As industrial automation continues to evolve, manufacturers increasingly rely on powerful and reliable computing platforms to collect machine data, run automation applications, and connect production equipment with enterprise IT systems. To address these demands, B&R has introduced the Automation PC 3200 (APC 3200), the successor to its APC 3100 industrial PC.
The APC 3200 maintains a similar footprint to the APC 3100 while incorporating newer hardware designed for demanding industrial applications. It is equipped with 13th-generation Intel Core processors and supports up to 64 GB of DRAM, providing the processing capacity required for data-intensive automation tasks.
For industrial connectivity, the system includes multiple USB ports and two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. It also supports standard fieldbus technologies, allowing the computer to communicate with a wide range of industrial equipment and control systems.
The APC 3200 uses a passive cooling system, eliminating the need for a cooling fan. This design can help reduce moving parts while supporting reliable operation in industrial environments.
One of the key hardware upgrades is the transition from CFast to CFexpress memory cards.
The APC 3200 provides two CFexpress slots, allowing storage cards to be exchanged without tools. CFexpress can deliver read speeds of up to 1,800 MB/s, compared with approximately 550 MB/s for the CFast technology used in earlier systems. The increased storage performance can help operating systems process inputs and outputs more efficiently and support faster data handling.
The system can be configured with storage capacities ranging from 60 GB to 960 GB, depending on application requirements.
To simplify system integration, the APC 3200 can be factory-configured with different operating-system environments, including Automation Runtime, Linux for B&R 12, and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise. This flexibility allows system integrators to select a platform that fits their automation architecture.
The computer is also available with either a B&R-branded orange front cover or an unbranded dark-gray cover, giving machine builders and system integrators additional options for integrating the computer into their own equipment and branding.
Modern automated production systems generate large amounts of data throughout the manufacturing process. Industrial PCs play an increasingly important role in collecting this information, processing machine data, and connecting production equipment to higher-level corporate IT systems.
The APC 3200 is designed for these interconnected automation environments, providing industrial networking capabilities alongside modern computing and storage technology. According to B&R, regular system updates and its newer Intel chipset are intended to support both performance and security requirements for industrial applications.
As manufacturers continue to adopt connected production systems, industrial PCs are becoming an important part of machine-level computing infrastructure. From data acquisition and automation control to communication with enterprise networks, these systems need to combine processing performance, connectivity, storage flexibility, and industrial reliability.
With its updated processor platform, up to 64 GB of memory, dual Gigabit Ethernet, passive cooling, and high-speed CFexpress storage, the B&R APC 3200 is positioned as a modern industrial computing platform for machine builders, system integrators, and automation applications.