WinSystems is an employee owned

embedded system An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is ''embedded'' as ...

s manufacturer specializing in ruggedized, highly reliable industrial computer systems. The company was founded by Jerry Winfield in 1982 and is headquartered in

Grand Prairie, Texas Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it t ...

History

Founded in 1982 (as WinTech), WinSystems manufactures and distributes

embedded computer An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is ''embedded'' as ...

s for use in industrial applications. Products include embedded

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...

-compatible

single-board computer A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstrati ...

s, COM Modules, COM carrier boards, touch panel PCs, analog boards, digital input/output (I/O) boards, industrial

CompactFlash CompactFlash (CF) is a flash memory mass storage device used mainly in portable electronic devices. The format was specified and the devices were first manufactured by SanDisk in 1994. CompactFlash became one of the most successful of the e ...

and many other items that are useful in industrial embedded systems. On September 19, 2007 - Jerry Winfield, President of WINSYSTEMS, announced that the company instituted an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and joined a growing list of companies whose employees are stockholders.(

Employee ownership Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...

) This corporate structure offers stability and longevity for the WINSYSTEMS Corporation insuring long-term availability of products for its customers. This is very important for industrial OEMs using embedded PC technology to support their ongoing and future applications.

Products

The majority of WinSystems manufacturing is done in Grand Prairie Texas.

PC/104

The

PC/104 PC/104 (or PC104) is a family of embedded computer standardization, standards which define both Computer form factor, form factors and Bus (computing), computer buses by the PC/104 Consortium. Its name derives from the 104 pins on the interboard ...

standard defines a compact / modular form-factor bus for embedding ISA Bus system functions within embedded

microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PC ...

applications. The modules' small size (3.6" x 3.8") and low power requirements make them ideally suited to embedded control applications.

PC/104-Plus

The PC/104-Plus defines additional PCI functionality that is usually paired with a PC/104 connector to give an embedded system complete ISA and PCI expansion. Like PC/104 modules', PC/104-PLUS modules are small (3.6" x 3.8") and have low power requirements.

STD Bus

STD Bus The STD Bus is a bus (computing), computer bus that was used primarily for industrial control systems, but has also found applications in computing. The STD Bus has also been designated as STD-80, referring to its relation to the Zilog Z80 series ...

is IEEE-961 standard. The STD Bus has a number of advantages over other bus architectures used in industrial applications such as PC/104 and

Multibus Multibus is a computer bus standard used in industrial systems. It was developed by Intel Corporation and was adopted as the IEEE 796 bus. The Multibus specification was important because it was a robust, well-thought out industry standard with ...

. Its simple interface, smaller card size (4.5" x 6.5"); solid, nearly square peripheral cards, and strong card mounts, tolerate shock and vibrations making the STD Bus ideal for rugged industrial environments.

COM Modules

COM technology has been around in various forms for decades and consists of a mezzanine approach with CPU, memory and basic I/O interfaces on a module that mounts to a single carrier board or a stack of boards to complete the I/O and system requirements. The approach allows the most complicated part of the design to be separated from the unique I/O requirements of different carrier board solutions. PC/104 is often considered one of the original COM module approaches. Not only does PC/104 provide an ecosystem of CPU and I/O vendors, many OEMs used the standardized bus and mounting to design unique carrier cards using off-the-shelf CPU modules available from multiple vendors. WINSYSTEMS currently offers industrial COM Express Type 10 Mini modules and supporting carrier cards, both of which are designed and manufactured in its Grand Prairie, Texas, USA facilities.

Single board computers

WinSystems offers

commercial off-the-shelf Commercial off-the-shelf or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products are packaged or canned (ready-made) hardware or software, which are adapted aftermarket to the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of ...

(COTS), modified COTS and custom-designed ARM and Embedded PCs engineered for rugged, industrial environments, extended operating temperature ranges, and long product life cycles of 10+ years. Our Single Board Computers are created and packaged under precisely controlled conditions and subjected to intensive quality control to ensure they perform under extreme conditions.

References

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External links

WinSystems web site
Employee-owned companies of the United States Companies based in Texas Robotics companies of the United States American companies established in 1982 1982 establishments in Texas Grand Prairie, Texas