An excellent 2020 publication from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine on industrial wireless technologies:
IIoT and Wireless Connectivity
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) refers to sensors, controllers, actuators, tools, and other devices interconnected with industrial computer applications, including manufacturing and energy management. This connectivity facilitates collecting, distributing, and reviewing data, potentially promoting productivity and quality improvements, and other economic benefits. The IIoT is an evolution of a distributed control system (DCS) that uses cloud computing to refine and optimize process controls, allowing for a greater degree of automation.
In the manufacturing industries, the term industrial internet of things refers to the IoT industrial subset. Improved efficiency, analytics, and the workplace's transformation are future advantages of the industrial Internet of things.
While connectivity and data acquisition is essential for IIoT, they are not the ultimate objectives but rather the basis and path to something larger. Predictive maintenance is an "easier" application of all technology related to current asset and management systems. Smart maintenance systems will minimize unnecessary downtime and improve efficiency, estimated to save up to 12 percent over planned repairs, reduce total maintenance costs by up to 30 percent, and eliminate breakdowns by up to 70 percent.
Wireless connections are increasingly used in IIoT deployments to boost industrial data services' operational communication, such as capturing vast process data, interacting with industrial robots, and monitoring machines/parts/products on and beyond the factory floor.
Industrial users typically play a much more decisive and active role in deciding wireless services in their plants than personal customers in the wireless market. A collaboration between operational technology (OT) engineers, information technology (IT) device architects, and wireless network planners is inherently a wireless system architecture for IIoT applications. The newly founded 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) has provided some inputs from industrial manufacturers in the form of white papers.
There are no one-size-fits-all wireless solutions for industrial use cases as the service requirements, and operating environments may differ vastly from one another. Earlier industrial wireless networks provided connectivity in each single vertical manufacturing sector. As a result, the solutions that function well under the specific service requirements and operating conditions may only yield limited value in different use cases. Wireless success in more emerging IIoT applications will require wireless networks to facilitate the broader and deeper digital contact with industrial systems and provide flexible interfaces and quick deployments while keeping data integrity.
For more information, contact Analynk Wireless.(614) 755-5091
An Excellent White Paper for Understanding Wireless Networking in Hazardous Areas
A potentially explosive atmosphere exists when a gas, vapor, mist, or dust, alone or in combination, occurs in situations where it may ignite under specific conditions. A "hazardous" or "classified" area are places with highly combustible atmospheres that are potentially explosive.
Local and international regulations exist to minimize the risk posed in explosive atmospheres by the energy contained in and required by operating networks and IoT products. A gradual harmonization of these regulations continues to be structured and defined by the IEC and European and US standards.
Industry associations and standards bodies continue to work together to resolve classifying explosive materials and establish standards for the safe operation of networking equipment and IIoT (Industrial Things Internet) products in hazardous areas. Because different organizations perform the work in other areas, understanding which criteria are applicable under different conditions can be difficult.
Aruba Networks has been at the forefront of wireless networking in industrial environments. Their white paper entitled "BUILT TO BLAST: Industrial Internet of Things Hazardous Environment Infrastructure" discusses the various types of dangers, criteria, and conditions that need to be considered before deploying wireless network infrastructure in explosive environments. You can download the white paper here.
The growth of connected industrial IoT devices moves in unison with initiatives to improve operations, maximize efficiency, allow better inventory management, and enhance plant safety. Understanding the unique requirements of wireless networking and communications in hazardous areas is critical. If you have questions about applying wireless networking and instrumentation in hazardous areas, feel free to contact Analynk Wireless. Check out their website at https://analynk.com for contact information.
The Economic Argument of Using Hazardous Area Access Point Enclosures
Many chemical, food processing, refining, mining, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical applications need high-performance Wi-Fi access in potentially explosive environments. Whether it's device telemetry, network access, site-to-site networking, or unified communications, these applications demand the highest Wi-Fi performance possible in the harshest environments.
Some Wi-Fi access points are designed for direct use in explosive conditions without an external protective enclosure. Others are intended for use in non-explosive environments and controlled within a specialized housing specified for that use. The former approach is cost-effective when the underlying technology that drives the equipment is developed, reliable, and unlikely to need an upgrade for years; IoT velocity, positioning, pressure, and temperature sensors fall into that class.
The latter solution – using an outer enclosure – is the most realistic as the underlying wireless technology is rapidly evolving. That's because an explosion-proof enclosure's purchase and installation costs can reflect 4 to 20 times the access point's price. Swapping the access point out, leaving the protective enclosure intact, is significantly less costly than installing a brand new enclosure for some technology upgrades.
The Wi-Fi industry has changed from 802.11n to 802.11ac Wave 1 to 802.11ac Wave 2 in under ten years. Just as no consumer will purchase a new truck based on a 10-year-old design, nor will they consider installing technology-based 802.11n access points from 2007. They will at least use 802.11ac Wave 1, particularly in industrial environments, due to the outstanding multipath performance of 802.11ac in metal presence.
Using standard amortization rates, a consumer wanting to keep up-to-date with the new Wi-Fi technology will upgrade equipment approximately once every four years. If we believe that an access point designed for harsh environments has a list price of $1,500, and with the related Class 1 Division 2 enclosure may list for $3,500. The installation alone (excluding the set-up and commissioning of access points) costs $2,500. In this scenario, buyers can save $4,500 for each access point technology switch when mounting in a hazardous area access point enclosure.
For more information about hazardous area wireless access point enclosures, contact Analynk by calling (614) 755-5091 or visit their website at https://analynk.com.
The Analynk AP427 Dual-Band Hazardous Area Access Point Enclosure for Ubiquiti UAP-AC-M
THE AP427 HAZARDOUS AREA ENCLOSURE HOUSES THE UBIQUITI UAP-AC-M DUAL BAND ACCESS POINT FOR USE IN THE HAZARDOUS AREAS.
The AP427 is designed to house the Ubiquiti UAP-AC-M dual band access point for use in hazardous areas. The enclosure, all hardware, and antennas are rated for Class I, Div 1, groups C & D Hazardous Locations. All hardware, mounting plate, antennas and RF cables are provided to make installation of the access point quick and easy. The enclosure utilizes our proprietary explosion proof CTX series of antennas, two dual band 2.4GHz/5GHz are included.
For more information, contact Analynk Wireless.
(614) 755-5091
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