Industrial computer originated in 1984. Early industrial computers were used in the manufacturing process of factories, the control and monitoring of instruments and machinery, and then entered the field of life gradually, and were specialized for different industries. Whether it is the surge in demand for robots in an automated society, the explosion of 5G micro-base stations due to the Russia-Ukraine war, or the mysterious military weapons, they are all areas that industrial computers can touch.
IPCs are different from general consumer and commercial personal computers, which are roughly unified in specifications, so they are mass-produced. Due to the highly customized nature of industrial computers, customers are mostly equipment users or system integrators with technical capabilities, and have certain special needs for product specifications, designs, and services. IPC manufacturers not only need to have technical capabilities, but also have a considerable understanding of the customer's industry to meet the different design needs of customers in different industries. They are customized products and are service-oriented.
- IPC Industrial characteristics:
- High product quality and stability requirements
Industrial computers are mostly used in the industry, and often must be operated in special environments, or operated for a long time. For example, production line automation equipment, data switches in telecommunication equipment rooms, monitoring equipment, enterprise network security servers, navigation systems. It must operate continuously and stably for a long time without interruption, otherwise, it could cause significant losses. Therefore, the stability requirements of the computer system used are particularly strict. - Have a certain technical threshold
Most industrial computers have industry-specific specifications and are not standardized products, so there are compatibility issues between systems. At the same time, the product must meet the customer's special requirements for the working environment, such as temperature (humidity), waterproof (dust) performance, voltage stabilization system, and uninterruptible power system requirements for special design and adjustment. Therefore, manufacturers must have considerable R&D, production, testing, marketing, and system integration capabilities, have a certain technical threshold, and need to have strong technical capabilities to provide technical consultation before customers and maintenance services after sales. - Long-term supply and strict quality management
Due to high system stability requirements, IPC usually adopt mature technologies in the market to reduce the probability of failure. The replacement frequency of IPC is less than that of general consumer electronics products, and the life cycle is also longer. Therefore, IPC manufacturers must be able to provide long-term maintenance services and supply capabilities within the product life cycle. At the same time, a long product cycle means that the system may have to run continuously for many years. Quality control must also be very strict to maintain operate long-term stability of customer systems. For IPC manufacturers, it is also a test of technology and quality control. - Wide range of application fields, many changes in specifications and characteristics
In addition to being used in the manufacturing industry, IPC have been used in a variety of industries and life surroundings, such as finance, medical care, aerospace, telecommunication networks and life automation, with a wide range of applications. Since it is not a standardized product, the specification changes are very diverse, and it also tests practitioners' familiarity with different customer industries and their ability to design and manufacture different specifications.
In the future, IPC must also provide more complete after-sales services and a more consumer-friendly environment. Because the industrial computer is an intelligent carrier, it should not wait until a problem occurs to provide services, but should be an intelligent service mechanism. Future products should embed integrated data processing capabilities, combined with cloud service capabilities, to become a proactive and valuable service provider, not just a simple after-sales service.