Impressive trio of stainless steel waterproof industrial touchscreen panel PCs
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

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In this article we'll describe and examine Teguar's new line of Intel "Skylake" 6th generation Core processor-powered TS-5010 Series Panel PCs, including benchmarking and a detailed look at two models of the series, the 15-inch TS-5010-15 and the 22-inch TS-5010-22.

Teguar specifically designed the TS-5010 Series of waterproof industrial panel PCs for harsh environments where daily washdown and equipment cleanings are needed. Target deployments are human-machine interface applications in areas such as food services, chemical factories, medical and pharmaceutical, process control and various custom HMI applications. To match different requirements, the panels come in three difference sizes with different mounting options, different levels of waterproofing, different housing materials, and a wide variety of optional configurations and functionality.

While the Teguar TS-5010 Series panels have the sleek appearance of modern tablet computers, they are full-fledged, heavy industrial panel computers built to provide many years of reliable 24/7 operation without ever breaking a sweat. And while they are workhorses, they offer plenty of punch in the form of Intel 6th generation "Skylake" Core processors.

The picture above shows the largest (TS-5010-22) and smallest (TS-5010-15) members of the trio. 15-inch screen and 22-inch screen.

Teguar's TS-5010 series: concept and models

While all three of the "Skylake" TS-5010 panels use the same Intel Core i5-6200U processor and use a consistent look and design, they are differentiated in terms of display size and aspect ratio. Almost everything else is shared between the models. Here are the primary features of the line:

• All three use the Intel Core i5-6200U processor.

• All models use the same embedded-style motherboard.

• All models use heavy-duty stainless steel design.

• All models use IP68-rated M12 screw-on metal connectors.

• All models provide room for two 2.5-inch SATA SSD locations for significant internal storage

• All models are available with resistive or optional projected capacitive touch screens (the latter in IP69K-rated versions).

• All models are available with standard SUS304 stainless steel housings, or with SUS316 stainless steel that contains molybdenum and more nickel for enhanced corrosion resistance.

• Display resolutions and pixel density vary between models, and different luminance options are available for all three versions.

Now let's take a closer look at the two sample units Teguar sent RuggedPCReview.com for evaluation.

Teguar TS-5010-15 — 15-inch

The TS-5010-15 is the smallest and lightest model of the series where, however, weight is still a hefty 18.5 pounds. These are both heavy and heavy-duty machines.

The first impression of any of the Teguar TS-5010 Series models anyone will get is how heavy and incredibly solid the panels are. They look and feel like they're milled out of a solid block of steel. That, of course, would neither be necessary nor feasible, but that's how solid they feel. As is, the housings are made from what looks to be 16 gauge steel (roughly 1.5mm), which is considerably thicker than auto body sheet metal. The housings use a box-and-cover design, with the front box about 1-1/4 inch thick, and the backside a flat cover with a raised part that accommodates the massive cooling sink and also allows the mounting of all I/O ports facing down.

While the housings look like they are made from solid blocks, they are welded together of cut pieces of SUS304 stainless steel. The weld quality is incredibly high, with not a seam visible and every joint rounded off to perfection. Sealing between the two halves is via a thick, flat glued-on rubber pressure seal. The halves are held together by, depending on the model, between 28 and 32 Torx screws.

Inside, there is a steel plate chassis with the LCD attached on one side and the motherboard on the other. This, again, is solid as a tank. Almost the entire 11 x 7 inch motherboard is covered by an elevated, stack-mounted massive finned aluminum heatsink that connects to the processor and also uses two integrated copper heat pipes to spread the heat as efficiently as possible (see picture on the right).

Once the heat sink is removed, the spacious motherboard reveals its dual SIM slots, dual mPCIe slots, as well as a number of ports and connectors that were not actually used in our sample units configurations (a second RJ45 LAN, and four additional COM connectors).

Access to everything is simple and easy, all internal cable connections have their individual wires neatly encased in sleeves, all potential openings (screws, connectors) are sealed with thick globs of silicone, and anything that could possibly come loose is held in place with strips of black fabric tapes.

