Site planning and wireless network installation
January 2014
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
By Paul Hsu, Moxa product manager.
Building a wireless network can be quite an undertaking. Compared to wired networks, wireless networks require a great deal more planning to install and deploy. In addition to marked differences between wired and wireless LANs, there are currently no standardised procedures for wireless network planning and installation.
So before you begin site planning your network, you need to decide which technologies will be the most beneficial and whether or not consumer-grade products can meet the needs of your mission-critical application. This white paper explains the important factors you should consider in planning and installing a wireless network.
Why choose industrial wireless?
The convenience of connecting devices without the use of wires has led to the unprecedented success of wireless technologies in the consumer sector. Due to this success, these same technologies are beginning to appear in various other settings including industrial applications. Wireless technologies offer a number of key benefits including mobility, flexibility, wide coverage, and cost savings.
Mobility and efficiency: improved data communication leads to faster and more efficient transfer of information between people in your organisation, as well as between you and your customers. Members of your sales team, for example, can remotely check stock levels and prices while on a sales call.
Flexibility and easy relocation or expansion: in a factory setting, stationary systems can be connected over a wireless network to mobile subsystems or robots to achieve a level of connectivity that would otherwise be impossible. Furthermore, wireless technology can make it much simpler to gain temporary access to plant machinery for diagnostic or programming purposes.
Wider coverage: because wireless technology allows you to communicate wherever you are, you can send and receive information at any time without being limited by physical wires.
Saving time and money: wireless networks can be easier and cheaper to install and implement than wired networks. There is no need to purchase metres and metres of wire or to pay additional installation costs to wire your environment. The average time required to deploy a wireless solution is also significantly shorter than for a wired solution.
However, these advantages also come with additional factors you need to take into consideration when adopting wireless technologies in industrial applications.
Before installing your wireless network, consider the important factors associated with site planning. Download the full Moxa White Paper at http://instrumentation.co.za/+C18494
Further reading:
A one-stop-shop for industrial communication
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
HMS Networks has announced that Red Lion and N-Tron are officially product brands. For thousands of automation engineers and system integrators worldwide, this means that scalable industrial solutions for cloud connectivity, edge intelligence, asset management, industrial Ethernet switches, panel meters and operator panels are now available from one trusted source.
Read more...
Cost-effective industrial PoE injector
Vepac Electronics
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The Edimax IGP-203IT from Vepac Electronics is an industrial PoE injector that not only delivers a cost-effective solution for power distribution, but also allows seamless deployment on an existing LAN infrastructure.
Read more...
Harnessing the power of OT networking
RJ Connect
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Businesses are increasingly embracing IT/OT convergence to stay ahead and capitalise on advantages such as smarter factories and higher efficiency. This article provides practical insights and guidance to help you navigate these challenges effectively.
Read more...
PC-based control for advanced hydrogen storage technology
Beckhoff Automation
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Sufficient storage options for renewable energies are essential to use them as efficiently as possible. GKN Hydrogen offers a particularly compact and safe option, low-pressure metal hydride hydrogen storage systems with PC-based control from Beckhoff.
Read more...
Power over Ethernet splitter without electric cabling
Vepac Electronics
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The GP-101ST Gigabit PoE (Power over Ethernet) Splitter from Vepac Electronics delivers both data and electrical power to non-PoE Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet-enabled products such as network cameras and wireless access points, using an Ethernet cable, without the need for power outlets and electrical cabling.
Read more...
Beckhoff’s XPlanar boosts productivity in medical device assembly
Beckhoff Automation
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The intelligent transport system, XPlanar from Beckhoff provided the basis for an innovative system concept allowing the specialists at Automation NTH to reduce the space requirement of an assembly machine for medical diagnostic devices by a factor of 10.
Read more...
Comprehensive solutions for the food and beverage sector
RS South Africa
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
RS South Africa is reinforcing its commitment to the country’s dynamic food and beverage sector, backed by a comprehensive portfolio of over 800 000 products, extensive technical expertise and end-to-end service capabilities.
Read more...
Case History 198: Cascade control overcomes valve problems
Michael Brown Control Engineering
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
A large petrochemical refinery asked me to perform an audit on several critical base layer control loops. This article deals with a problem found on a valve controlling the flow of fuel to a heat exchanger.
Read more...
Improved networking technology for fire and gas detection
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Critical alarm and event management technology supplier, Omniflex has worked with the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation to upgrade equipment providing digital and analogue signals for its safety critical fire and gas alarm systems.
Read more...
PC-based control for fertiliser
Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
On a farm in the USA, valuable ammonia is extracted from slurry and processed into ammonium sulphate. NSI Byosis has transformed this complex process into a flexible modular system. This modular approach requires an automation solution with flexible scalability in both hardware and software, which this Dutch company has found in PC-based control from Beckhoff.
Read more...
printer friendly version