What Exactly Is Custom Industrial Computer?

Commercial Computers and Custom Industrial Computers

From a functional and principle standpoint, industrial computers are no different from common commercial computers. Both accept user commands, complete specific software functions through the central processing unit, and provide feedback results to the user.

Custom industrial computers differ because the "control" functions are enhanced, reflecting different functional tendencies in various industries. This is akin to athletes participating in sports events, some run exceptionally fast, others jump particularly high, some excel in swimming, and others have outstanding gymnastics skills.

The Scope of Custom Industrial Computers

Commercial computers are like clothes bought in a mall, mass-produced according to several reference sizes; they are efficient to produce and inexpensive. However, they cannot meet users' personalized needs. Custom industrial computers, like custom-made clothes, are tailored to the user's body, providing a comfortable fit. Similarly, custom industrial computers perfectly match functional requirements.

Custom industrial computers are generally divided into several categories, primarily functional and structural. Functional aspects usually include performance requirements, interface requirements, and environmental adaptability requirements. Structural aspects include shape, color, material, and design style.

When users approach professional computer customization manufacturers with their requirements, the manufacturers will assign product managers for needs analysis and choose from their product library to find hardware configurations that meet user performance and function requirements. Sometimes, users may have niche requirements that cannot be met by the product library, in which case manufacturers will communicate with users to adjust requirements until a suitable product is found.

Production of Custom Industrial Computers

Custom industrial computer production is a more specialized process. Most users focus on software and application services, relying on manufacturers to complete the product manufacturing. In common customization needs, functional customizations mostly target electronic components, and usually selections are made from the existing product library. This library primarily comes from industrial brand manufacturers. The appearance customization is relatively basic, typically involving metal materials, with steel plates and aluminum alloys being the most common.

Enclosures made of steel plates need to be processed by a sheet metal factory. "Sheet metal" refers to the process of bending and punching thin steel plates into specified shapes, similar to origami, with the advantage of being cost-effective and suitable for mass production. If a user's product has a special shape and requires a better texture, aluminum alloy is also a common structural manufacturing material.

The manufacture of aluminum alloys is often called metal machining, which includes processes such as drilling, milling, grinding, and planing. Unlike sheet metal, which is akin to origami, machining is more like carving. Products made through machining have higher precision, better texture, and more unique functionalities. The downside is higher finished product costs and longer processing times.

After gathering the materials needed by the user, custom structural parts are retrieved from the processing factory. The industrial computer manufacturer assembles the user's custom industrial computer, installing each component in the appropriate position of the structural parts, arranging and securing internal wiring reasonably. After assembly, testing and inspection are performed until it is confirmed that the computer has been manufactured according to the user's requirements, at which point it is handed over to the user.