Industrial PCs from Siemens offer maximum quality due to self-developed mainboards and innovative technologies for reliable continuous operation in an industrial environment. They are tested at our in-house test center to ensure reliable compliance with all technical data and specifications.

Industrial PCs from Siemens – this means maximum quality with regard to innovative technology, high long-term availability, and reliable continuous operation in an industrial environment. The basis for this is our long-term competence and the continuous improvement of quality associated with development, production, logistics and field use.

During the design phase, the thermal simulation allows for the construction of devices with an optimized heat dissipation concept.

We audit our suppliers, for example, to ensure their qualification and thus the production of industrial PCs with maximum quality and consistently good properties. Furthermore, we produce in air-conditioned halls with consistent temperature/air humidity and store components in nitrogen. Special test procedures are also used, e.g.:

Together with the type tests which accompany series production, our customers receive 100% functioning and high-quality products which comply with all technical specifications.

This is an important aspect of the SIMATIC IPC philosophy.

Environmental protection represents a central pillar of the corporate Siemens culture already considered prior to the product's development: Based on the guidelines on environmentally compatible product design, which are specified in the Siemens standard SN 36350-1, environmental protection is ensured comprehensively for all SIMATIC IPCs over the entire product lifecycle - from planning to procurement and production, sales and service, operation as well as disassembly and disposal.

Production
Hazardous materials used in production, which are currently partially still inevitable for the construction of PCs, are consistently listed and therefore receive our full attention. Besides the continuous search for environmentally compatible alternatives, many materials are already avoided today as far as possible and replaced by more eco-friendly materials. In addition, new processes are introduced to render such hazardous materials completely redundant. Moreover, all selected components for our products as well as the auxiliary materials used in production comply with the European RoHS guidelines.

Packing and logistics
The ordering process for SIMATIC IPCs has been supplemented by an electronic ordering option. This economizes resources and additionally facilitates comfortable and accelerated order processing. So-called returnable and reusable transport packing materials are used for intra-plant goods traffic and by suppliers, intra-group customers as well as project-specifically by key customers. These materials are not disposed of after their use, but will be returned to us and reused through their integration in the goods cycle. With regard to our product packaging, our main focus lies on a high degree of stability as well as on the complete and easy recyclability of all packing materials. The reduction of the enclosed product documents to a minimum represents a further measure for saving resources and waste.Our products' delivery is oriented towards optimum utilization of the available transport resources. Whenever possible, our products are delivered directly from our regional delivery center and our Karlsruhe production plant. To exploit the synergies of collective deliveries and for our products' global delivery, shipping is effected via our main delivery center in Nuremberg. Standard logistic routes and transport partners characterized by maximum efficiency are employed for the majority of deliveries, which also marks an active contribution to reducing CO² emissions.

Operation
Our SIMATIC IPCs are not only characterized by their high performance, ruggedness and system availability, but also by a particularly long service life. This may considerably prolong the interval until the next replacement investment. Yet, the longer lifecycle not only saves costs and expenditures, but also reduces the resources required for new products and the waste produced by disposed devices. This is an additional contribution to environmental protection.

Also the environmental effects during ongoing operation were reduced to a minimum despite the products' high industrial standard. Almost all SIMATIC IPCs are equipped with modern, energy-saving mobile processors for manageable energy costs and maximum industrial functionality. With the SIMATIC Microbox PC, this concept, combined with the elimination of fans and hard disks, ensures operation as quiet as a whisper. The SIMATIC Rack PCs with Windows operating system support the wake on LAN functionality, which facilitates the option of centrally controlled and coordinated start-up, e.g. of computers which are switched off during the weekend, which provides further potentials for energy saving.

Disposal
We know that even the best industrial PC will have to be replaced at some stage. To make reuse and disposal as easy as possible, these aspects are already considered during the devices' development.

All components were selected on the basis of the RoHS guideline. Furthermore, plastic parts were marked with the respective material codes and the use of composite materials was avoided as far as possible to ease recycling. Also the employed metal enclosures not only offer improved protection against damage, but additionally support eased and improved recyclability.

SIMATIC IPC – the more industrial PC