Advantech Reliability Enhancement Design Features: Reliable ...

ADVANTECH ESBC
RELIABILITY ENHANCEMENT
Advantech Reliability Enhancement Design Features:
Reliable Performance Under Various Conditions
Today’s connected world relies on a seamless mesh of industrial applications running
smart embedded computer systems. Information kiosks, increasingly sophisticated
signage, traffic signals, ATMs, shop floor and factory machines, and even gas pumps
have become indispensable parts of modern life and we count on them to function
reliably and flawlessly in vast temperature and humidity variations, vibration, dust,
electrostatic discharge, or even corrosive and explosive environments. Commercial
grade computer boards are not designed for these conditions. They will fail sooner or
later, or they won't work at all.
Advantech ESBC Reliability
Enhancement Design Features
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■ TG-150/170 PCB material
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■ Ceramic capacitors
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■ COM port ESD protection
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■ Fanless design
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■ Heat spreaders
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■ Conformal coating
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■ iManager firmware
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■ Optimized parts placement
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■ Wide temperature testing
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■ Optimal vent locations
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■ HALT testing
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■ Thermal interface materials
Reliability is Everything
With embedded systems, reliability is everything. That's because embedded systems
must be up 24/7/365 and because they must be as maintenance-free and failure-proof
as possible. Down time due to component failure or any other system-related failures is
not acceptable. A reputation of reliability is hard earned and easily lost. That is why
complete and utmost hardware reliability is one of Advantech’s guiding principles.
What Does Reliability In SBCs Mean?
Simply put, reliability means no avoidable failures. That means highest quality
components, highest quality and most suitable materials, appropriate technologies,
extensive safeguarding, and the kind of research and testing only an experienced
embedded system vendor such as Advantech can provide. Reliability is the result of all
this, and of the relentless attention to detail Advantech engineers are famous for.
How Does Advantech Facilitate Optimal Reliability In Its Products?
By carefully studying the various conditions our embedded boards and modules will
encounter in the field, and then designing and building them so that they can handle
those conditions. We provide Trusted ePlatform Services. At Advantech, good enough is
not good enough. Mechanical design, embedded software services, global logistics
support, and optional products and services all combine to provide complete, reliable
solutions for a wide array of applications across a diverse range of industries.
Advantech ESBC — Reliability Enhancement Design Features
In this brochure we outline some of the Advantech ESBC reliability enhancement design
features that differentiate our embedded boards and modules, and help them (and
your products and solutions) hold up under the most demanding environmental
conditions where commercial grade boards fail or quickly become unreliable.
For more information:
www.advantech.com
ECGInfo@advantech.com
38 Tesla, Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92618
1-800-866-6008 • 1-949-789-7178

Advantech ESBC
Reliability Enhancement
Design Features
Advantech ESBC: Reliability Enhancement Design Features
As a trusted global provider of embedded systems, Advantech has vast experience in creating
computing platforms that reliably work under extreme operating conditions. We achieve this
goal by carefully selecting materials and components, applying exacting design features,
providing software management utilities, and offering optional hardware enhancements.
TG-150 and TG-170 PCB Material
Glass Transition Temperature, or Tg, describes the temperature at which amorphous polymer
materials go from a hard and glassy state to a rubbery state where expansion begins. Expanding
printed circuit board material applies extra stress to soldering pads as well as to the vertical
electrical connections between different layers of a board. While most boards use TG-125 material
with a glass transition temperature of 125° Celsius (257° Fahrenheit), Advantech ESBC uses TG-150
and even TG-170 self-extinguishing FR-4 PCB materials with higher glass transition temperatures
of 150° and 170° Celsius (302° and 338° Fahrenheit) as well as glass substrates with low expansion
coefficients for PCBs that are more stable and more reliable in high temperature environments.
Ceramic and Conductive Polymer Capacitors
Advantech uses high quality ceramic capacitors where ceramic material acts as the dielectric
compared to less expensive electrolytic capacitors based on ionic conducting fluids. Since solid
material does not evaporate over time or under high temperature, and its activity is not affected
by low temperatures, ceramic capacitors are more stable and reliable, and have a much higher
mean time between failure. Ceramic capacitors also have a much lower ESR (equivalent series
resistance; the lower the better) that allows higher ripple current and decreases signal noise. For
very high capacitance applications, Advantech also uses conductive polymer capacitors that have
the same inherent advantages as the ceramic type.
COM Port ESD Protection
COM port ESD protection deals with the potential damage from electrostatic discharge when
plugging in or removing cables, or even just touching a COM port. IEC-60950, which deals with the
safety of information technology equipment, generally requires protection against up to 4kV
contact discharge, and up to 8kV air-discharge. The new generation Advantech SBC design
provides ESD COM protection of up to 8kV contact and up to 15kV air-discharge, thus increasing
reliability and significantly lowering the risk of damage.
iManager Firmware Technology
Reliability mandates bullet-proof power-on functionality. Advantech uses firmware technology
and Lite-iManager to control hardware and make sure all components reach working temperature
for proper bootup. This guarantees reliable power-on under extreme temperature conditions.
Firmware technology also ensures that unstable transient power will not cause a system to freeze.
Heat Spreader Options
Fanless thermal solutions, combined with solid state storage, can greatly improve overall system
reliability in dusty, corrosive and explosive environments. Advantech offers optional heat spreader
plates to dissipate heat to the chassis or external cooling fins. If needed, Advantech can perform
an advanced thermal analysis with fluid dynamics modeling software to generate temperature
maps of PCB assemblies and arrive at optimized chassis design and venting locations, system
placement recommendations, and appropriate fan and heat-sink solutions.
HALT Testing
Rather than relying on MTBF calculations that are based on theoretical component service life,
Advantech employs HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Test) scientific testing methods to provide the
most accurate reliability information for mission critical applications.
Conformal Coating
Advantech offers conformal coating to protect PCBs against failure from moisture, temperature
extremes, mold, friction, dust or chemicals. Compared to other methods, conformal coating
produces a more uniform, repeatable layer of protection. Our Asymtek C-740 equipment
minimizes masking and rework while maximizing throughput. Using acrylic resin or silicon,
which is superior to epoxy for flexibility and to urethane for repairs, we follow IPC-610D
regulations to generate consistent, adjustable coating thickness.
For more information: Advantech, 38 Tesla, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92618
www.advantech.com • ECGInfo@advantech.com
1-800-866-6008 • 1-949-789-7178