Wireless Communications for Industrial Automation Continues to Expand Because It Performs

communications satellite in Earth orbit
Wireless communications capabilities for process control
extend beyond WiFi
Wireless connection between a sensor and control or monitoring station is not new anymore. Products have matured, familiarity with the technology is widespread. Certainly, there are still large swaths of industrial installations that do not utilize the technology. This can be for any number or reasons, but new industrial technology tends to follow a predictable course throughout its adoption. There will be innovators and early adopters that can justify higher risks with the prospect of great returns. Many industries and companies will wait until perceived technological difficulties with implementation are overcome and products become more mainstream and easy to apply. That is where industrial wireless is today. Assembling complete working systems is a straight forward operation. Costs are comparatively modest. It's easier to visualize a payback.

Let's review some of the benefits a wireless installation can bring.

  • Safety: Wireless connections can reduce personnel exposure to hazardous environments or situations that previously required human intervention or a manual gauge or instrument reading.
  • Easy Scale-up: Adding points on a network is generally a simple incremental process.
  • Operational Advantage: When deployed to replace manual instrument or gauge readings, real time data for diagnostics and efficiency measurements are now available. Information that is more accurate, timely, and consistent will produce better results.
  • Installation Savings: Installation of wireless connected assets has been reported to be up to 10 times less expensive than wired installation. The reduced space and planning for cables and conduit can make what were once complex and time consuming operations much quicker and easier.
  • Mobility: Wireless technology allows for real time connections to mobile platforms. Whether within a plant, on the road, or on the high seas, there are wireless products that can make the connection.
  • Distance: Don't just think WiFi, think radio, think satellite, think cellular. Connections can be established across very long distances using standard products from the industry.
  • Conversion of Legacy Devices: Many existing in-place devices can have their wired connections replaced with a wireless version. This accommodates a staged transition from wired to wireless in facility.
Analynk Wireless manufactures a broad range of wireless communications equipment for industrial process control and automation. Share your wireless connection challenges and ideas with the experts at Analynk and start benefiting from the technology. It's not new anymore. It's mainstream.


Hazardous Area RF Antenna Opens Up Installation Possibilities

Analynk Hazardous Area Antenna
Many industrial process control operations can benefit from wireless connections between measuring and control devices. The absence of cables saves space, reduces potential for damage, and simplifies modifications to the process equipment layout. Implementing wireless communications in hazardous areas, whether through WiFi or other radio frequency channels, presents a particular set of challenges to successful implementation. Points of network access and other transmission and receiving equipment can require a level of isolation and hardening appropriate for the hazardous environment. Specialized enclosures can house the needed equipment, but antennas must extend outside metal enclosures and into the hazardous environment in order to function. This imposes rigorous requirements on antenna design and construction.

Analynk Wireless provides patented hazardous area explosion proof antennas for industrial installations.  Their CTX and CTM series antennas carry an array of third party approvals and are suitable for use in a broad range of hazardous environments. Models can accommodate WiFi and other RF communications across frequency bands commonly utilized in industrial settings, as well as cellular and satellite communications.

Data sheets for the CTX and CTM Series antennas are included below for more detail. Share your wireless communication challenges and application questions with the experts at Analynk and work together to produce the best solutions.


Hazardous Area Wireless Equipment Enclosures Ease the Path to Implementation

hazardous area wireless equipment enclosure with explosion proof antenna
Analynk hazardous area wireless equipment enclosures
are preconfigured for antenna connection.
Extending or establishing wireless connections in hazardous industrial environments presents a unique set of challenges. The equipment must be housed in an enclosure appropriately rated for the environment. Additionally, the antenna must extend outside the hazardous area rated equipment enclosure in order to properly function. The antenna must also carry a suitable rating for the hazardous area and provide an approved mating to the enclosure to preserve the safety integrity of the installation.

Analynk Wireless, innovators in the industrial wireless arena, provide a series of enclosures suitable for Class 1 Division 1 Groups C&D locations, as well as Class 1 Zone 1 applications. The enclosures are preconfigured to accommodate Analynk's hazardous area antenna, which provides access to a range of frequencies that include radio, cellular, and satellite communications.

The company also provides hazardous area rated enclosures for many popular industrial WiFi access points, preconfigured with antennas, equipment mounting bracket, and connection cables.

Share your industrial wireless communications challenges with the experts at Analynk Wireless. Combining your process expertise with their knowledge of wireless communications will produce the best solution.