PC or IPC - What is the difference?

A friend of mine was working on his first Kiosk project. The Kiosk business was to run for about 12 hours daily. He was worried that the Computer system he was about to invest in might not sustain this extensive usage for long. When he approached the computer dealer for advise, he was told to use an industrial PC instead of an ordinary PC. Looking confused, he inquired what the difference was between the two. All the dealer told him was that the industrial PC is more reliable.

So what really is the difference between the traditional PC and an IPC?

Essentially these two are similar in many aspects, yet very different – let me explain. Both these PCs share a host of features, including microprocessors, memory, storage media, interface ports and performance.

But why are IPCs gaining traction in the market place? The elevated interest and increasing preference for the use of IPCs over the traditional PC can be explained by the higher performance, quality, reliability, compatibility, customization options and long-term sustainability associated with the IPC, especially in the digital factory performance environment. These features have continued to impact the industrial and manufacturing sector in ways never seen before.

IPCs have been ruggedized and designed to not only work better in the typical industrial floors, but in harsh environments and climates too. The design philosophy of the IPC is to provide a controlled environment for the enclosed electronics to work well under the rigors associated with the factory floor or any other harsh environment. This includes the ability to withstand extremely high or low temperatures, wet conditions, constant vibration, extremely dusty areas or the presence of large amounts of particulate matter, where a typical PC would not survive.

An IPC can survive constant knocks or even being dropped – something you do not want to do with your regular PC. You can think of a myriad of applications that these features lend themselves to – from Kiosks that operate for long hours (maybe in extreme temperatures), to retail-based businesses where the touch-screens have to withstand constant use for extended periods of time and sometimes even when not necessarily used gently by customers.

IPCs are known for their customization and application-specific designs, dedicated performance and easy serviceability. The current trend is integrating IPC technologies to provide the customized solutions that industrial installations demand.

When considering the cost of doing business, electrical consumption of the computer systems is an important consideration. IPCs have been designed using durable material that lasts for much longer periods of time compared with your ordinary PC. This includes high quality components like capacitors, hardy grade Steel and Aluminum, able to last much longer, even in extreme environments.

Due to the many moving parts found in ordinary computers and the need to process so many instructions, there is demand for more power to run these units. The result is more power consumption than the IPCs, which tend to be built around specific and dedicated functions. The more power these units consume, the more heat is generated. This in turn calls for cooling and air conditioning, which tends to be noisy too.

Due to their compact size, durability, Eco-friendliness, and low-noise designs IPCs have have taken their rightful place in the market. The emerging designs have enhanced appearance, cooling, structural strength, power supply, temperature range, and module expandability.  

Comparing Industrial and Commercial PC Systems

Industrial grade embedded PC Systems are designed for use in environments where commercial grade PC Systems are not suitable. This is the case for a variety of reasons such as reliability, 24/7 operation, longevity of supply, sufficient thermal dissipation, extended temperatures of operation, weather extremes, poor power supply, support and serviceability.

It is often very tempting for Embedded PC System specifiers to see the chance to make cost savings by using commercial grade PC systems. This is a short sighted view as it ignores the reasons discussed here. Our industrial grade Mini-ITX for example look similar to their commercial counterparts which have been designed down to a price rather that for long term performance and reliability.

Differences in Delivering Commercial VS Industrial

How many times has a new office PC been delivered only for you to discover that it is completely different from the one you received a few months previously? This may not be a problem in the office environment but can cause serious issues in an industrial environment or where a larger product has been designed around it.

Commercial PCs are generally not intended for 24/7 operation and may therefore have a limited life expectancy. The failure of commercial grade PC systems can cause problems in the field as they are often installed in inaccessible locations or deeply embedded inside a machine of some type. It then becomes an expensive problem when service personnel have to be sent out to effect repairs or replacements.

Industrial grade components

Industrial grade systems are designed using industrial grade components such as wide temperature range solid state disks and memory. Industrial grade motherboards used in the systems are built using higher specification components such as capacitors which are designed with wider temperature ranges and a longer lifespan than those used in commercial grade motherboards.

The processor in industrial grade systems is chosen to give suitable performance with low power dissipation and the heat is usually removed conductively to avoid moving parts such as fans which are a point of failure. This prevents overheating in the industrial PC system and allows use at higher temperatures and sealed environments.  Typically industrial grade systems consume less power than commercial grade systems making them more efficient.

High grade materials are used in the construction of industrial grade systems which are hardwearing and do not degrade over time. By comparison commercial grade systems typically use plastic and thin metal which are not robust enough for the harsh environments where the systems are often used.

Industrial grade PC systems can often be specified as a sealed system to allow them to be used in difficult environments such as outside or in damp locations. The systems still need to function in these situations across a wide range of temperatures.

What Should be Considered?

Longevity of supply is also an important factor particularly when considering the longer term support of deployed systems. Many applications do not allow for the constantly changing specifications of commercial grade PC systems. Some OS software images cannot tolerate the hardware constantly changing and may fail to deploy or function correctly. Most industrial grade embedded PC systems have an availability and support for 7 years or more which is far greater than the usual 1 to 2 years for commercial grade PC systems. This allows a longer system design lifecycle which reduces the overall project cost over the lifetime costs of the project.

We like to make life easier ….

BVM supply a wide and diverse range of Industrial and Embedded Systems.
From Industrial Motherboards, SBCs and Box PCs, to Rack Mount computers and Industrial Panel PCs.

However, if you can’t find a solution that meets your needs from our wide & varied portfolio of standard products, speak to one of our team members around our bespoke design and manufacturing services. We can design a solution from ‘ground up’ – from concept to design – and through to system development and eventual mass production  manufacture.

You can either call us directly on +(0) 1489 780 144 and talk to one of the team | E-mail us at sales@bvmltd.co.uk | Use the contact form on our website

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