AAEON’s New BOXER-6711 Industrial PC is Built for Builders

AAEON, a builder of industrial control hardware since 1992, has recently expanded its industrial PC catalog. The BOXER-6711-ADN is the newest member of the industrial PC offerings, is powered by one of the latest Intel Atom processors and is DIN-rail mountable. Both of these features are a testament to their usefulness in automation systems and machine building applications.

 

What Makes an Industrial PC Different?

Industrial PCs, such as the Boxer-6711-ADN, are built to withstand the challenging environments found in industrial or manufacturing environments. Depending on the facility, dust, dirt, oil, water spray, and other contaminants may be present. Heavy vibrations, temperature extremes, and general rough use may also be limiting factors for traditional PCs. Ruggedized, sealed cases with good heat transfer properties are essential.

Besides hardening the computer against premature wear, an industrial PC is often equipped with multiple interface pathways and data storage options. This gives them more flexibility for integrating with existing systems or as a main component in newly-designed automation systems. Standard connectors, interfaces, data storage, and transfer options also improve flexibility.

 

The AAEON BOXER-6711-ADN industrial PC. Image used courtesy of AAEON

 

Finally, a small footprint and convenient mounting options, such as a DIN rail mount, help physically integrate the PC with other components and third-party hardware, such as safety relays and power supplies. The small footprint means a more compact manufacturing cell, more room for additional I/O devices, and other options. For machine builders, it means a lower-weight, more compact robot.

 

BOXER-6711-ADN

At the core of the BOXER-6711-ADN is an Intel Atom processor. Several options are available depending on the specific model number, including the x7211e, the N200, or the N50. The bottom line is that the BOXER-6711-ADN has plenty of computing power for most industrial and machine control applications.

Besides having the brainpower, the BOXER-6711-ADN is built for the harsh industrial environment. Suitable for use from -20 to 60 °C, and with its flexibility in power input (9 to 36 V), it will easily integrate with many control system scenarios. Furthermore, the fanless design limits the ingress of dust and other particulates, extending the lifetime of the PC.

 

Many I/O and communication ports can allow this IPC to expand to control systems of nearly any scale. Image used courtesy of AAEON

 

There are numerous ways to interface this industrial PC as well. It is DIN-rail mountable, making it compatible with many other controllers, relays, plus power and I/O terminal hardware. There are three DB-9 ports, one DB-15 port, two USB 3.2 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, two RJ-45 ports, and two HDMI ports for displays and human-machine interfaces (HMI). With this collection of ports, this industrial PC can support RS-232/422/485 interfacing with any number of SCADA, PLC, or other devices. It can also use a SATA hard drive, mini card, or SIM card for data storage.

 

Impact on the Target Market

The AAEON BOXER-6711-ADN will likely have the largest impact on the machine builder and automation system designer markets. It will likely be packaged with other hardware and sold as part of a set, rather than alone.