The unit's internal (Transcend) solid state disk drive is solidly rubber-mounted to the chassis with four screws. There is room for a second 2.5-inch solid state disk for use with the second SATA port.

Below is a look at the TS-5010 Series' I/O that's the same in all three models. All ports use M12-type circular connectors. This type of connector is space-efficient, rugged, and waterproof. This, of course, requires special screw-on adapter cables. The cable connections are IP68-rated, i.e. they are completely waterproof. Labeling for each connector is engraved into the steel housing.

A possible source of confusion is Teguar's listing of the three TS-5010 models under "IP65/IP66" as well as "IP67" and "IP69K" computers. From what we can tell, all models can be ordered with the three different ingress protection listings. In general, IP65/66 means systems that are fully dustproof and can also handle water jets from all directions. IP67 means dustproof and immune even to immersion in water. IP69K is a less common designation that means a device can be spray-cleaned with high pressure (up to 99.97 bar/1450 psi) and high temperature (up to 80°C/176°F) water jets.

Teguar TS-5010-22 — 22-inch

The TS-5010-22 is the largest and heaviest model of the series. It weighs 26.5 pounds. With its 16:9 wide-screen aspect ratio offers the sleekest and most modern look of the trio. For virtually everything else, the description of the 15-inch model above applies to the 22-inch model as well. That goes for electronics as well as ports. Due to its larger size, everything is roomier inside the enclosure. Otherwise, things are the same.

One interesting and helpful feature is worth mentioning: All of the TS-5010 Series of waterproof panel computers have an on-screen function where users can lock the touchscreen for a brief period of time. This way, the displays can be left running while they are being washed and cleaned, without applications being mistakenly deactivated or activated during cleaning.

Two other options are waterproof speakers for deployments that need sound, and vandal-proof touch screens with extra thick tempered glass.

Simple, effective mounting system

Despite their generic "panel computer" designation, not all such devices will actually be mounted in panels. All TS-5010 models have the VESA 100 mount pattern on the back for all sorts of wall, table, or arm mounting options.

Given these panels' significant weight, freestanding mounting means a heavy-duty mounting method. Such methods often come in complex, bulky designs.

The solution offered by Teguar is brilliantly simple: just a stainless steel yoke-style mounting stand.

Use a special screw with a rubberized arm to mount the panel on the yoke bracket stand, and the big, heavy Teguar TS-5010 panels are securely in place, and easily adjustable to any viewing angle. To keep it into at given angle, simply tighten the two screws.

Sometimes simple is best, and that certainly applies to this design. About the only issue we could see is that the mounting screws cannot be locked.

Intel 6th gen "Skylake" processor

All models of Teguar TS-5010 Series use Intel Intel 6th generation "Skylake" Core processors. The literature says "Intel 6th Gen Core i3/i5/i7" but according to the company's November 2017 press release introducing these new waterproof panels, the i5-6200U is the chip used.

Intel's Core processors are inherently designed to competently handle a broad variety of potential tasks. That's because users may use their computers for all sorts of work, including complex, demanding applications. Core processors are designed for that, and they are powerful enough to handle pretty much anything they may encounter.

Lower level processors — such as Intel's Atom-based processors — are far more targeted. Some are aimed at price-sensitive markets and cost only a small fraction of a Core processor. Others fill the need of systems where the workload is known and it makes economic sense to provide exactly as much computing power is needed and no more. And there are many industrial applications where economical, reliable, fanless operation is more important than rarely used peak performance.

That's not what Teguar had in mind. The goal for the TS-5010 Series was to enable demanding applications that go well beyond just displaying information or performing simple searches and transactions. Such deployments may require more and faster memory, more and faster cache, faster and more powerful graphics, more expansion options, and the inclusion of many of the features and technologies Intel bakes into its Core processors but not into the lower-end CPU families.

