Industrial automation faces downtime risks from power quality and hardware reliability

Industrial manufacturing faces significant economic risks due to unplanned downtime, which can cost an average of $260,000 per hour. Key challenges include power quality issues and the need for reliable hardware in harsh environments.

Power quality issues, such as voltage spikes, sags, and high-frequency noise, can cause “electronic rust” and damage sensitive CNC machine components like PLC boards. While external factors like lightning are often blamed, nearly 80% of transients are generated by internal equipment. Solutions include frequency attenuation and professional harmonic analysis to ensure operational stability.

To support industrial automation and edge computing, there is a growing demand for industrial single-board computers (SBCs). These devices integrate processing and connectivity into a compact, resilient footprint designed to withstand temperature, humidity, and dust. Experts from Raspberry Pi, Gateworks, NXP Semiconductors, and EDATEC highlight their expanding use in applications ranging from machine vision and medical devices to rail systems and space technology.