Dust Proof Laptop

rG-tom

rG-tom

rG-tom

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Afternoon guys,

I'm in need of a dust proof laptop for use on the shop floor of a heavy engineering company. There aren't too many issues with regards to spillages and it being dropped, only really dust. At the moment we are using standard laptops like Latitude E6500s but they are only lasting ~6 months a piece and dying of dust clogging everything up and eventually overheating / other problems (it's metallic dust).

These are the minimum specs that we need to use the software that it will be running. It does need to be dust proof even when a usb port is in use.

Cam2 Q Min. Specs said:
Platform: Windows® Vista ▪ Windows® XP
32bit operating system
Intel® Pentium® Core 2 Duo 2.1 GHz processor
1 GB RAM
Graphics resolution - 1024 x 768
NVIDIA Quadro FX 360M graphics card with 256 MB of Video RAM
One free USB port for the CAM2 Q port lock
CD-ROM 8x speed or higher
Standard PS/2 or USB mouse
80 GB hard drive, 5400RPM
Click to expand...

Any suggestions? The panasonic toughbooks seem to be very low spec or very expensive, and over engineered for what we need as the only one that seems to be dust proof is the full military spec one!

Thanks,

Tom.
 
With the high power processors these days most laptops will need some kind of intake to keep the cpu cool, I don't know of many laptops if any with passive cooling.

Best thing would be to just get a can of compressed air and blow the vents out on a weekly basis. I repair laptops and have seem some well and truly clogged to death ones and they still run albeit slow, it takes a lot to kill a laptop.
 
Oddly would it not be better to make an enclosed mobile "bench" with a simply air filter on it and use a desktop pc for it instead?

Suppose it depends how much mobility you really need but those requirements at that spec (due to the graphics card) will be a nightmare to find/impossible.
 
I don't think there's much choice out there bar the Toughbook range which have built up a great reputation for being rugged.

I'm fairly certain there's nothing out there that would fulfil the dust-proof criteria from the usual big name manufacturers.
 
A Panasonic Toughbook is your only choice if you do not want to build an enclosure for it.

The components for a Toughbook have to run passive thus being a low spec.
 
I doubt anyone is going to make a unit fully dustproof without going the slight extra mile to make it waterproof and rugged then testing it to well known standards, therefore anything within your remit would always be "full military spec". Also there aren't exactly dozens of options for powerful mobile workstations at the best of times, so a rugged one is never going to be cheap especially due to the difficulty of cooling. Have you looked at Dell's E6400 XFR range?

You said you want it to be dustproof even when using a USB device, but I don't see how that would be practical with off the shelf USB devices. Ports are normally sealed behind tight fitting rubber covers. When something is connected the seal round the port will depend on the shape and material of the attached USB device. You might be able to improve protection by attaching a strip of rubber tubing or sponge to minimize any gaps, but complete dust proofing would require a latching USB port with custom mating device and port fascias.

You may want to consider sticking with non-rugged business-grade modular machines and resigning yourself to the fact that parts will need to be replaced more often. Since a normal laptop costs around a third of a fully rugged one you could afford to replace them 3 times more often i.e. a rugged laptop would have to last at least 18months to be worth the premum over your current weaker units.

Either way you will drastically improve longevity by regular airdusting or even washing.
 
Another choice that might be worth investigating is dustproof enclosed bench PCs as others have said (much easier to build and seal, might not even need forced air flow). However if you absolutely require mobility then consider combining desktops with basic dustproof laptops to act as dumb remote terminals as this has many benefits: cheaper, more robust, no openings, easier to cool, longer battery life, desktops will give much better performance for the heavy processing.
 
I am assuming you are using this as a DNC link, if so, how about just upgrading to a system or using central desktops with RS232 switches.
 
it's not a dnc link, it is being used to receive data over usb from a measuring arm, so it does need a local usb port. How well does usb pass through work through a dumb terminal?

Tom.
 
rG-tom said:
it's not a dnc link, it is being used to receive data over usb from a measuring arm, so it does need a local usb port. How well does usb pass through work through a dumb terminal?

Tom.
Click to expand...

Through a HP thin client, very well.

Have you considered running it all over cat 5 to a computer in a room away from the environment? The only things exposed then would be the tft and peripherals. I'm sure there is a kvm solution available.
 
Can you not put it all on a small pc trolley? Something robust that you can duct with air filters? Might be a better solution if you have the space around the machines.
I know how manky it can get! Normally PC's handle it much better than laptops?
 
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