OP/Station

Cooling Concerns

Cooling an Industrial Workstation Over the past several years, there has been a rising trend to put standard “commercial grade” PCs on the plant floor. Typically, to protect these computers from the environment, they are placed in an industrial workstation (like an OP/Station). With applications ranging from process control (HMI) to weighing rooms to clean rooms the need to cool these workstations must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The questions are:

Do I need to cool the workstation? And, if yes:
What should I use to cool it?

Does my workstation need cooling? To answer this question we need to know some basic pieces of information:

What is the maximum ambient temperature in the room?
How much heat will be the equipment in the workstation generate? (Typically measured in Watts)
How much available surface area does the enclosure have to dissipate heat?
What is the lowest maximum safe operating temperature of all the pieces of equipment in the workstation?

From this information, the expected Temperature Rise in the workstation can be calculated. If the Ambient Temperature plus the Temperature Rise exceeds the safe operating temperature – then cooling is needed. What are my options for cooling? Air-to-Air Heat Exchanger

Transfers heat from inside the enclosure to the outside air using heat pipes and fans
Can not cool below ambient temperature
Available in NEMA 12/4 and 4X designs

Air Conditioning

Available in both traditional freon-based models and solid-state designs
Typically thermostatically controlled
Can cool below ambient temperature
Available in NEMA 12/4 and 4X designs

Vortex Cooler

Uses compressed air and vortex tube technology
Typically thermostatically controlled
Can cool below ambient temperature
Lower maintenance (no coolant involved)
Best solution for classified areas. May also be a good choice for NEMA 12/4/4X applications

We have many options available for keeping an OP/Station cool and we can work with you to determine what is best for your application.

For help in selecting the OP/Station product to meet your application requirements, please
contact us today!