Implementing wireless networks for machinery: security and configuration

Key hightlights

Wireless connectivity offers significant advantages in industrial machinery by eliminating extensive hard wiring and enabling mobile access for monitoring, troubleshooting, and training.
Implementing wireless networks for machinery requires careful consideration of security, signal stability, and proper network configuration to prevent data loss and ensure reliable control.
Augmented Reality (AR) can revolutionize machine training, troubleshooting, and documentation by overlaying digital information and interactive guides onto real-world equipment.

Wireless networking means two things in operation: freedom and mobility. The available devices that can be used in a wireless setting have grown. They can include operator interfaces, signal devices, safety implementations and mobile equipment.

One of the immediate advantages would be the lack of hard wiring to these devices using ethernet cables of various types. I have written before on the need for security in these networks, and the consideration of control should the signal drop, packet loss or interference.

In one installation of early wireless bridges and access points on mobile stacker cranes, the access points would change channels based on signal strength. This would happen when the access point was farther away from the bridge node and would cause intermittent delays in data transmission. It was also being caused by adjacent access points, so the single mobile access point had to be configured to only talk to the stationary bridge to minimize channel hopping and packet loss.

For machine control and a wireless machine network, the wireless router has the availability of allowing only a specific IP address range for connectivity. Plantwide wireless connectivity is another story. A determination must be made about how much of the wireless network would have internet availability.

For a single machine or production line, it could be considered to be its own local area wireless local area network (LAN). The routers used in the implementation may or may not have access to the plantwide network.

The benefits of having a wireless infrastructure are varied. Being able to access the control components from a laptop or tablet is a given. Having access while walking up and down the line brings a different perspective. Being able to monitor the control software while being in front of the operation may prove beneficial. Tracking a part through the physicality of the system can be very helpful in tracking down a production issue.

Troubleshooting a system while being mobile can be a godsend. Safety can also be a consideration. With the mobile stacker cranes, there were times when riding on the crane to troubleshoot an issue were more dangerous than they had to be. You have to get your eyes in the right position to detect movement, and having the control program in front of you while you are in the midst of the operation instead of being an outlier can prove to be a winning combination.

There are many protocols that can exist in a wireless setting, so having mixed devices on the same wireless network and IP range can exist.

Where this freedom and mobility can really pay off is in real-world machine training, troubleshooting and documentation. Implementing technology such as augmented reality (AR) can create a real-world environment for plant-floor and maintenance staff.

Virtual reality (VR) could also be used for training purposes due to its 3D capabilities, but it doesn’t attach itself to the real machine. It is truly a virtual experience.

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AR however, can marry computer-generated images and overlay them onto the actual machine. Using a camera in the device in which you are wanting to view the AR content, the proper images would overlay over what the camera is seeing.

A simple procedure would be to focus on a level transmitter. Engaging AR, a document could pop up, indicating the vendor, type of level sensing it employs and operation specifics, such as where the sensor is located, configuration information and potentially current operation status.

Should the detected level be suspect in an operational problem, a troubleshooting overlay could direct the user to point the camera at a certain area such as indicating lights the AR application could interpret.

For training purposes, the AR platform would indicate what that level sensor does and maybe provide some simulation as to how it interacts with the process.

AR can be static or interactive and is being used in many commercial areas. With the rise of AI, I am expecting the implementation of AR using AI to accelerate the user base in industry.

The term augmented, or mixed, reality was coined in 1992, and the use of AR has been in industrial applications since the 1990s. So, it isn’t new, but the development of a comprehensive AR platform takes time and money. We have the devices and mobility to make the effort worthwhile.

If vendors provided AR scripts for their devices for the above three options, we would be in a much better place.