EC: CP32xx panel PCs

Hardware - Integrated HMI controllers: The CP32xx panel PC is a powerful, pole-mountable automation device with processors up to Intel Core i7 and a built-in multi-touch display for all-in-one HMI and control applications. This is a Control Engineering 2016 Engineers’ Choice Honorable Mention.

October 15, 2015

With the new CP32xx panel PC series from Beckhoff Automation, industrial multi-touch display technology can be used in an all-in-one, high-performance automation device for HMI and control applications. These powerful devices for mounting arm installation feature all-around IP 65 protection and integrate best-in-class multi-touch control panel technology with a high-performance industrial PC (IPC)—all in one rugged, yet compact housing.

The area at the rear of the CP32xx panel PC, which is required for swiveling and tilting the connected mounting arm, is also efficiently used to accommodate the added IPC components while saving space. The components in this solution are thermally decoupled from each other; to save space, the computer is actually built around the integrated mounting arm in a U-shaped housing with cooling fins for passive cooling.

For maximum computing power beyond the standard dual-core 1.6 GHz Intel Celeron CPU, the CP32xx panel PC series also offers the option to use Intel Core i series processors of the second, third and fourth generations. Two cores can be leveraged with Intel Core i3 and i5 processors and four cores with the i7 processor. Offering maximum selection, CP32xx panel PC displays are available in 12- to 24-in. sizes, in both 4:3 and widescreen formats, as well as with landscape and portrait orientation options.

The aluminum housing design ensures the panel PCs are exceptionally robust and ideally suited for industrial applications. The all-glass surface is chemically hardened, has an anti-reflection coating, and offers maximum resistance to environmental influences. The multi-touch panels with projective capacitive touchscreen (PCT) technology feature a high touch-point density, enabling accurate, safe, and jerk-free operation—even in minute steps. The panels can also be operated with thin latex work gloves. Five-finger touch and operator interface solutions requiring two-hand operation are equally possible.

Beckhoff Automation, www.beckhoffautomation.com