Configuring a cart: monitor, client and accessories

Start with the task, not the parts list

With more than 1,000 configuration options, it is tempting to begin with the catalogue. The better starting point is a short description of the work: who uses the cart, standing or sitting, for how long, what is shown on screen and what has to be captured or printed along the way. A cart for bedside documentation needs little more than a screen, a keyboard and a scanner. A cart for goods receipt needs room for a label printer and labels. A service counter needs a large display that customers can see as well. Once the task is written down, most choices follow from it, and the remaining ones become real trade-offs rather than guesses. This description is also what we ask for first in a consultation, by phone or on site.

Monitor size sets the frame

The monitor is the most visible decision and it constrains several others. lean carts take a standard or energy-saving True Flat monitor with protective glass in 24″, 27″ or 32″. A larger screen shows more at once, which helps with dense applications or when several people look together. It also adds weight and power draw, and every mount has a limit: in the standard version the EasyCart’s VESA mount carries up to 11 kg, VexioCart and ProCart up to 14 kg, and the spring-assisted lift arm on BaseCart and NovoCart up to 8 kg. All of them use the VESA 75/100 hole pattern. So check the weight of the chosen monitor against the mount before anything else is fixed. Where two screens are needed, a dual-monitor mount is available as an accessory — and doubles that check.

Client: separate box or all-in-one

The second decision is where the computing happens. Carts integrate almost any client, including devices from Lenovo, Dell, HP and LG. A thin client running IGEL OS suits environments with central servers or virtual desktops; IGEL OS turns any 64-bit x86 device with 2 GB of RAM into a managed thin client, administered through IGEL UMS. A fat client is the better choice when a permanent server connection cannot be guaranteed. The client needs a place on the cart: the EasyCart has a shelf with a technology compartment for a laptop or a fat or thin client, the VexioCart can take an optional ClientBox, and cabinet carts offer a technology compartment. The alternative is an all-in-one panel PC such as the lean POCm or POCi, which combines screen and computer and powers the workstation from its own batteries.

Power follows from screen and client

Only once monitor and client are chosen does it make sense to size the power. The lean LFP supply with 720 Wh runs a typical cart for more than twelve hours, but the connected devices decide the real figure: a 32″ display with a fat client draws noticeably more than a 24″ True Flat panel with a thin client. The LFP delivers 5–48 V DC at 200 W, which covers most cart hardware directly; devices that need mains voltage require the optional 230 V, 400 W pure sine output. An all-in-one with three hot-swap batteries, like the lean POCm with 10 to 16 hours of runtime, replaces the external supply altogether. Deciding power last avoids the common mistake of a battery sized for hardware that was later changed.

Accessories that match the workflow

Accessories turn a generic cart into a tool for one job, and each one should answer a step in the workflow. Barcode and 2D scanners need a scanner holder within reach of the hand that scans. A printer tray belongs on the cart only if labels or forms are printed on the spot. Keyboard drawers with a mouse tray, side folding tables, shelves on the column, drawers, glove box holders, tray holders, USB hubs and push handles are all available. On AluCart and NovoCart, standard rails allow accessories to be added later; the VexioCart’s column can also be retrofitted. Disinfectable keyboards and mice are the default choice wherever surfaces are cleaned often. Keep one principle in mind: every accessory adds weight, width or cabling, so leave out what the workflow does not need.

Check the whole before ordering a fleet

A configuration that looks consistent on paper still has to prove itself in use. Three checks help. First, add up the weight on each mount and compare it with the limit. Second, confirm that the cabling for client, monitor, scanner and power runs cleanly — the ProCart, for example, routes data and power lines separately in its column. Third, run a trial cart from our demo pool through real work, ideally comparing more than one model. On request we pre-install your clients and commission the carts together with your IT department, so the configuration you tested is the one that arrives.

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