• UPS Autogistics presents UP prize as year's top railroad (4/12/2002)

1/13/2016

GE Automation: An industrial PC

Temperature, shock and vibration. These are just a few of the challenges that can create issues for railway control systems on a daily basis.

To help ensure these critical systems maintain reliable operation, GE has launched its new RXi-XR Industrial PC (IPC). This latest offering from GE's Automation & Controls solutions provides transportation systems such as inner-city, monorail and regional trains with a rugged, versatile computer capable of functioning in the demanding and harsh environments typically associated with these applications.

"Modern rail applications can create harsh operating conditions for their required electronic components. If the electrical equipment installed in these applications is not up to par, extreme temperatures and exposure to elements — such as dust or water — can wreak havoc," said Vibhoosh Gupta, product management leader, GE's Automation & Controls solutions. "When designing our RXi- XR IPC, we incorporated many factors to ensure the unit would meet and exceed industry standards for temperature and ruggedness while still offering the performance that our customers expect."

The new RXi-XR IPC provides a combination of rugged construction, high performance and modularity to deliver the computing capabilities required in demanding rail environments. Its featured fanless, solid-state design and industrial-strength components enable GE's RXi-XR IPC to meet EN50155 standards for electromagnetic, temperature, shock and vibration compatibility in railway applications. The IPC's design also meets the IP67 rating for dust and moisture protection, ensuring that the unit is dust tight and can withstand up to 1 meter of liquid immersion.

The RXi-XR IPC's patented heat dissipation technology enables the unit to boast an operational temperature range of -40 C to 70 C, enabling the computer to perform in extreme temperature conditions.

In the RXi-XR IPC, both the CPU and memory are soldered to the board, improving reliability and resistance to shock and vibration. In addition, the IPC's COM Express-based modular architecture simplifies the upgrade process, extending the unit's useful life and helping to future-proof the system. Compact MI2 connectors also contribute to the ruggedness of the IPC by helping to prevent couplers from loosening — even under extreme vibration conditions.

GE's RXi-XR IPC features either an Intel Core i7 processor at 1.7 gigahertz (GHz) or an Intel Celeron processor (at 1.4 GHz) and runs the Windows 7 operating system. It has a maximum memory of 4 gigabytes (GB) and a storage capacity of 128 GB (in the form of a solid-state drive).