Top 7 Failure Points in Industrial Computers (And How to Prevent Them)
Industrial computers are designed for durability and reliability, but like all electronics, they aren’t immune to failure over time. Whether operating on a manufacturing line, inside a vehicle, or outdoors in extreme environments, certain components are more prone to wear or failure than others.
Understanding the most common failure points in industrial PCs can help you choose more reliable systems, implement preventative maintenance, and reduce costly downtime.
Common Failure Points
Solution
🔧 1. Cooling Systems (Fans and Heatsinks)
Cooling components are among the most frequent failure points in industrial computers – especially in systems with active cooling (fans). Fans collect dust, wear out over time, and are subject to mechanical failure.
- Opt for fanless or passively cooled systems where possible.
- Use IP-rated enclosures and dust filters in dusty or dirty environments.
- Regularly clean or replace fans during maintenance cycles.
💾 2. Hard Drives (Especially HDDs)
Traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) contain moving parts that are sensitive to vibration, shock, and temperature fluctuations. In industrial settings, they are often the first component to fail.
- Use Solid State Drives (SSDs) or NVMe storage, which are faster and more reliable.
- For high-vibration environments, choose ruggedized SSDs.
🔌 3. Power Supply Units (PSUs)
Power supplies are subject to voltage surges, thermal cycling, and component aging. A failing PSU can cause sudden system shutdowns or even hardware damage.
- Use industrial-grade power supplies with protections against over-voltage, under-voltage, short-circuits, and temperature extremes.
- Choose systems with wide input voltage ranges if power fluctuations are expected.
🌡️ 4. Temperature & Environmental Exposure
Exposure to excessive heat, cold, moisture, dust, or corrosive environments can cause deterioration in connectors, PCBs, and sensitive electronics.
- Select systems with wide temperature range ratings (e.g. -40°C to +70°C).
- Use IP65 or IP67-rated enclosures for moisture and dust protection.
- Consider conformal coating for circuit boards in corrosive or humid environments.
🧠 5. Motherboards & Component Aging
While industrial motherboards are designed for long lifecycles, capacitors, power delivery components, and solder joints can degrade over time – especially with heat and vibration exposure.
- Choose embedded-grade motherboards from reputable manufacturers with high MTBF ratings.
- Ensure thermal management is sufficient to reduce stress on critical components.
🔌 6. Connectors and I/O Ports
Frequent plugging/unplugging, vibration, and exposure to contaminants can damage USB, LAN, serial, and custom I/O ports. Loose or oxidised connectors can lead to intermittent faults.
- Use locking connectors (M12, screw-lock USB, etc.) where available.
- Apply contact cleaner during maintenance.
- Avoid unnecessary handling of ports in harsh environments.
📈 7. Software or Firmware Instability
While not a hardware failure, crashes or instability due to OS corruption, firmware bugs, or memory leaks can mimic hardware faults and disrupt operations.
- Use industrial operating systems (e.g., Windows IoT, Linux embedded).
- Keep firmware and drivers up to date.
- Enable watchdog timers to automatically reboot frozen systems.
Preventative Maintenance Is Key
Even rugged systems benefit from occasional checks. Here’s a basic industrial PC maintenance checklist:
- Inspect and clean fans or vents (if present)
- Remove dust from fans and vents to improve airflow
- Check for any obstructions that could hinder fan performance
- Ensure that all fans are functioning properly and replace if necessary
- Check storage health (especially SSD wear levels)
- Use diagnostic tools to assess the overall health of the storage device
- Analyze wear leveling statistics on SSDs to anticipate potential failure
- Verify that the drive’s firmware is up to date
- Monitor system temperatures
- Use software to track temperatures of the CPU, GPU, and other components
- Establish safe operating temperature ranges for better performance
- Set up alerts for temperatures exceeding normal thresholds
- Test PSU voltage outputs
- Use a multimeter or dedicated PSU tester to measure voltage output
- Ensure the PSU can supply stable power across all rails
- Monitor for fluctuations that could indicate a failing power supply
- Verify stable connections and I/O port condition
- Check all cable connections for security and integrity
- Inspect USB, HDMI, and other ports for damage or debris
- Test the functionality of all I/O ports with various devices
- Run diagnostics on memory and CPU performance
- Utilize memory testing tools to detect errors in RAM
- Evaluate CPU performance using benchmarking software
- Monitor system for stability during intensive tasks to identify potential issues
Choose Reliable, Field-Tested Systems
At BVM, we specialise in high-reliability embedded and industrial systems with:
- Fanless designs: Enable silent operation and improved reliability by eliminating moving parts that can fail over time.
- Wide-temperature components: Allow devices to function efficiently in extreme environmental conditions, ensuring durability in harsh settings.
- Long-life motherboards: Are built with high-quality materials and advanced technology to support extended operational lifespans, reducing the need for replacements.
- Rugged enclosures: Protect sensitive electronic components from physical damage, dust, and moisture, making them suitable for industrial applications.
- Power filtering and protection: Provide safety features that shield devices from electrical surges and noise, enhancing overall system stability.
- MTBF ratings exceeding 100,000 hours: Indicate high reliability and performance, suggesting that the product can operate for extended periods before experiencing failure.
Talk to an Expert
At BVM, we understand how costly downtime can be. Our experts can help you choose rugged, long-life systems built to withstand the harshest environments and avoid common failure points. Whether you’re upgrading existing infrastructure or designing a new solution, we’ll help you specify reliable industrial computers tailored to your application.
Need help specifying a system that’s built to last? 👉 Contact us today for expert guidance and reliable industrial computing solutions.
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BVM supply a wide and diverse range of Industrial and Embedded Systems. From Industrial Motherboards, SBCs and Box PCs, to Rack Mount computers and Industrial Panel PCs. If you cant find an off the shelf product that meets your specific requirements speak with our in house design team who can customize an existing product or design a new product from start to finish.
You can call us on +(0) 1489 780 144 and talk to one of the team, E-mail us at sales@bvmltd.co.uk or Use our contact form here