"Is it faulty when a fanless industrial PC feels hot to the touch?" In general, we're used to the slight warmth of a laptop or home PC, so when we touch the heatsink of a fanless industrial PC in operation, our immediate concern is whether it's overheating or malfunctioning.

In fact, the hot to touch heatsink does not mean it is malfunctioning but rather that the fanless industrial PC's passive thermal design is working. To operate stably for long periods in harsh environments, fanless industrial PCs have a completely different thermal philosophy than home PCs. Thermal design is the key to ensuring system reliability. This article will delve into why fanless industrial PCs "feel hot to the touch" and reveal the thermal management technologies behind them.

Fanless Industrial PC vs. Home PC: The Main Difference in Thermal Design Home PC: Active Cooling

• Uses fans to draw heat away from hot components like the CPU and GPU
• Pros: High cooling efficiency.
• Cons: Fans cannot operate in dusty, high-temperature, humid, or high-vibration industrial environments, as they may accumulate dust and result in damage or failure, leading to system overheating and shutdown.

Fanless Industrial PC: Fanless Passive Cooling

• Relies on thermal materials, aluminum enclosure, heatsink fins, and heat pipes to conduct heat to the surface for dissipation.
• Pros: Completely eliminates fans (point-of-failure), to offer high stability, maintenance-free, dust- and vibration-resistant, and extend lifespan.
• Cons: The surface temperature of the heatsink/ enclosure is higher and may feel "hot" to the touch.

Why Does a Passively Cooled Heatsink Get Hot?

In electronics, heat is the number one threat to component lifespan. High temperatures accelerate the aging of electronic parts, loosen solder joints, and even compromise data integrity.

The cooling principle employed by fanless industrial PCs is to conduct the heat generated by components to the outer surface of the heatsink/ enclosure, which the heat can then dissipate. Therefore, if a fanless industrial PC's heatsink/ enclosure is hot to the touch, it actually means it has effectively drawn heat away from critical components, ensuring system stability.

Three Common Passive Cooling Technologies in Fanless Industrial PCs

1. High-Efficiency Thermal Materials

• Industrial-grade thermal paste and thermal pads fill tiny gaps between the CPU/GPU and the heatsink.
• Long-lasting and resistant to degradation, they ensure stable cooling efficiency even under long-term high-temperature operation.

2. Aluminum Enclosure with Heatsink Fins

• The full aluminum enclosure itself acts as a large heatsink.
• Special fin structures increase the surface area to rapidly dissipate heat.

3. Heat Pipe Technology

• Used in high-performance or space-constrained models.
• Utilizes the principle of phase change to quickly transfer heat away from the heat source, significantly boosting cooling efficiency.

Neousys Technology's Fanless Thermal Design

In response to harsh industrial environments, Neousys fanless industrial PCs’ thermal design utilizes aluminum casing + heatsink fins + thermal materials. The layout is optimized at the mainboard design stage to evenly distribute hot components across the PCB to help achieve heat-soak equilibrium.

Based on test data, at an ambient temperature of 70°C, the aluminum heatsink can reached a maximum surface temperature of 88.8°C with infrared thermography showing uniform temperature distribution across the heatsink, suggesting the strategic placement of components effectively avoided heat-soaking in concentrated areas.

For installation within enclosures, Neousys' fanless flattop computers, FT series, their heatsink is mounted directly onto the enclosure wall surface with a thermal pad, conducting heat onto the outside of the enclosure. This design serves two purposes, one, it prevents heat buildup inside the enclosure, and two, without the heatsink fins, the system is smaller in dimensions, making it ideal for confined or enclosed systems.

Conclusion: Hot to the Touch Means Heat Conducted to Heatsink

When your fanless industrial PC feels hot, it means heat generated by components are being conducted onto the surface of the heatsink. It is protecting itself, ensuring stable long-term operations in harsh environments.

From advanced thermal interface materials and aluminum fins to heat pipe technology, these thermal designs are engineered to sustain fanless industrial PC high-performance and longevity of fanless industrial PCs, even under harsh environmental conditions.

• Learn more about Neousys Flattop Heatsink Fanless Computer: https://www.neousys-tech.com/en/product/product-lines/industrial-computers
• Learn more about Neousys Industrial Rugged Computer: https://www.neousys-tech.com/en/product/feature/flattop-heatsink-fanless-pc

Overview

The evolution of industrial Gigabit Ethernet cards combining Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality has mimicked the growing demand for higher bandwidth, increased power delivery, and rugged reliability in modern industrial applications. Initially, 1Gb Ethernet PoE cards dominated the landscape, offering up to 15.4W per port under IEEE 802.3af (PoE) and later up to 30W per port with IEEE 802.3at (PoE+). These solutions served well for powering peripheral devices at the time, such as Gigabit IP cameras (requiring 3W to 5W), PoE-powered panel PCs, etc.

