[moylan]

i wonder if the dust created by the bandsaw wouldn't make it difficult to replace it with a more modern system. we used to use standard office pcs to run a pos system for video shops around ireland. as the systems moved from been shipped with win 3.1 to win xp the processors got faster and the dust in the shops used to clog up the fans. machines pre pentium iii with passive cooling worked fine but anything with a cpu fan could be easily clogged with average dust levels in a pos location.

we also had a few pcs in engineering locations and even the power supply fans on 386s had problems with the dust in those locations. you have to wonder what the dust was doing to staffs lungs. after one particular location killed 1 pc a week for a month we ended up putting the pc in a pair of tights as this filtered out the dust. looked weird but far cheaper than a industrial pc.

but opera 3.62 seems to have support for css and works on win 3.1

haven't touched a win 3.1 system since around 2004 or so.

[thaumaturgy]

One of our clients is an electric motor shop. They're a pretty great little shop, they do work for elevator companies and PG&E and the like.

Anyway, they have a dust problem -- a carbon / metallic dust compound that permeates and settles on everything in the shop. It's pretty ugly.

There are pretty much two strategies for that kind of an environment, computer-wise: construct a cheap acrylic enclosure with a HEPA filter and maybe a fan or two; or, buy a cheap computer and expect to replace it every 1 to 2 years.

[andreasvc]

How about a completely fanless computer? Or does the metallic dust also cause shorts etc.?

Either way it also sounds like an unhealthy environment for humans to work in.

[MichaelApproved]

Oil cool the computers. I don't have the link but a google search will show you a lot of interesting builds. You don't have to worry about dust or filters because te entire pc is submerged in oil.

[andreasvc]

Mini-ITX mainboards could be called industrial, they come in fanless varieties and are pretty cheap.