Military Grade

Military grade or Military standard (MIL-STD) is a commonly used term to describe the toughness of a computer or case design, but what does it actually mean? You would think that if it passed scrutineering by the military that the computer would be suitable for any type of civilian application or general business use.

Well the ‘devil is in the detail’ in relation to military standards and how they relate to computer specifications and even whether a particular manufacturer has even passed a particular certification.

Generally speaking, the military standard advertised on a computer or case is only the drop rating. That is, the ability for the rugged computer or non-rugged computer in rugged case to be dropped from a certain height.

Choose a height and then drop computer repeatedly from every side, every angle onto a plywood sheet and then pickup the computer to see if it still operating correctly. In some ways this is similar to crashing a car and receiving a safety rating because it needs to be completed by a 3rd party organisation, and receive a certificate of compliance showing the test results.

We have heard of some manufacturers claiming that if they did complete the testing that their product would pass the testing, and advertising the product as though it had passed the test already, presumably because they do not want to pay for the certification. So if this aspect of a rugged computer or rugged case design is important to you we suggest that you request a copy of the certificate before purchasing.

And keep in mind that the drop rating is only one aspect of what makes a computer rugged. It does not cover ingress protection (ability for dust and water to get inside a machine), outdoor viewability, operational or storage temperatures, vibration or electro-magnetic interference, or make it intrinsically safe.

The more you are walking or standing whilst using a computer the more likely you are to drop it. Dropping a computer is never a great idea, and depending on what you drop it on to will determine if you break your display and the touchscreen stops working, or more serious damage occurs - most of the time this type of damage will not be covered under warranty.