With the emergence of bandwidth-intensive applications, such as high-resolution video surveillance, AI-powered edge devices, and industrial automation, came the need for faster data rates and higher power delivery. This led to the development of 2.5Gb and 5Gb Ethernet PoE cards compliant with NBASE-T standards, maintaining backward compatibility with Cat5e cabling while improving throughput. These intermediate speeds enabled smoother data handling at the cost of generating excessive heat, but without the need to overhaul infrastructures. As a result, efficient thermal management has emerged as a critical consideration in the design and operation of high-speed Ethernet connectivity.

The integration of 10Gb Ethernet for ultra-fast data transfer and IEEE 802.3bt Type 4 (PoE++) for power delivery, offering up to 90W per port, represents a significant advancement in supporting modern edge AI applications and ultra-high-resolution cameras. This combination meets the bandwidth and power demands of next-generation devices.

Challenges of Deploying 10Gb PoE++ Cards in Embedded Systems, in the Field

When 10Gb PoE++ industrial add-on cards are installed into industrial embedded computers, they unlock powerful new capabilities for a range of high-performance edge applications, particularly in intelligent factory, smart city and public infrastructure deployments. These add-on cards provide both high-speed data transmission and robust power delivery over a single Ethernet cable, streamlining installation and reducing the need for separate power lines in remote or difficult-to-access areas. This makes them ideal for outdoor high-speed WiFi 7/ 6 access points, PTZ cameras, AI-powered PTZ precision cameras, smart light poles, and kiosk information stations. In these scenarios, reliable power and high-throughput data are critical. At the same time, these application deployments pose thermal management challenges during operation due to environmental conditions, and both fast data throughput and power delivery will result in excess heat generation. Therefore, most add-on cards rarely have both 10Gb and PoE++, and will only have one or the other advanced specification to minimize the heat generated, to sustain operations.

For example, AI-enabled PTZ cameras deployed in applications such as traffic monitoring or port security often demand up to 51 watts of power via PoE++ (IEEE 802.3bt) and require a sustained data throughput of at least 1 Gbps to enable real-time video streaming, object recognition, and AI inference at the edge. However, the high-performance demands of these cameras also result in elevated power and thermal loads. In harsh environment conditions, there have been instances of PTZ camera failures caused by overheating, where the PoE card was unable to maintain continuous power delivery or data throughput. Such thermal-induced incidents can lead not only to device shutdowns, but also data loss and packet drops, compromising both system reliability and real-time operations.

In addition to performance, the card's durability is also essential. Installed in embedded systems that are often deployed in exposed environments such as roadside, intersections, harbor ports, or public spaces, they must operate reliably in a wide range of environmental conditions. Therefore, PoE cards used in these embedded computers must be capable of withstanding wide range temperatures, especially for high data throughput and sustained power output operations.

Power-hungry devices such as pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras, 8K ultra-high-resolution cameras (typically requiring up to 50W), wireless access points, and embedded industrial PCs can all be supported through a single Ethernet cable. PoE++ simplifies installation with streamlined cabling and efficient power management—key advantages for high-density smart city deployments across roadsides, seaports, industrial zones, agriculture fields, and mining operations.

Neousys' Industrial Wide Temperature 10GbE PoE++ Card

Neousys Technology offers a robust range of industrial-grade PCIe add-on cards engineered to meet the stringent demands of harsh and mission-critical environments, including Gigabit, 2.5Gb and 10Gb cards with or without PoE. When released, the 10Gb high-speed Ethernet cards with advanced PoE++ IEEE 802.3bt, were one of the first 10Gb PoE++ cards specifically designed for industrial operations. The card enhanced system performance by enabling up to 10Gb of data throughput and up to 90W per port power delivery, crucial for smart city and intelligent factory applications such as machine vision, public safety monitoring, and industrial automation.

What sets the Neousys' 10Gb PoE++ card apart is its wide-temperature operation capability, withstanding extreme ambient temperatures ranging from -25°C to 70°C. Its strategic component placement design ensures continuous operation in extreme weather, from scorching summer heat to freezing winter temperatures, making it particularly suitable for deployment in outdoor applications such as roadside infrastructure, and remote industrial locations where environmental control is limited.

