Industrial PCs: Scalability and Flexibility

Thanks to its capability of offering customised systems regardless of production volumes, Contradata develops and distributes next-generation industrial PCs ready for artificial intelligence. Let us look at some of the leading solutions

With an experience gained in forty years of presence on the Italian market, besides operating in the field of industrial PCs and embedded solutions, Contradata is the supplier of some of the most important OEMs and system integrators at international level. A qualified network of distributed companies and consulting and system integration skills are among the strengths of the company, which combines distribution with a range of hardware, software and firmware customisation services. In a large and well-equipped ESD Protected (EPA) area, Contradata manufactures and assembles industrial PCs, Embedded PCs and Panel PCs in accordance with specific customer requirements. Applications include, for example, the integration of I/Os and peripherals on board the system, the creation of custom BIOS software, the customisation of embedded operating systems such as Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, and the various test procedures which can be specifically designed based on requests.

System adaptability for a wide range of applications

In the selection of industrial PCs, edge computing and artificial intelligence have contributed substantially to changing application needs, and consequently the characteristics required by customers. Today, the term ‘industrial’ tends to be used to include a set of applications which can be extremely diverse in terms of performance, I/O interfaces required, design longevity and strength parameters. The challenge for industrial PC manufacturers is therefore to offer solutions capable of adapting to the field, but without having to resort to custom system design. This approach is often not applicable due to limited production volumes. Scalability, in the sense of system adaptability, is a strength for Contradata in the development of next-generation industrial PCs. The whole range of fanless industrial PCs and Panel PCs offered by Contradata can cover a wide range of applications, thanks to the possibility of providing customised systems regardless of production volumes.

Expandable PCs: high computing power in complex environments

The Cincoze DS-1300 series fanless systems are based on the 10th generation of Intel Core & Xeon processors (Comet Lake family). The series consists of three models, DS-1300, DS-1301 and DS-1302, which vary according to the number of available PCI and PCI Express expansion slots. This new series of systems is ideal for industrial applications which require high computing power in complex environments, thanks to the support of Intel® Core & Xeon (Comet Lake-S) CPUs up to 80 Watt TPD, which offer variants with up to 10 cores. This translates into a performance increase of up to 31% for compute-intensive multi-tasking applications. Cincoze’s fanless design ensures smooth operation in temperatures from -40 to +70°C. The expandable DS-1301 and DS-1302 versions support up to two PCI or PCI Express expansion slots, with a power capacity of 110 Watts to drive various high-speed I/O boards such as GPUs, frame grabbers and motion controllers. To increase the stability of the expansion board, the systems have been equipped with Cincoze’s patented PCIe Retainer fastening system, which can be adjusted according to the actual size of the board to be housed (up to 235×111 mm) and ensures high reliability in environments with strong vibrations.

The main technical specifications: additional functions and certifications

The DS-1300 series integrates high speed native I/O including 2x GbE LAN, 2x RS-232/422/485 COM ports, 6x USB 3.2, 2x USB 2.0 and more. Thanks to the scalable design based on CMI (Combined Multiple I/O), CFM (Control Function Module) and MEC (Mini PCI Express) modules, additional features such as Gigabit Ethernet ports, 10Gb Ethernet, high-speed USB and more can be integrated. The Mini PCIe socket with support for two SIM cards also enables the integration of Wi-Fi, 4G and GPS modules available on the market. The entire range is MIL-STD-810G certified for shock and vibration resistance, and meets the specifications of EN 50155 (EN 50121-3-2 only) rail regulation. All models support high operating temperatures, a wide input voltage range (9 – 48 VDC) and protection against overvoltage, overcurrent and electrostatic discharge.

Readily available artificial intelligence

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence is bringing new capabilities to IoT devices. We hear more and more about AIoT, which stands for Artificial Intelligence Of Things. Typical applications include automation, remote control and connection to other IoT devices. AIoT integrates the power of AI into these IoT devices, so that factory equipment can play an increasingly active role in the process by learning intelligently. For Contradata, GP-3000 is the flagship industrial PC for artificial intelligence and machine vision applications: it combines high-end processing performance, high-speed I/O and resilience in harsh environments. The introduction of high-efficiency GPU-based computers as an on-site data processing centre meets the demands for increasingly high performance in factory applications. GP-3000 supports Intel Core& Xeon® processors. The GPU Expansion Box (GEB) supports up to two full-length (≤328 mm) high-end 250 W GPU boards (up to 350 W on a single board) to maximise processing capabilities. I/O ports can support high performance peripherals including Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.2. The I/O set includes 5x LAN GbE, 2x COM ports, 6x USB 3.2, HDMI, DisplayPort, and VGA. High-speed LAN GbE ports enable bandwidth aggregation to efficiently transfer data to a public or private cloud. Besides, 2 additional 10 Gb Ethernet ports can be implemented as an option.