Hardware for dusty autobody shop

[tmboss]

I've been asked by my buddy to put a computer in the shop area of his autobody repair shop. Lots of sanding dust and paint. His computer in his office is always full of dust.

I am thinking that I try to find a room back there that is sheltered a little and put the keyboard / mouse / monitor through a wall.

Maybe a mini-itx with no fan and brick power supply. These guys are use to using compressed air to dust so that might work.

Do lcd's survive in this environment?

His guys need access to software for diagrams and instructions.

Any advise would be great.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

I would just tell him to plan on replacing the case fan and cpu fan about 2 times a year and clean it out with can air. Dust slows the fans so heat is the ultimate issue that causes problems.

You can work around it. Just like a truck working in a difficult environment change the oil more often.

Move up the maintenance schedule.

Keep it cool if possible. If he has an office try and get him in the habit of closing the door between office/shop. He can even put in a air filter for $100 from walmart to help keep the dust reduced in the office.

I have some tire shops and we just vacumn them out when I come in and any time I can hear a fan it gets replaced. Also optical drives will go bad within 2 years but that is not expensive either.

 

[Kitten Kong]

I would opt for something as fan less as possible. But still allows for good cooling.

Last year, one of my clients is a optician. In their lens making lab, they had a pc, which was covered in a white plastic bag. (Their thoughts was it would stop the silica from getting in the case).

Long story real short, I had to 100% dismantle the pc, gave it a full and thorough clean, both inside and out, using my dustmaster vac. The silica got everywhere.

Ended up putting in a zalman hsf, and had to replace the normal 80mm fans. The next time I was there, I checked this machine, and it was still covered inside and out. So the next step was to place the machine in the office next door, and then drill holes for the vga and keyboard, mouse. I ideally should of done this first time round, but now the machine is clean as anything, and more to the point, works like it should do, instead of being clogged up with minute particles of silica.

 

[stro]

Not a cheap option but there are various industrial enclosures available out there. http://www.itsenclosures.com

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Big full sized tower. Lots of room inside for airflow and less able to clog up.

Get one of those flexible rubber waterproof oilproof industrial keyboards
A few spare mice

Show them how to take the side panel off the tower and blast it with compressed air a couple of times a year.

 

[SAG]

I've got computers in a laser shop, not just dust in the air but metal dust that forms slag.
Full sized ATX case with make-shift filters on the air inlet vents. Rubber spillproof keyboard, and a cheap optical mouse.
Been running strong for years.
I purposefully whiteboxed this computer so that when (not if) a component fails I can source one quickly and easily to get them back up and running.

These guys are in a skilled trade, even though they know little about computers they still understand the importance of checking the air filters and keeping the unit clean on the inside. They just pop the side of the case off once a week or two and give it a shot of air.

I think passively cooled is not a viable option in this type of environment. Shops get hot, and anything that settles on the heat-sink would not have any forced air to remove it, hindering cooling.

 

[Majestic]

I've been asked by my buddy to put a computer in the shop area of his autobody repair shop. Lots of sanding dust and paint. His computer in his office is always full of dust.

I am thinking that I try to find a room back there that is sheltered a little and put the keyboard / mouse / monitor through a wall.

Maybe a mini-itx with no fan and brick power supply. These guys are use to using compressed air to dust so that might work.

Do lcd's survive in this environment?

His guys need access to software for diagrams and instructions.

Any advise would be great.

I would recommend you put an SSD in there so you don't need to worry about heat and all that as well.. and put in an offsite solution like carbonite or crashplan just in case.

Majestic

 

[rockhoptec]

I support a few machine shops with black carbon flying all over the place. Everything is covered in a layer of fine black dust. What has worked for me is something like this:

http://dirtbag.biz/computer_dust_cover/computer_dust_cover.html

 

[mikeroq]

I was helping on a camera install at an auto parts store, and they had their server in some kind of dust free enclosure. Can't remember the brand.

 

[drjones]

Toshiba (Panasonic?) makes those toughbook laptops that are supposedly military-grade for water/dust/shock resistance....perhaps something like that?

I have no idea if they make a desktop like that, I do not believe so.

Only problem is those toughbooks are very expensive. I also have an autobody client who actually has one of those toughbooks. He's had it for several years (prob 5+ actually) and it still runs fine. I'm not sure how much time it actually spent in the shop vs. his office, but it's definitely got some wear on it.

 

[mraikes]

I have a several computers in our bodyshop office and a couple more back where the techs actually work (talk about DUSTY!). Don't over-think it, it's not as bad it may seem.

As long as they blow out the computer and keyboard on occasion it will be fine. Make sure it has good thermal compound to make the most of the cooling.

I also have LCD screens on all of the computers, never had a problem.

 

[mr m]

I have a mechanic whose office pc stays pretty clean but the shops pc/printer used for state inspections is magnet for dust and grease.

He buys cheap systems and replaces his $10 keyboard with another $10 keyboard. I told him to set his compressor to 30-40 PSI and showed him how to use a tiewrap to prevent the fans from freewheeling when he's cleaning them.

Ironically, I haven't serviced his garage pc in years but his office system get my attention about twice a year.

 

[RedFoxComp]

I'd be tempted to go fanless. Mini-itx case with an external brick power supply, Ivy Bridge G1610T celeron (max TDP 35w) with the biggest heatsink you can fit minus the fan, and an SSD. Then put filters on the fan intakes and have them vacuum the case with the rest of the shop. I doubt you would have to open the case more than once a year.

 

[KompuKare]

I'd be tempted to go fanless. Mini-itx case with an external brick power supply, Ivy Bridge G1610T celeron (max TDP 35w) with the biggest heatsink you can fit minus the fan, and an SSD. Then put filters on the fan intakes and have them vacuum the case with the rest of the shop. I doubt you would have to open the case more than once a year.

Yes, or even a big box (more metal to keep it cool) but IB G1610T is ideal. Plus I think it should be possible to underclock that a fair bit too and I also believe they probably already use less than 35W (Intel have the G1620 and G1610 non-T down at 65W which is pretty unlikely).

 

[BillMoney]

Why not put the machine elsewhere and run vga and usb cables to it like was said earlier in the thread, that would be the best solution