2. environmental conditions: Hardware must withstand everyday production

The working environment in food production is often much more demanding than a classic office or administration area. Industrial PCs and panel PCs must function reliably – even when they are exposed to moisture, temperature fluctuations, dust, vibrations or mechanical loads.

In cooling areas, on hot production lines or in humid cleaning zones, unsuitable devices can quickly reach their limits. For this reason, the hardware should always be selected to suit the actual operating environment.

Temperature resistance is a crucial point. Depending on the production area, it may be necessary for a device to work reliably both at low temperatures and at elevated ambient temperatures. In many industrial applications, temperature ranges from around -20 °C to +60 °C are relevant.

Humidity is also an important factor. Devices should be protected against high levels of humidity and prevent condensation as far as possible. Especially in food production, where cleaning processes and changing temperatures occur regularly, this can be crucial for the service life of the hardware.

In addition, industrial PCs must be robust enough to withstand vibrations, shocks or intensive operation in everyday working life. In practice, touchscreens are not always operated carefully. Therefore, displays and housings should have a certain mechanical resilience.