What is an IP65 Panel PC?

IP65 is a rating used to indicate the level of protection an enclosure for electrical equipment gives against solids and liquids. The IP stands for ‘Ingress Protection’, the first number digit indicates solids and the second digit references liquids. Today, the world’s industrial computers are increasingly making the transition from the traditional keyboard and screen interface to being all-in-one touchscreen units, commonly called Panel PCs.

More commercial and industrial software is being designed for touchscreen, due in part to operating systems supporting touch technology, as well as the importance of sharing information across multiple devices. Industrial Panel PCs are essentially computer tablets which can be much larger than a handheld device and thus have the capacity for more computing power, more storage and more I/O. Being for industrial purposes they can be fanless; and have wide temperature and power input parameters. Assured Systems offer Panel PCs to fit all applications with specific qualifications and designs to cope with corresponding environments.

Does IP65 mean the whole unit is protected?

Certain Panel PCs are made to be panel mounted and therefore sit within a cut out. This can be within a dashboard or OEM fascia. The necessity for the unit to be dust and liquid protected may only be required for the exposed screen and bezel of the unit. Provided the unit is sealed into the dashboard or OEM fascia, the rear of the unit may be protected by what it is housed in. Therefore, many IP65 Panel Computers are made to be IP65 protected for the front of the unit only, saving cost and allowing for more I/O possibilities and ventilation if the unit isn’t fanless.

Alternatively there are industrial touchscreen computers available which are fully IP65. These can still be panel mounted or can be chassis mounted. The back of the units are protected just as much as the front and the I/O ports are also seal protected and/or fitted with special IP67 connectors to prevent dust and liquid ingress.

Do I need special housing material such as Stainless Steel or Aluminium?

Stainless Steel and Aluminium have the following benefits:

• They are rugged and strong materials
• They can easily be cleaned
• Resilient to rust and corrosion
• Resistant to bacteria
• Aluminium is light

All these reasons mean that aluminium and stainless steel are the perfect housing materials to make panel computers for food preparation & processing, and pharmaceutical environments. Stainless steel is a pre-requisite for any application within a food preparation or processing environment.

Quick Case Study:

Assured Systems recently provided a number of stainless steel panel computers for a large crisp manufacturer. The panel pcs were to control the temperature, volume, timing and flow of the crisp fryers. The air within the vicinity of the fryers (as with any kitchen with a fryer,) contained micro-droplets of oil. This meant the units needed to have fanless operation to prevent sucking in any oil micro-droplets. The micro-droplets of oil in the air left any surface with an oily residue after a certain amount of frying time. Therefore, the panel pcs needed to be hard wearing and able to withstand frequent cleaning with detergents.

The Solution

The GOT815-834 is a fanless 15” panel PC constructed of 316 stainless steel, sealed to IP66 from all six sides, perfectly suited to food factories and kitchens, or similar harsh applications.

The GOT815-834 is IP69K compliant, which goes beyond the standard IP rating enclosure chart. It was a designation specifically for the food industry, which ensures the ability to resist ingress from a high temperature, high pressure wash-down – allowing this Panel PC to be steam cleaned.

The GOT815-834 is one example of many IP65 Panel PCs Assured Systems can integrate into any project. We also have an extensive range of IP65 Panel Mount Monitors

About Assured Systems

Assured Systems is a leading technology company offering high quality and innovative applied computing solutions to the embedded, industrial, and digital-out-of-home markets across the world. Headquartered in Stone, England and with offices in North America, our reach is truly global. Our impressive product portfolio includes a full range of Fanless Embedded Computer Systems, Digital Signage & Multimedia Computer Systems, Touchscreen Panel PCs, Human Machine Interfaces, Vehicle Mount Computers, Rackmount Computer Systems, Single Board Computers, Rugged Laptops & Tablets.