Published in the March 2006 American Longwall Magazine

The two companies have brought together Fletcher’s electronic drilling software with Glacier’s industrial computer design (see related article).

Glacier, established in 2001, supplies PC-compatible systems specifically designed for harsh environments and introduced its newest product in June 2004.

The GX-1000 can use the Windows 2000, XP, XP Embedded or CE operating systems and comes with optional solid-state drive technology ideally suited to vibration or shock intense applications. The system is also upgradeable by switching out hard drives, adding DRAM, upgrading wireless radios, changing operating systems and adding an internal UPS battery.

What makes it work for underground mining, according to Glacier vice president John Geary, is its construction as it has no fans or vents. Geary said the processors – similar to those used in portable tablets – produce minimal heat, making the system ideal for use in sealed, rugged enclosures.

Options and an upcoming generation of the system offer an embedded version of Windows on a flash drive (to reduce occupied hard drive space) and the ability to record and display a history for a specified window of time through a diagnostic chip – as well as 12VDC-60 VDC internal power conversion and a Pentium M processor.

The system, Geary said, typically communicates via 802.11 B/G wireless ethernet and does not interfere with any other present frequencies. Equipped with a DC-to-DC converter, the system can be installed and connected to either a 12-volt internal combustion or electric vehicle for easy, efficient power sharing, and screen sizes are available to fit all needs including 10, 12, and 15 inch diagonal. Fletcher’s model of the GX-1000 features a 10-inch color LCD and touchscreen.

“It’s a full-blown Windows PC. Whatever applications you can run on your desktop, you can run on this,” Geary said, adding that many companies, such as Fletcher, choose to install their own custom software to specialize the system for their own environment.

“We’re taking computing power as you know it and bringing it to extremes of environments that a traditional PC wouldn’t survive or fit.”