What is a Panel PC?

Panel PCs have emerged as important tools across a wide spectrum of sectors, including industrial automation, manufacturing, transportation, medical equipment, and retail. These devices offer a compact, unified solution, reshaping control, monitoring, data acquisition, and seamless human-machine interaction within intricate landscapes.

These computers are essentially a combination of a display and a fully-functional, purpose-built computer. Rugged, durable all-in-one systems are designed for use in high-traffic areas or industrial environments where dust, debris, moisture, or vibrations could cause problems for standard computers, though there are options for less industrial settings.

HMIs, or Human-Machine Interfaces, provide a graphical interface for users to interact with the system. Designed to be easy-to-use, with intuitive menus and action buttons, they provide a standardised way for operators to interact with the systems, preventing errors, downtime, and damage.

Industrial Panel PCs are robust, all-in-one computing solutions focused on durability. They are designed for harsh environments and industrial applications, often finding a home on factory floors and control cabinets. They tend to feature fanless operation and are suited to wide temperature ranges, operating at high-performance in both cold and hot environments.

Aside from Industrial Panel PCs, there are several varieties of panel PC to be aware of.

Open Frame Panel PCs

These Open Frame devices have no bezel and are usually mounted inside machines or fixed to a door and accessed via a cut-out. Similar to industrial options, these PCs are designed to operate seamlessly in extreme production environments.

Stainless Steel Panel PCs

These Stainless Steel PCs are completely waterproof thanks to IP65, IP66 or IP69K ingress protection, making them an ideal choice in food processing, retail, and outdoor applications. The choice of stainless steel can offer resistance to bacterial growth and corrosion – for example, our COTS stainless steel HMIs are manufactured with SUS304 grade stainless steel.

PoE Powered Panel Computers

Ideal for light industrial applications where aesthetics are key. PoE Powered Panel Computers are a stylish choice that can be powered by Power over Ethernet (PoE). These all-in-one devices are great for applications like waiting rooms and travel check-ins, and are available in sizes from 7″ upwards.

RISC-Based HMIs

Designed to be as compact as possible, these devices feature a bezel that can be mounted into an aperture in your design. RISC-Based Human Machine Interfaces are ideal for rugged applications, often conforming to IP65 standards for water and dust resistance.

Panel PCs and HMIs are used across several industries, including automotive, maritime, oil and gas, medical, military, aerospace and manufacturing. They are highly versatile and can be adapted to virtually any environment for tasks such as machine automation and process control, or in point-of-sale systems, digital signage and kiosks. These systems are also found in medical facilities for patient data collection and healthcare monitoring, as well as in hospitality settings for customer service and transportation settings for ticketing and navigation.

There are outdoor Panel PCs that are specifically built to handle exposure to sunlight, rain, fluctuations in temperature and even vandalism. These attributes make these products ideal for self-service kiosks, transport hubs and remote sites. They also host improved readability, making them perfect for use in harsh sunlight.

There are several benefits to using Panel PCs and HMIs.

Enhanced Efficiency and Integration

Easily integrated into existing control systems, these devices combine functionality and adaptability. Devices like these empower professionals to improve efficiency and productivity in managing operations and amassing data.

Durability

Designed to withstand the rigours of harsh industrial environments, these computers are built to operate in extreme temperatures and can be subjected to vibration, dust, moisture and other contaminants without performance impact.

Improved Readability

These computers feature heightened screen brightness, which ensures operators can seamlessly navigate interfaces, offering advantages across a range of sectors.

Customisation

Many of these PCs and HMI devices can be fully customized to your exact specifications and computing power needs. Customise your processor, memory, storage, peripheral cards and operating system, or delve deeper by looking at touchscreens. Opt for PCAP, Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) or Infrared (IR) touchscreens to suit your requirements.

A range of operating systems are available on these highly versatile PCs and can be selected to match the requirements of the application. Common options include Windows 10 or 11 IoT Enterprise, Android and various versions of Linux can all be utilised.

Certified Panel PCs are panel PC solutions that are compliant with industry standards. Manufacturers such as Avalue, Winmate, Axiomtek, Aplex Technology and many more provide a range of options. We can provide certified solutions to the following markets:

Most of these devices are designed for continuous operation thanks to fanless thermal management, low power processors, industrial-grade SSDs and can detect faults and automatically reboot.

Through robust construction, IP-rated enclosures and industrial-grade components, these devices are made to withstand harsh environments. Featuring IP65 or IP67 ratings on the front panel for protection against dust, water and debris, these PCs are perfect for a range of uses. Designed with sealed housings, hardened motherboards and more, these computers can tolerate wide temperature ranges, vibration and exposure to moisture. Models can provide responsive touch control even when users are wearing gloves or working in high-moisture environments. A Panel PC can enable edge computing in harsh applications.

These devices are built for longevity. Featuring motherboards and solid-state drives that are made to last, as well as  CPUs like the Intel Atom. The long lifespan of an industrial panel PC makes them a long-term investment, supporting monitoring, advanced information systems and even point-of-sale transactions across a range of critical industries. HMIs can last up to 10 years, and in some instances, even longer.

These PCs can be customized to suit a range of applications, offering flexibility in both hardware and software. Customisation options include screen sizes, touchscreen interfaces, processing power, memory options, USB and other Input/Output configurations and modular mounting.

Choosing the right processor depends on the demands of the application. For low-power, or space-saving compact form factors, the Intel Atom is ideal, but for advanced computing power, something like the Intel Core i5 or better can offer powerful computing capabilities. Other considerations include the clock speed (GHz) and number of cores – for example, a quad-core processor for parallel tasks – as well as integration and future scalability.

There is a range of adaptable mounting options for these PCs to suit various industrial and retail applications. Panel mounting, VESA mounting and wall mounting are all possible, ensuring optimal positioning of displays for an enhanced user experience. There are also some modular designs to suit custom mounting, such as removable bezels or mounting brackets.

To choose the right panel PC, it’s important to assess your environment and define the performance needs of your device. From here, consider touchscreen and connectivity needs. Aligning your needs and requirements with the right product is key to the success of your project.

At Assured Systems, we offer an extensive range of Panel PC options for high-performance, harsh industrial applications and low-power requirements. If you can’t find exactly what you need, we can configure and build options to meet the exact needs of your project.

Before shipping, each device is thoroughly tested to make sure it performs as expected. We can even run specific tests based on the PC’s future usage. Whether you’re in retail, manufacturing, transport or something different, we’re here to help you find or build the right computer for the job.

Want to discuss your requirements or ask a question? Get in touch with us today, we’re happy to help.