Carbon-fiber chassis meets mil ruggedization and weight issues
ProductSeptember 03, 2012
Alice Moss
Military Embedded Systems
The RE0412 Rugged Embedded computer from Crystal Group in Hiawatha, IA is protected by a carbon-fiber chassis (patent pending). It weighs only 3.8 lbs. and measures 3.13" high by 10.76" wide with a depth of 8.13". The chassis uses Faraday cage construction techniques that utilize proprieta...
The RE0412 Rugged Embedded computer from Crystal Group in Hiawatha, IA is protected by a carbon-fiber chassis (patent pending). It weighs only 3.8 lbs. and measures 3.13" high by 10.76" wide with a depth of 8.13". The chassis uses Faraday cage construction techniques that utilize proprietary carbon-fiber material, which mitigates electromagnetic interference radiated susceptibility, conducted susceptibility, radiated emissions, and conducted emissions. The RE0412 uses an air-cooled design to limit weight and has conformal coating options for humidity protection.
The device came out of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and soldier deployed markets where lightweight and low power were emphasized in the design requirements, says Jim Shaw, Executive Vice President of Engineering at Crystal Group. The new computer has as many as two 2.5" solid-state drives, a PCIe x16 expansion slot, and as much as 16 GB DDR3 RAM. The RE0412 computer has an Intel mini-ITX board, i3 (desktop) CPU, and DC power inputs from 18 to 36 VDC. The temperature range for the RE0412 is -40 °C to +55 °C with full CPU load, without throttling. The RE0412 unit passed MIL-STD-810 shock and vibration testing using UH-60 profile and shock testing for flight vehicle equipment. The unit has also passed MIL-STD-461 CE102 and RE102 testing.
