O.T. Industrial Grade?

Old Man · Jan 18, 2023

I can't tell you how many times that I have been told by "Industrial Automation" people they would not use the Raspberry Pi, because it is not Industrial Grade.

I just don't know what to say, here is a picture of an Industral Control Panel that was build by "Lockheed Martin Corp", using several Raspberry Pi's.

the_msp · Jan 18, 2023

I just don't know what to say

You won't know what to say to your insurance company, if something goes wrong if the Pi is controlling anything important.

I would only use a Pi for a TV display of an Ignition client etc. Never for control.

They are not CE, UKAS, and I'm guessing UL rated for that purpose.

Ken Roach · Jan 18, 2023

That structure is a lot of things, but I am confident that my electrical inspector would not consider an exposed 80/20 strut rack to be an "Industrial Control Panel".

But that sure does look tidier than the Pi's that I have tye-wrapped to pieces of superstructure on a big machine outside my office window that's underwritten by The Boeing Company.

Can you tell us what these Pi's control and how ?

dmroeder · Jan 18, 2023

Ken Roach said:
That structure is a lot of things?

I'm glad I didn't have a beer in my mouth when I read that, it would have been all over my keyboard, probably in snot bubbles too.

Old Man, can you give us the story behind that Panel? How do you know it is Lockheed? How did you come to be in possession of the picture? It appears to have a small watermark.

jridge · Jan 18, 2023

dmroeder said:
I'm glad I didn't have a beer in my mouth when I read that, it would have been all over my keyboard, probably in snot bubbles too.

Old Man, can you give us the story behind that Panel? How do you know it is Lockheed? How did you come to be in possession of the picture? It appears to have a small watermark.

It appears to be from this site: widgetlords.com

Hi-Density PI-SPI-DIN Application
The Raspberry Pi is being used in automation applications every day. This picture was taken by our friends at Lockheed Martin Corp. of one of their simulation systems using our PI-SPI-DIN series of products.

The Pi-SPI-DIN series has 4-20mA Inputs, 4-20mA Outputs, Isolated digital Inputs, Relay Outputs, RS485 and a Real Time Clock.

What is your next application? Contact us to see how we can help you achieve your goals with our solutions!

I found the full-sized image here

harryting · Jan 18, 2023

I have seen stuff on nuclear aircraft carrier that made me cringe but are perfectly fine for the application. It all depend on the context of what and how it's used for.

Again, it comes back to support. Is it a OEM skid type system or is it something that will require troubleshooting and integration into a bigger system? Again, context matters.

harryting · Jan 18, 2023

This is a very important point that's missed. "Industrial Grade" means different thing to different people. Usually (not always), it means environmental condition. In my many years (make that decades) of experience, I seen about 3 PLC fail, one a Micrologix 1000 on a trash compactor, one a old GE on a boiler starter, and one contrologix. during the same time span i have seen dozen and dozen of standard consumer level PC fail, even data center grade stuff. They are just build with different components.

You can build a industrial grade PI, for sure. After all, Beckoff PLC are just industrial PCs. However, the other big point is support but that's another topic.

Maxkling · Jan 18, 2023

I’ve used those Netgear switches too, but never in a production environment. Imagine the fallout if production failed because of a Netgear switch.

Edit: Let me clarify, not that particular line, I’m sure they may have some enterprise switches.

kamenges · Jan 18, 2023

Originally posted by Old Man:

...Industral Control Panel that was build by "Lockheed Martin Corp",...

...for Lockheed Martin, I would suspect. I, too, do all sorts of crazy stuff for consumption inside my own walls that I would NEVER send out the door to a customer.

Keith

AlfredoQuintero · Jan 19, 2023

jridge said:
It appears to be from this site: widgetlords.com

I found the full-sized image here

How can you find a picture in the Internet?

cardosocea · Jan 19, 2023

Maxkling said:
I’ve used those Netgear switches too, but never in a production environment. Imagine the fallout if production failed because of a Netgear switch.

I guarantee you've flown on aircraft with "parts" made on a plant with a netgear network...

It was ****ing awful, particularly when I saw the CISCO price tag they paid for that abortion.

P.S.: I rather not expand on which parts are made, but the customer is the maker of the aircraft engines.

Manglemender · Jan 19, 2023

I have one of the original Pi 1 units which has been in service for years. It was only quite recently retired from running Pi-hole and is now used for training purposes. In the same time frame I've been through two laptops.

The biggest weakness with the PI hardware is the memory card and all my PI4s now run from SSD rather than the microsSD card. Are they running critical equipment? No. Are they running reliably day-in day-out? Yes.

drbitboy · Jan 19, 2023

alfredoquintero said:
how can you find a picture in the internet?

geniusintraining · Jan 19, 2023

kamenges said:
...for Lockheed Martin, I would suspect. I, too, do all sorts of crazy stuff for consumption inside my own walls that I would NEVER send out the door to a customer.

I agree with Keith... LM buys a lot from me and the list of parts make no since a lot of the time, I dont think they are in the business of building cabinets its just a R&D or proof of concept, I Arduinos in some of the products I build but I dont know if I would yet consider them 'Industrial'

cardosocea · Jan 19, 2023

geniusintraining said:
I Arduinos in some of the products I build but I dont know if I would yet consider them 'Industrial'

NASA uses Arduinos... they're great for proof of concept stuff outside of the microcontroller. Once that's tested and looks promising, they can ditch the Arduino and do it properly. The magazine I saw about it was some sort of lighting system for the ISS.

O.T. Industrial Grade?

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