Anyplace you look these days computers are on the job making things easier and more efficient for the humans who run them. One of the problems faced, however, is that humans have a tendency to want to take their computers anywhere they go, including environments which are far harsher than most computer components are designed for. My desktop certainly won’t go into the desert gracefully, it has enough trouble with dust bunnies! Towards this end the industry of ruggedizing computer components for harsh travel and environments has taken root.

VME Chassis

A VMEbus is a standard for a computer bus, which simply refers to how a computer passes information around various pieces of hardware. Depending on how the hardware is mounted in a rack or crate the VMEbus allows multiple IP cards to be plugged into a single system and data and computer instructions passed between the cards to accomplish computing tasks. This means that a VMEbus can range in size and complexity based on how many cards are needed in order to perform the needed tasks.

Keeping both of the above factors in mind it becomes easy to see why there would be a demand for a VME Chassis, particularly a ruggedized VME Chassis. A chassis is used to refer to housing for an object, in this case the VMEbus for large computer systems. When dealing with complex military systems, such as the Raytheon Missile Systems or any variety of control room functions, the VMEbus computing needs are significant. The VMEbus in these systems is large, tends to run hot and must function at all times. A ruggedized VME chassis provides a way to safely house the VMEbus and account for these needs. A VME chassis can be thermoelectrically cooled or heated to keep components at ideal temperatures, and the rugged VME chassis is resistant to environmental factors such as humidity and dust as well as resisting vibration and unit shock making it an ideal solution for military operations set up around the world.