IPC market: Will DIN-rail PCs with I/O revolutionize industrial PCs?
Market study reports that DIN rail PCs with incorporated I/O are going to have a lasting impact on the worldwide industrial PC market.
Wellingborough, UK — With unit shipments expected to more than triple between 2006 and 2011, DIN rail PCs with incorporated I/O (also known as programmable automation controllers, or PACs) are going to have a lasting impact on the worldwide industrial PC market according to a report by IMS Research . The number of suppliers offering this product type is likely to increase significantly in the near future, the market research company says. Machine builders and end users will welcome the benefits of ruggedness, flexibility and functionality. Already, even with very few suppliers, shipment growth will far exceed that of any other IPC type, to more than 10,000 by 2011. The European, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) market in particular has shown great confidence in this relatively new bundled solution and is projected to represent more than 60% of revenues and shipments between now and 2011.
Report author Mark Watson comments, “These products, which have only been available on the market for just over 2 years, have met customer demand for compact bundled solutions. They are extremely rugged and can be used universally in all machine cabinets on the market today. Together with the flexibility and functionality that they offer, it is no surprise that shipments are projected to have an annual growth rate of over 20% between 2006 and 2011.”
Being aimed at control applications, DIN-rail PCs with I/O will also replace other automation control solutions such as PLCs, the study indicates. Their high reliability, coupled with extensive processing power (provided by multi-core processors) could lead to this product shaping the future market for PC-based control solutions.
— edited by C.G. Masi , senior editor, Control Engineering News Desk
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