The Zen IoT: a cost-saving IIoT advantage
Technews Industry Guide: Industrial Internet of Things 2017
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
The first step to gaining a greater competitive advantage is connecting standalone legacy equipment to the Cloud – this starts with the Zen IoT. This IIoT Cloud edge gateway enables users to harness the data from previously unconnected equipment to improve business efficiency, productivity and scalability.
With it, users are able to measure and monitor the vital aspects of their equipment in ways that could not be done before. These insights drive better planning, scheduling, servicing and a host of other business benefits.
But how to prevent drowning in data?
The Zen IoT has the capability to perform calculations on the data it receives, and it is this collation of just the meaningful data that frees a business from ‘data avalanche’. It also keeps bandwidth costs to a minimum.
The Zen IoT is small enough to be sited close to the equipment, meaning sensitive data is kept inside the network and the IT team can monitor this as they would any other part of the IT environment.
The Zen IoT features a ‘universal’ input that accepts various industrial signals: TC, RTD, mA, mV, V, and pulse. The unit also supports a wide range of communication protocols including Modbus and MQTT. Its physical connections include Ethernet, WiFi, 3G/4G cellular modems, RS-485 and Bluetooth.
The Zen IoT is available in custom configurations for OEMs and high volume orders.
For more information contact Charlene Oroschin, Define Instruments, +27 (0)83 384 9186, charlene@defineinstruments.co.za, www.defineinstruments.co.za
Further reading:
The rise of software-defined brownfield automation
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert is enabling brownfield operators to modernise incrementally, decoupling control logic from hardware to bridge legacy equipment and future-ready operations without disrupting production.
Read more...
Upgrading alarm systems for critical industries
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Omniflex’s OMNI16R alarm annunciator platform provides a direct replacement for legacy CSA systems such as MPAS 90 and SA9100, enabling operators in oil and gas, nuclear and power generation to modernise alarm infrastructure without sacrificing the clarity required for safe operations.
Read more...
How DCS can step off the hardware obsolescence treadmill
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Schneider Electric argues that virtualising DCS environments breaks the cycle of hardware obsolescence, giving plant operators a smarter path to lifecycle modernisation without production disruption.
Read more...
Loop signature Part 2-6
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
The Loop Signature series turns to frequency plot theory, explaining Bode open-loop plots and how dynamic gain, phase lag and crossover frequency can be extracted from test data to inform more accurate control loop tuning.
Read more...
PC-based control in surgery
Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Researchers at the University of Basel are using Beckhoff PC-based control technology to develop a miniature laser robot for minimally invasive bone surgery.
Read more...
IIoT controller for the field and control cabinet
ifm - South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
The IIoT controller from ifm is a powerful, communicative and flexible PLC solution in machine and plant digitalisation.
Read more...
How the DCS can step off the hardware obsolescence treadmill
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Ageing servers and unsupported operating systems are quietly eroding the stability of process plants that rely on distributed control systems. Kobus Vermeulen of Schneider Electric explains how virtualising the DCS environment can break the hardware obsolescence cycle without disrupting operations.
Read more...
Centralised control rooms where growth is elastic, not physical
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Modernised control rooms feature distributed control system architecture consolidated into centralised compute environments. replacing traditional PCs with thin clients.
Read more...
Advanced DCSs preserve what must not change while enabling
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Next-generation DCSs, such as Schneider Electric’s Foxboro, are preserving the best of the old while introducing the new in a less disruptive manner.
Read more...
Siemens launches new generation of logic controller
Siemens South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Siemens has launched the latest generation of its proven intelligent logic controller, LOGO! 9. This enables simple implementation of small automation projects.
Read more...