Intrinsically Safe Industrial PCs for Operator Control and Monitoring in Hazardous Areas

Siemens (Germany) is extending its rugged industrial PCs with two intrinsically safe HMI (Human Machine Interface) devices for Ex zone 1/21 and 2/22 hazardous areas. The resilient and completely maintenance-free Simatic HMI Panel PC Ex can be flexibly configured and is suitable for use directly on the machine or outdoors at ambient temperatures from minus 20 to plus 50 degrees Celsius. The panel PC is particularly suitable for operator control and monitoring, measuring and testing as well as data collection and communication. Simatic HMI Thin Client Ex was designed for operation and monitoring as a flexible remote HMI station, for example as a thin client in a remote terminal environment. Both units are suitable for use in the presence of ignitable gases, vapors and air/dust mixtures, for example in the manufacture of gasoline, pharmaceuticals and cement or the processing of flour and cereals. Simatic HMI IPC3077 Ex is the first panel PC from Siemens for hazardous areas.