effectively protecting the internal components.
Features of fanless industrial PCs:
1. The chassis is made of aluminum alloy and conforms to the "EIA" standard, which enhances the resistance to electromagnetic interference.
2. The chassis has no fan, and the passive cooling method greatly reduces the system's maintenance requirements.
3. Equipped with a highly reliable industrial power supply, and has overvoltage and overcurrent protection.
4. It has a self-diagnostic function.
5. It is equipped with a "watchdog" timer, which will automatically reset without human intervention in the event of a system crash due to a malfunction.
6. Facilitates the scheduling and operation of multiple tasks.
7. It is compact in size, thin and light in weight, thus saving workspace.
8. Various installation methods are available, such as rail mounting, wall mounting, and desktop mounting.
Fanless industrial PCs can be flexibly applied in environments with harsh temperature and space requirements, including medical, self-service terminals, automotive, and monitoring applications that require low-power systems.
