They are physical buttons in the front bezel, and their function is set per project: start, stop, confirm, alarm acknowledge, or a machine-specific command. They can also be mapped as number-keypad keys where the software expects one — the F5, ÷ (division) and × (multiplication) mappings are the common ones. The point is that the routine action of a shift is a button press that works with gloves, rather than a gesture on glass.

Two things: it is the 21.5-inch member of the range, and it is the one with physical keys. The reader, the card types, the interfaces and the compute platform are the same as its siblings, so the choice is about screen size and how the operator gives commands — touch only on the UTC-S2162C, or touch plus keys here.

Same 21.5-inch 1920 × 1080 panel, same 13.56 MHz reader, same enclosure and the same 596.6 × 308.1 mm cutout. The difference is the front: the UTC-W2172C has three programmable keys below the reader, the UTC-S2162C is touch-only. Where operators wear gloves, work at a control-room desk, or need to acknowledge an alarm without looking away, the keyed model is the one to specify.

IC cards as standard, with ID cards optional, at 13.56 MHz and a typical reading distance of 0~60 mm at 3.3V~5V (standard 5V). Tell us which badge the site issues and the reader is configured for it at the factory.

RS232 when a PLC or controller reads the tag data directly from the serial buffer — no operating system, no driver. USB when a Windows or Linux application consumes the ID: the reader acts as a keyboard and types it into the focused field. Both are supported on the same hardware and chosen at order.

The documented build is Intel Celeron J6412 (4 cores, 2.0~2.6 GHz, 10W TDP) with 8GB DDR4 — the platform supports 4~16GB — and a 128GB mSATA SSD, with a second M.2 slot for a separate system or data drive. Its official part number is C9.02.04.009.

Yes. It is built on BlockCore™, so the same enclosure, keys, reader, touchscreen and cutout also take Celeron J1900, 10th Gen Core i3/i5/i7 and 12th Gen Core i3-1215U / i5-1235U / i7-1250U boards — ordered as their own part numbers (for example the Celeron J1900 version is the UTC-W2162C). Nothing on the front of the panel changes.

2× RS232 and 1× RS485 on DB9, 4× USB 3.0 and 2× USB 2.0, 1× HDMI and 1× VGA for dual display, one 3.5 mm audio jack, a ground terminal and 2× Intel I210 Gigabit LAN — one port for the machine network and one for the plant or MES network. Wi-Fi is built in and 4G LTE is optional.

The chassis is 614.6 (W) × 326.1 (D) × 81.6 (H) mm with a cutout of 596.6 × 308.1 mm, weighs 5.6 kg N.W., and is a silver 6063 aluminium alloy housing with fanless cooling. It mounts in the panel cutout, on a wall bracket or on a VESA mount; power is 12V DC through an aviation connector with 9~36V DC available, and operating temperature is 0~50℃ (14~140 °F) with an extended-temperature build available.

Wherever the routine action has to be certain: control rooms and multi-operator desks where several people share one panel, gloved operation in food, chemical or washdown-adjacent areas, alarm acknowledgement where the operator should not have to look for a button on screen, and start/stop stations where a physical control is expected by both the operator and the safety assessment.

The front is IP65 — keys, reader and screen are all behind the same sealed face, so it wipes down as one surface with no separate reader window to clean around. The touchscreen is 6H hardness with up to 10-point projected-capacitive touch, and resistive 5-wire is available where gloves are standard.

Windows 10 and Windows 11, or Linux Ubuntu 16.04 / 18.04 / 20.04 / 22.04; the Celeron platform also supports Windows 7 where a site is still on it. ODM services cover a custom BIOS, system encryption, booting on your own LOGO and OEM branding.