The 10Gb Ethernet interface can support multiple high-resolution data streams simultaneously or high-power devices such as outdoor WiFi 7 AP, ideal for real-time analytics, public safety monitoring, and large-scale sensor integration across smart city platforms. In addition, the ability to supply up to 90W per port to power devices also simplifies network deployment by reducing infrastructure complexity while lowering total cost of ownership.

Engineered for industrial computers and applications, the card incorporates rugged and highly-reliable components to ensure stable and consistent performance in demanding and thermal volatile environments. Its low-profile, plug-and-play PCIe Gen3 x4 interface enables seamless integration across a wide range of industrial PC systems, simplifying deployment complexity while reducing system downtime. The card supports GigE Vision 3.0 cameras with RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) technology, which significantly enhances data transfer efficiency by bypassing traditional CPU-intensive packet handling and memory copy operations. This results in up to 90% reduction in CPU utilization, allowing more resources to be dedicated to real-time processing tasks such as image analysis and AI inference. For industries requiring optimized performance, power distribution, and enhanced reliability in harsh environments, Neousys 10Gb PoE++ card is an ideal future-ready solution capable of sustaining high-throughput and low-latency connections for modern applications.

By integrating Neousys 10Gb PoE++ card into your embedded computer, it enables a compact yet highly capable solution for powering and networking intelligent devices in mission-critical indoor/ outdoor applications. Its combination of high-power output, fast data transmission, and industrial-grade reliability ensures your solution meets the rigorous demands of next-generation smart infrastructure.

• Learn more about Neousys Frame Grabber Cards:
  https://www.neousys-tech.com/en/product/feature/industrial-add-on/frame-grabber-card

在瞬息萬變的今日，業界對工業電腦處理器效能的需求已達到前所未見的高點。隨著各產業積極推動數位轉型、邊緣運算與人工智慧自動化，具 AI運算能力的處理器已是不可或缺的 關鍵元件。

帶動工業電腦高效能 CPU 需求的主要趨勢：

• 人工智慧與機器學習整合
  工業應用日益仰賴 AI 與機器學習（ML） 技術來執行預測性維護、品質檢測與製程最佳化。這些應用需要有內建 AI 加速功能的處理器，例如 Intel Core Ultra 200 系列搭載的 AI NPU （神經網路處理單元）。直接在邊緣執行 AI推論，可有效降低延遲並減少 對雲端運算的依賴。
• 邊緣運算快速普及
  邊緣運算正逐步將資料處理作業的重心，從集中式雲端伺服器轉移至本地裝置。工業電腦必須即時處理 IoT 感測器、 攝影機與機械設備所產生的大量資料。
• 高解析度影像與視訊處理
  從製造業的自動光學檢測（AOI）到保全系統的人臉辨識，各種工業應用皆必須處理高解析度影像與視訊資料。高效能處理器除了具備強大運算能力，也支援 PCIe 5.0 等高速介面，可與 GPU 與影像擷取卡無縫整合，確保高頻寬影像資料處理流暢穩定。
• 多工處理需求日益高漲
  現代工業場域會要求系統同時執行多項任務，例如資料擷取、機台控制與即時分析等。面對龐雜的運算需求，處理器必須具備同時多工處理的能力，並支援大容量記憶體，確保各項應用能並行運作，效能也絲毫不減損。

工業電腦高效能處理器面臨的挑戰

• 散熱管理
  處理器效能越高，多工作業的熱能也會 更加嚴重。若無有效散熱機制，過熱將嚴重影響系統穩定性、可靠性，甚至安全性，進而減損正常運作時間。
• 電源設計
  高效能處理器的功耗更高。加上額外 I/O 裝置的電力需求，規劃穩定供電機制將是一大挑戰。此外，工業電腦經常部署在電壓劇烈變動的環境，因此須支援寬範圍直流電壓輸入能力。
• 嚴苛作業環境
  先進邊緣運算挺進第一線，使工業電腦面臨狹小空間、震動、衝擊、高濕度與鹽霧等惡劣條件。

深入瞭解宸曜科技的強固 DNA 如何克服上述挑戰，打造耐用、可靠且無風扇的工業電腦。

• 為什麼散熱是工業電腦保持穩定的關鍵？ (瞭解更多)
• 宸曜科技無風扇電腦有那些優勢？ (瞭解更多)
• 顛覆狹小空間中無風扇電腦的設計極限 (瞭解更多)

結語

隨著工業應用日趨複雜，加上邊緣運算與 AI 加速應用的蓬勃發展，工業電腦對高效能 CPU 的需求已成為必然趨勢。透過導入這些先進處理器，企業可實現更高的效率、穩定性與擴展性，開闢通往智慧自動化應用的康莊大道。

Industrial Computers Designed to Thrive in Industrial Environments

Compared to general-purpose computers, industrial computers have significant advantages in terms of durability, stability, and customization capabilities. Through rigorous testing and certification that meet international standards, industrial computers can meet the needs of diverse applications.

