subject: Monitor enclosures used to guard factory information systems [print this page] Monitor enclosures used to guard factory information systems
Monitor enclosures are utilised to protect monitors and larger LCD displays from harm when they are used for factory information systems. Without these protective cases, the factory information system could be brought to its knees within minutes.
Factory information systems are a very visual part of manufacturing life, without them the large displays and monitors would vanish over night from our production facilities. These monitors vary in size from 17" up to and including 60" LCD displays, these have a high investment cost within a project so they do need to be protected, from everything including dirt, fluid, truck drivers and heat.
Imagine if you had invested $40,000 in a data collection system only to find that the monitors go down and have to be replaced within a matter of weeks of commissioning the system, this would not look good for the project managers. So one of the best forms of attack is defence (we have all heard that haven't we?)
So the ultimate form of defence would be put all screens that are on the manufacturing line into monitor enclosures, these are produced to accommodate both the display and either a small factor PC, thin client or media player, so all the media can be pulled from a device locally, this is why anyone deploying SAP or SCADA look at monitor enclosures as important parts of the chain, without them the project is as redundant as if it had no software.
With the lessened of use of CRT TVs, the old PC enclosures are being decommissioned and being replaced with thin client enclosures, these too accommodate a flat panel screen and a small PC, however with more large TVs being used, this makes using 60" screens a real option for the project team to make the production information system a part of the factory environment.
Monitor enclosures are relatively new to the shop floor and will certainly be around for a number of years before they are replaced.
