With the price of standard computers dropping, this puts computers in the reach of
everyone, most homes have at least 1 computer and 1 laptop, with the low cost and
availability businesses are now using them to monitor and control the production on
factory floors.
However we all know that the standard computer is best suited in an air conditioned
office, so as soon as they are introduced to factory floors that are dusty, grimey and full
of grease, problems occur, with lost records and this can result in lost production time.
To combat this, some companies either build custom offices on the factory floor at a cost
of thousands to have an area that is safe and free from relevant dust contamination or they
purchase special PC enclosures that offer a safe protective environment for the computer
to run without being effected by any dust, dirt or fluid that is in the surrounding area. The
PC enclosure is a more affordable solution, as it can be relocated if the production line is
increased or reduced, were as the office would have to be demolished and rebuilt!
Computer enclosures are cooled depending upon the application and the extreme
temperatures, there are solutions to cool an enclosure to -30 degrees and there are
solutions to heat the enclosure to +60 degrees Celsius. Air conditioning units are also
available, however they have moving parts than do wear out over time, there are options
to maintain a ambient temperature inside the cabinet even if the external temperature
range is to variable.
One solution to use in large temperature ranges, is a cooling tube, these run on
compressed air and once fitted to the computer enclosure, are set to the desired internal
temperature, for example 20 degree Celsius and it does not effect the hardware if the
external temperature drops to -20 degrees or 140 degrees Celsius, as the internal
temperature is a regular 20 degree C. These cooling tubes have no moving parts, so there
is nothing to wear out and they will certainly pay for themselves.
This is why many general manufacturers such as Ford Motors, Vauxhall, Paccar Trucks,
and SCA Hygiene use computer enclosures, to protect their computer hardware and to
help control production.