Neousys Technology focuses on the design of rugged embedded computers, providing high-quality products with wide temperature operation, vibration resistance, and international certifications such as EN50155, EN45545, and UL to accelerate project implementation while ensuring safety and reliability.

Conclusion

When facing extreme environments, choosing industrial computers with excellent durability is crucial. Through innovative technologies such as wide temperature, moisture-proof, shockproof, and dustproof, industrial computers can easily cope with challenges such as high temperature, humidity, salinity, and vibration to provide operation stability and efficiency.

工業自動化：穩定就是一切！

在關鍵應用或全年無休情境中，想提升生產效率或降低成本，穩定性是一大要件。然而，傳統採用 PCI Express、USB 等介面的單板電腦或 4U 嵌入式電腦，經常面臨溫度、粉塵與震動等環境因素的嚴峻挑戰。這些阻礙會提升故障率與停機時間，進而增加隱性成本。

無風扇電腦：自動化的最佳良伴

無風扇電腦為上述所有問題帶來全新解方。透過先進散熱設計與高品質組件，這些電腦不依賴風扇也能高效散熱，確保系統的穩定與可靠運行。

在工廠自動化領域的系統整合商或終端使用者眼中，無風扇電腦帶來以下諸多優勢：

1.高可靠性與耐用性

• 無塵作業：
  工廠環境充滿粉塵與微粒，容易堵塞風冷系統的氣流通道，造成零件磨損，甚至系統故障。無風扇設計完全免除此問題，因此大幅提升系統穩定性。
  【重點提示】：宸曜科技的防水無風扇電腦具備高等級防塵防水保護，在高濕或含鹽環境中亦能穩定運作。 無風扇電腦能為工廠帶來哪些優勢? 點擊此處查看詳細規格。
• 抗震能力：
  工業環境常伴隨震動，容易使風扇零件鬆動或損壞。無風扇設計完全排除此風險，因此更能適應此類惡劣條件。
  【重點提示】：宸曜科技採用專利防震設計，即使有搭載 GPU 執行 AI 推論或邊緣運算，依然能持續穩定運行。 點擊此處查看更多設計優勢。
• 延長使用壽命：
  無風扇電腦因為無活動零件，故障率相對較低，能延長系統壽命並降低維護成本。

2.高效散熱管理

• 被動式散熱：
  無風扇電腦採用散熱器、熱導管等被動式散熱技術，能高效讓熱能逸散。結合精密熱設計，其散熱效能可媲美或甚至超越傳統風冷系統。
  【重點提示】：宸曜科技平頂無風扇電腦，即使在密閉空間中也依然提供優異散熱效能。 這到底是如何做到的呢?點擊此處了解更多資訊。

3.卓越環境適應性

• 寬溫作業範圍：
  無風扇電腦通常支援更寬廣的作業溫度範圍，適用極端高低溫環境，以確保系統穩定運作。
• 寬電壓直流輸入與超級電容保護：
  支援 8V 到 48V 的寬電壓直流輸入，可部署於各種工業環境。搭配宸曜科技專利 SuperCAP 超級電容，可防範突波或瞬間斷電等事件，保護系統安全。

4.降低維護成本

• 高可靠性：
  • 無活動零件意味著故障率更低。
• 減少維護頻率：
  無風扇設計省去清潔與更換風扇的需求，進而降低維護頻率與人工成本。
• 提升運作時間：
  系統穩定性提高，可減少停機時間，進一步提升生產效率。

5.高效率

• 節省空間：
  由於無需考量風扇氣流設計，無風扇電腦體積更緊湊，節省安裝空間。
• 節能表現：
  免除風扇的額外電力需求，整體功耗更低。
  【重點提示】：宸曜科技的緊湊型 POC 系列無風扇電腦，是專為狹小空間應用而設計。點擊此處探索更多緊湊型無風扇電腦。

6.系統安全性

• 無火花風險：
  無風扇設計可完全避免風扇損壞產生火花的風險，進而提升整體系統安全性。

結語

在自動化應用中，無風扇電腦的高可靠度、耐用性與多環境適應力，正在迅速贏得產業界的信任。雖然初期投資略高，但長期的高穩定性、低維護成本與高生產力，讓無風扇電腦成為值得企業投資的未來。