The Intel Core i5-6200U is a good choice for this type of platform. It's a modern dual core/quad thread design based on 14 nm lithography. The cores' base frequency is a fairly high 2.3GHz, with a maximum "turbo" frequency of 2.8GHz available during periods of peak processing demand. Its integrated Intel HD Graphics 520 are powerful enough for even advanced imaging and support all of the latest relevant graphics standards. Despite its high performance, the chip has a thermal design power (TDP) of just 15 watts, which in panels such as the TS-5010 Series allows fanless operation.

To provide an idea of the relative performance of the TS-5010 Series we used our two standard benchmark suites, Passmark Software's PerformanceTest and CrystalMark. Here are the results:

Teguar TS-5010 Series performance

PERFORMANCE COMPARISON	Teguar	ARBOR	faytech	Logic Supply
Model	TS-5010-15	ASLAN W910C	15" Touch PC	Cincoze Crystal 15
Model	Panel PC	Panel PC	Panel PC	Panel PC
Year tested	2018	2017	2016	2015
Processor Type: Intel	Core i5	Core i5	Celeron	Atom
Processor Model	6200U	6300U	J1900	E3845
Processor Code	Skylake	Skylake	Bay Trail	Bay Trail
CPU Speed	2.30GHz	2.40GHz	2.00GHz	1.91GHz
Turbo Speed	2.80GHz	3.00GHz	2.40GHz	no turbo
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	15 watts	15 watts	10 watts	10 watts
CPU Mark	4,101.8	4,314.7	2,430.0	1,951.3
2D Graphics Mark	330.7	441.7	209.9	149.0
Memory Mark	1,201.7	1,032.6	538.0	410.3
Disk Mark	2,951.3	2,021.8	2,261.9	1,417.4
3D Graphics Mark	397.9	478.4	139.2	134.4
Overall PassMark	2,008.1	1,862.4	1,251.4	921.3
ALU	43,306	46,479	32,093	25,575
FPU	43,896	46,652	27,711	21,647
MEM	37,340	39,593	21,125	20,400
HDD	32,081	36,640	35,405	31,856
GDI	13,125	13,683	6,612	4,856
D2D	5,678	6,002	4,580	3,654
OGL	11,811	11,176	4,117	3,311
Overall CrystalMark	187,237	200,225	131,645	111,299

The results of the benchmark testing are interesting and show a number of things.

First, fanless industrial panel computers equipped with ultra-low voltage Core processors — the same processors found in many high-end rugged tablets and laptop computers — can reach exceptional performance levels. But fanless operation comes at the price of elaborate and passive cooling and meticulous thermal engineering.

Second, when it comes to processors, you do get what you pay for. The Intel "Bay Trail" chips used in two of the panels in the above table are perfectly suitable to get the job done, but within a much lower performance window. However, while lower-end chips may cost only a fraction of a higher-end processor, processor cost itself is only a fraction of overall device cost. So it always makes sense to determine exactly what sort of performance is needed for a given deployment.

Teguar TS-5010 Series — Summary

With their TS-5010 Series, Teguar Computers created a lineup of high-performance panel PCs uniquely suited for deployments where holding up to harsh environmental conditions matters as much as the ability to handle frequent Clean-In-Place (CIP) washdowns. Those are common in food processing, food packaging, weighing, and pharmaceuticals.

Powered by the same Intel sixth generation "Skylake" Core processors found in many high-end rugged mobile tablets and laptops, these waterproof stainless steel panels are capable of handling complex, demanding applications.

Available at various levels of ingress protection, the panels come with waterproof M12 connectors. Resistive touch is standard, but IP69K versions are configurable with capacitive touch as well. Dual mPCIe connectors and dual SATA ports offer additional expansion potential for wireless and storage.

Teguar offers the waterproof stainless steel line — which the company describes as the highest performance processing available in a sealed stainless steel waterproof fanless enclosures — in three display sizes ranging from 15 to 21.5 inches diagonally, with high-bright (1,000 nits) display versions optionally available for daylight readable deployments. Overall, impressive products that are definitely worth considering. — Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, January 2018

Teguar Computers
1-800-870-7715
www.teguar.com