Lauer EPC X 550 TC Embedded Industrial PC

System Overview

The Lauer EPC X 550 TC is a high‑performance embedded industrial PC that integrates a 15‑inch touch screen display with a powerful, fanless computing platform. Designed for space‑constrained control cabinets and harsh environments, this unit delivers the processing capability of a modern Core processor while maintaining a rugged, maintenance‑free construction. It is ideal for advanced SCADA applications, machine vision, and data acquisition tasks.

Display and Touchscreen

The panel features a 15.6‑inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) TFT display with a projected capacitive touchscreen supporting multi‑touch (10 points). The screen offers 400 cd/m² brightness, a contrast ratio of 800:1, and an anti‑glare coating. Optical bonding is available as an option to reduce reflections and improve readability in bright environments. The touch controller supports glove mode and water rejection, ensuring reliable operation even in wet or oily conditions.

Processor and Hardware

The EPC X 550 TC is equipped with an Intel Core i5‑8350U processor (1.7 GHz, turbo up to 3.6 GHz) with a TDP of 15 W, enabling fanless operation through a passive heatsink. The system includes 8 GB of DDR4 RAM (expandable to 32 GB via two SO‑DIMM slots) and a 256 GB M.2 NVMe SSD. A second M.2 slot supports additional storage or a wireless module (Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth). The motherboard includes a TPM 2.0 chip for hardware security and a watchdog timer for system reliability.

Connectivity and Expansion

• Network: 2x Gigabit Ethernet (Intel I219‑LM and I210‑AT)

• USB: 4x USB 3.1 (Type‑A), 2x USB 2.0 (internal headers)

• Serial: 2x RS‑232/422/485 (DB9, software‑selectable)

• Video Output: 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x HDMI 1.4 (supports dual external monitors)

• Audio: Line‑out, Mic‑in (3.5 mm)

• Expansion: 1x mini‑PCIe (half‑size), 1x M.2 2230 (for Wi‑Fi), 1x SIM card slot

• Power Input: 24 V DC (9‑36 V range), with reverse polarity and surge protection

Mechanical and Environmental Data

• Housing: Aluminum alloy with passive cooling fins, front IP65, rear IP20

• Mounting: Panel‑mount (cut‑out 298 mm x 218 mm) or VESA 100

• Dimensions: 332 mm x 252 mm x 72 mm (W x H x D)

• Weight: 3.8 kg

• Operating Temperature: –10 °C to +55 °C (with industrial SSD)

• Storage Temperature: –20 °C to +70 °C

• Relative Humidity: 5 – 95 % (condensing allowed with conformal coating)

Operating System and Software

The EPC X 550 TC is pre‑installed with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 (64‑bit) and includes all necessary drivers. It also supports Windows 11 IoT Enterprise and Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Debian) upon request. The system comes with LAUER’s system monitoring agent, which provides real‑time data on temperature, voltage, and SSD health. The agent can be integrated with the customer’s SCADA for predictive maintenance alerts.

Installation and Commissioning

For panel mounting, cut the required opening, insert the unit, and secure with the provided clamps. For VESA mounting, use M4 screws with a maximum depth of 8 mm. Connect the 24 V DC power supply using a 3‑pin Phoenix connector (pin 1: +, pin 2: –, pin 3: earth/ground). Ensure that the ground is connected to the cabinet ground bus to protect against ESD. Connect Ethernet cables and other peripherals. Upon first boot, the system will start the Windows Out‑of‑Box Experience – set the region, language, and time zone. Install any required runtime licenses (e.g., ProVisIT, Wonderware) and restore the application backup. The touchscreen calibration is already performed at the factory; if needed, recalibrate via the “Tablet PC Settings” in Windows.

Diagnostics and Maintenance

The fanless design eliminates moving parts, making the unit highly reliable. Periodic maintenance includes cleaning the front screen and the heatsink fins (using compressed air). The system provides a hardware monitoring interface (via SMBus) that reports CPU temperature, power supply voltage, and fan‑less status. The SSD’s SMART data can be accessed to predict remaining lifetime. If a fault occurs, the watchdog timer can be configured to reset the system. For firmware updates (BIOS/EC), use the LAUER Update Tool provided on the support site. In case of a non‑bootable system, a recovery image is stored on a hidden partition; press F11 at boot to access the recovery menu.

Ordering Options

The EPC X 550 TC is available with different processor variants (Core i3, i5, or i7) and with either 8 GB or 16 GB RAM. Storage size and type (SSD or M.2 SATA) can be customized. An optional Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth module and a 4G/LTE module with external antenna connectors are also available. When ordering, specify the full configuration code; the standard model is EPC‑X550‑TC‑i5‑8G‑256G.