Fanless panel PC increases comfort in application management

Kontron’s fanless thin panel PC, the Micro Client IIA, ranges in size from 7 to 17 inches.

December 28, 2010

Kontron’s fanless panel PC, the Micro Client IIA is available in five sizes up to 17 inches. The Intel Atom-based touch panel PC enables Kontron to support the trend towards ever increasing comfort in application management. The resistive touch display offers ample display area for complex visualization applications including industrial automation, process control and facility management.

The Kontron Panel PC Micro Client IIA, with its IP65 protected front panel, is conceived as an application ready Human Machine Interface (HMI) enabling faster time-to-market and reduced development costs for applications like the operation and monitoring of equipment, machines and plants. The panel PC’s small depth (max. 56 mm for 17") also allows easy deployment in existing applications that require a larger display. The Kontron Micro Client IIA supports all current thin client software platforms from RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) for Microsoft Windows-based servers to Linux based open platforms with browser based Java clients. Operators benefit from such open source software options through the open and runtime license-free access to both centralized and decentralized (web) server applications. Kontron’s latest panel PCs can also be used for several visualization tasks without requiring any application-specific software to be installed on the client. The Kontron Micro Clients IIA feature not only SATA and CompactFlash boot functionality, but can also be remotely booted via Ethernet. This facilitates the administration of the complete solution, since only the software on the respective industrial server, such as a Kontron KISS server, must be administered.

The Kontron Micro Client IIA 170 Panel PCs also offer a comprehensive interface selection: 2x 10/1000 Ethernet, 2 external USB 2.0 ports (plus an additional USB port on the front for screen sizes from 10.4 to 17.0), 1 x RS232 with optional RS422/RS485 and CAN bus interface, as well as additional field bus interfaces as an option. They also feature sophisticated embedded graphics for intuitive GUIs, as well as touch-beep for multimedia-oriented operating and monitoring applications including acoustic feedback. The fanless design enables silent operation, reduces maintenance costs, and lowers total-cost-of-ownership due to the impressive MTBF of over 40,000 hours.

For versatile use, the front panel can be omitted, enabling the Kontron Micro Client IIA 170 to be integrated into all custom specific housings including vandal-protected systems for public use. In this case, the OEM needs to integrate the optional touch screen functionality. With bolt or clip panel mount plus the optional VESA mount, the new Kontron Micro Clients IIA HMIs are easy to install. Shock and vibration resistance, thermal stability and compliance with the strictest EMC standards are standard features of the Kontron Micro Clients IIA, as is long term availability of at least 5 years.

The CE-certified Kontron Micro Client IIA 170 is now available in EMEA and will be available in America and APAC in late Q1 2011. It supports for Windows CE, Windows XP Embedded, and Embedded Linux.

Kontron Micro Client IIA 170

Kontron Micro Client IIA family

Kontron Panel PCs

www.kontron.com

Kontron

– Edited by Amanda McLeman, Control Engineering, www.controleng.com