Control systems and centers are essential for overseeing and managing production processes, ensuring that facilities operate efficiently, safely, and effectively. However, these processes would not be possible without the benefits from edge computing. Edge computers work behind the scenes and play a critical role in relaying real-time data telematics from the factory floor machinery to control centers for actionable insights. In this case study, a control systems manufacturer for asphalt production turns to Premio for a reliable edge hardware solution to integrate and power their control operations.
Challenges
- Previous solution was a commercial-grade desktop workstation
- Fanned solution led to long-term system failure vulnerabilities
- Small form factor to retrofit into control center cabinet
- Deployment longevity and consistency
- Secure mounting for portable deployments
Solution
- RCO-3000-CFL Series x86 Small Form Factor Computer
- Super-rugged fanless design purpose-built for industrial deployments
- Secure and versatile mounting options
- Intel Core TE processor to streamline control software and embedded longevity
- Rich IoT connectivity to consolidate various metering equipment
- Scalable EDGEBoost I/O technology for future deployment requirements
- Hot-swappable SSD Bay for convenient data offloading procedures
Benefits
- Trusted and reliable partnership for edge computing hardware solutions
- Developed a custom BIOS to meet their configuration requirements
- Pre-loaded the manufacturer’s proprietary software and operating system
- 2+ years of successful deployment
The Company
For more than 30 years, this control system and equipment manufacturer has established a comprehensive range of control components for the asphalt and construction aggregate industries. From fabricating control rooms to developing asphalt automation software systems, this manufacturer provides a complete end-to-end system solution for asphalt production.
The Challenges
Before discovering Premio, the control systems manufacturer relied on a generic commercial-off-the-shelf desktop workstation. While these desktops offer a simple and easy solution for office spaces, they proved inadequate in demanding environments such as asphalt production and embedded long-life support. It lacked several key features and exposed major pain points that the manufacturer required for long-term deployments and consistent reliability. After realizing this task needed industrial-grade quality, they immediately sought out an edge computing hardware partner that could provide a more suitable solution for their asphalt control systems.
The Pitfalls of Commercial-Grade Hardware for Industrial-Grade Solutions
The ingress and accumulation of dust from active cooling poses an extremely common system failure point in the realm of industrial-grade computing design. The controls equipment manufacturer realized this when their previous solution began to fail due to the amount of dust and debris entering the system and deteriorating the primary cooling fans, ultimately creating mission-critical production downtime. For mission-critical controls and operations with industrial machinery, abrupt system failure is not only extremely detrimental to production but can pose significant safety risks to the facility.
Another major challenge that the control manufacturer faced was the lack of revision control. Commercial-grade hardware solutions typically have a standard product support lifecycle before it is discontinued in favor of a newer model. The design changes and short support lifecycles prevented them from having a consistent solution that is validated and compatible to integrate into their asphalt control systems.
A compact footprint and secure mounting became a pain point when the control systems were being transported to different sites. Their current solution was quite large and didn’t have any mounting points to be easily secured. The necessity for a small form factor solution with standardized mounting options was critical for a seamless retrofit into the overall equipment control system.
The Solution: RCO-3000 Series Small Form Factor Computer
After analyzing the pain points and challenges of the asphalt control system manufacturer, Premio recommended the RCO-3000 Series, an x86 super-rugged industrial small form factor computer. This industrial computer is engineered to balance real-time performance, modular EDGEBoost I/O options, future-proofing scalability, and super-rugged durability while maintaining a compact size.
Industrial & Mobile Manufacturing Durability
The RCO-3000 Series addresses several critical environmental demands to withstand both industrial asphalt production plants and mobile portability. A fanless and cableless design enhances durability in industrial deployments and eliminates major failure points found in commercial desktop workstations. It prevents the ingress of dust and debris and enables key features such as:
- Wide Operating Temperatures (-25C to 75C)
- Shock & Vibration Resistance (MIL-STD-810G Compliant)
- Wide Power Input (9~48VDC)
- Power Protection (OVP, OCP, RPP)
- UL Listed Certification for Ultimate Safety
Given that control rooms are quite limited in space and are required to be portable for temporary worksites, the control systems manufacturer needed the edge computer that could be securely mounted into their compact control cabinet. The RCO-3000 Series is designed with a small form factor and provides versatile mounting options to seamlessly meet these requirements. Its low-profile and space efficient construction was compatible with the cabinet and by being wall mountable, it was securely fastened into the cabinet for stable transportation.
Optimized for Asphalt Control Systems
The RCO-3000 Series is purpose-built to consolidate various IoT sensors, provide real-time telematics and analytics, ideal for asphalt control rooms. It leverages an Intel Core TE processor for multicore socket-type performance to streamline mission-critical asphalt control processes such as drum mixing, asphalt blending, and more. By connecting multiple metering equipment and vision cameras, the RCO-3000 allows operators to simultaneously interact and monitor asphalt plant processes through a single device for real-time processing, lower-latency, and mission-critical data telemetry. 
Futureproofing for Long-Term Deployment
In addition to the Intel Core processor, selecting a TE processor model ensures it follows Intel’s embedded product support lifecycle roadmap for 10 years of support. This allows the control systems manufacturer to have a consistent solution for a prolonged time without having to worry about design updates or possible software incompatibilities.
Additionally, the RCO-3000 includes an EDGEBoost I/O (EBIO) expansion for additional connectivity or performance acceleration in the future. This allows the control systems manufacturer to conveniently scale to meet additional demands without the need to replace the entire system. Whether it be NVMe storage, PoE support, 10GbE LAN, or even edge AI acceleration, EBIO technology offers the flexibility to adapt to future asphalt control operations.
Not realizing at the time, the control systems manufacturer also took notice of how convenient the hot-swappable SSD bay was for their data offloading protocols. By having the capability to swap storage drives without having to open the whole computer or resort to uploading data to the cloud, it became an extremely beneficial feature of the RCO-3000 Series.
The Benefits
After realizing the flaws and long-term vulnerabilities of their previous solution, the controls system manufacturer sought to establish a dependable hardware partnership that could provide a reliable solution, dedicated support, and transparency. Premio, a global leader in rugged edge computing hardware solutions, proved to be the ideal match backed by over 35 years of dedicated engineering, supply chain, and sales teams that provided expert assistance to ensure a smooth and successful deployment.
Furthermore, Premio’s capabilities to assist in developing a custom BIOS specific to the manufacturer’s configurations and the ability to pre-load their proprietary software, significantly streamlined their control center manufacturing process. Overall, by integrating the fully configured RCO-3000 Series x86 super-rugged small form factor computer without additional adjustments, the control system and equipment manufacturer was able to eliminate painful challenges with computing hardware and support for turnkey success. Since 2022, Premio has supplied the manufacturer with the RCO-3000 Series without major issues, reinforcing the strength and reliability of the partnership.