Fanless box PC chosen for its reliability and configuration flexibility

Processes such as number plate recognition, barrier control and ticket printing are controlled through this PC interface.

Built in 1994, the Channel Tunnel between United Kingdom and France is a key connection for the European high-speed transport and plays an important role for regional economic development. The Channel Tunnel is used by 2.5 million cars, 1.5 million trucks
and 21 million people every year. High-speed passenger trains and rail freight trains also run through the tunnel.

Originally the industrial box PC was specified as a fan cooled system, Arbor Technology UK proposed a more reliable fanless solution. Selecting the FPC-7701 from Arbor’s range of ruggedised industrial box PC products, gave the ideal base platform, additional I/O was
then added using the PCI and PCIe expansion ports. This coupled with the Intel Core i5 CPU and an extended operating temperature range of -20-55°C, meant that the fanless box PC FPC-7701 exceeded the required specifications.

A demo system was delivered within one week of request, allowing Eurotunnel to evaluate the proposed hardware, check compatibility with their custom software
and conduct the testing required to ensure the long term reliability would be achieved.

Custom metalwork was designed by Arbor Technology UK to enable the fanless box PC to fit onto the existing mounting points. By using in-house CAD modeling the design concepts could be evaluated without the need for prototyping.

Industrial PC manufacturing by Arbor Technology in Taiwan
with configuration and testing at the Arbor UK facility allowed the company to achieve cost effective pricing whilst offering customers the local UK sales, technical and aftersales support that they require.

Eurotunnel’s UK Support Manager, Nigel Hales said: “Arbor Technology UK offered the local technical and manufacturing support we wanted, meaning the fanless box PCs could be configured to our specification and meet our exact expectations.”