How Repeatable Processes Fortify the VELA Rack

Industrial Computing • Monday, 13 May 2024

After enjoying the Early May Bank Holiday last week, our engineers were back bright and early to build more of our embedded computers and industrial devices. The first task they faced? Building 16 identical VELA Rack PCs for a machine builder in the medical industry.

Powered by Advantech, the VELA is our custom series for Industrial Computing that we build, configure, test and ship from our facility in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Each unit in this order has a robust 4U Rackmount ATX chassis with a 500W power supply. Powering these rugged devices is the Intel Core i7 processor clocking at 1.8GHz, with 16GB of DDR4 3200MHz U-DIMM memory. They’re designed to meet the demands of even the most intensive computing tasks and with the ability to operate in extreme environments.

While the systems in this order may not feature the latest processors, strict product certifications require our repeat customer to maintain the same components across every one of their builds.

Our photographic build spec system is key to the building process, which provides detailed, step-by-step work instructions for each device. This ensures that any PC that is ordered with the same build year after year is identical in quality, performance, and functionality.

Given their work in the medical industry, even a small component change to a system would mean a lot of unnecessary work to justify it. As they continue to order from us, the customer can trust that each shipment will meet the same specs that are necessary for their unique system and the same high standards they've come to expect.

This dedication to repeatable processes ensures consistency with every shipment, and with the focus on repeatability, we don’t just fortify the VELA; we reinforce a relationship with our customer that is built on trust and reliability.

The same reliability is maintained from start to finish in the workshop, as once the racks are built, it’s time to test them. We test each unit with PC Doctor, running diagnostics on their system health to ensure they are in optimal condition before they’re shipped.

After every rack PC is assembled and tested, we individually finalise it down to the last detail: its signature 'VELA' nameplate. Each one is placed carefully on the front of the chassis, ready for our valuable, long-standing customer to implement into their system.