The Idea

Many years ago when the computer was starting to make an impact on the small business community, I was in the commercial sign business. One of the first applications of a computerized system we used was a plotter that cut vinyl letters that would adhere to sign stock whether it be metal, (including cars and trucks), wood, glass or any other surface that would support the vinyl. One sad day the computer (an early version PC that told the plotter where to cut) died. I called my computer guru, Howard, and asked him to come over and look at the deceased unit. The mother board was cracked and not repairable. The board had become brittle from the fumes and dust in the sign shop. Howard was able to build us a new unit but warned me that unless I kept the new computer in a clean environment the new system would suffer the same fate. He suggested that I build my new computer its own “clean room” in order to prolong its life expectancy!! I did not have my own room so why should this computer have its own clean room? I decided that I would put it back in the box that it came in if it needed to stay clean.

“You can’t do that,” he said as he started to turn pale. “The computer needs to breathe, you know, get air to keep itself cool.”

“Okay,” I said. I’ll poke holes into the box to let air in the front and out the back.”

He said,” that would not solve the dust and fumes problems of the sign shop environment.”

I told him that I would put a filter on the front of the box over the hole. He then commented that the unit would not get enough air moving through it. My final idea in solving this problem was to put a fan on the back of the box to exhaust the warm air coming out of the computer. With a look on his face familiar to any parent tired of arguing he said,”It is your system now, do what you think needs to be done. Here is the bill.”

I checked into various computer stores in order to find solution to my problem of keeping my new computer clean and functioning properly. I would ask if they had a cabinet or enclosure that would satisfy my needs. After many fruitless attempts at solving my problem I decided to build my own solution out of a material that was more durable than a cardboard box. I built the first Byte Box out of Plexiglas and installed our computer into our first computer enclosure. The computer stayed clean, ran cooler, 3-4 degrees, and functioned properly for a long and prosperous life.

I began building Byte Boxes in 1995, obtained a patent on the air flow system in 1997, and today we have five stock units and do custom applications. This idea came from a problem that I needed to solve to make my business succeed and today I try to solve the problems of my customers.

The Problem / The Cost

One of the first custom computer enclosures we built was for a system that sits in the salt mines under Lake Erie. If you ever happen to visit these salt mines you will find a Byte Box computer enclosure protecting their computers from the adversities of the environment around them. An airplane manufacturer who has computers on the assembly-line floor had constant problems with downtime and loss of production. The computers became clogged and overheated from the dirt and dust produced from the manufacturing of parts. After placing the computers in Byte Box enclosures and changing the plugged filters on a frequent schedule, his losses and down time were reduced significantly. Byte Box enclosures and a more aggressive filter changing schedule were a simple and cost effective solution to this customer’s problem.

In 2002 we received a request from an IT person, Greg. His company was having major problems with hydrogen sulfide (H2S) contamination. H2S is a gas that is toxic to living creatures, flammable, and corrosive to most metals. The computers that were being contaminated were located in a remote location where employees did not have to access the units. The HP 2000 units were specifically configured to monitor the controls that pumped water into the ground and then returned it as steam in order to generate electricity. H2S was a byproduct of this process and was unavoidable. This was a much larger contamination problem than we usually handled. After doing some research I told Greg that I had come up with three possible solutions.

First, I told him, if compressed air was available at the location the computer enclosure could be purged with air from a vortex tube and be kept clean and cool. Unfortunately, no compressed air was available at the location. Next, I suggested that fresh air be ducted into the building and used to purge the computer enclosure unit. He said that this idea was also not practical or cost effective. Finally, I said, that a local filter supplier told me that some sort of special carbon filter might stop the H2S contamination but none were available locally. I apologized to Greg and said that I doubted we could help him solve his problem.

Greg was persistent. The next day he called me and faxed a list of companies that would build carbon filters to precise specifications. These filters would be built with activated charcoal that was caustic impregnated with potassium hydroxide that would probably solve the problem. He asked me if we could build custom enclosures that would hold these unique filters. We designed and built a custom plastic unit that was able to stop corrosion of the enclosure and accommodate the filters. We also incorporated a special indicator with the filter so there would be a visual alarm to warn of failure. Two months later the customer ordered eight more units.

The solution to this problem was a custom H2S resistant computer enclosure that was able to filter the H2S gas out of the air before it reached the HP 2000 units and exhaust clean air. A couple of months later I made a follow up call to see how the units were working in their uncommonly toxic environment. The customer told me that he had not had one failure of a HP 2000 since they were placed in Byte Box computer enclosures. I asked what each of these customized HP 2000 units cost, $8,500. Before they were placed in Byte Boxes, they could last 2 weeks. At the beginning of this year (Jan.2004) I called the customer to find out if these units were still working. The customer is still very pleased with his Byte Box computer enclosures and they are performing better than expected. He has not had a system failure in over eight months. By my calculations there would be a savings of $221,000 per site. This figure (times eight sites) is a savings of $1,768,000 per year AND counting. This does not include production time losses!! We wonder if Greg's job has been outsourced to India.

Smarter than Dirt

One day a young IT man called me and asked me if we could ship to Canada. Yes, I said. What can I do for you? "I need one of your DT units shipped to us for a new CPU that's in our shipping department. We filled the order and shipped the DT unit to him. After a week I called him back, to ask if he had received his Byte Box. Yes, he had already installed the unit and it was working superb.

I asked why he decided to buy a Byte Box. He stated, that he needed it for the computer in the shipping department. The unit keeps track of automated palletizing and wrapping equipment that is fed by five production lines. Because of dust plugging up the computer, the system overheated and crashed. I asked, how many people work in the plant. One hundred seventy five people was the answer. I understood the motivation. He said, the boss told me that if "I wasn't smarter than dirt" he would find someone that was. I was glad the DT unit arrived in time.

We at Byte Box pride ourselves in being able to find solutions for our customers’ environmental contamination problems. Whether your needs can be met by one of our standard units or a custom application, we are here to serve you. Please call us on our toll free number 1-888-BYTEBOX (298-3269) if you have any questions.