The wireless way towards Industry 4.0

Never before has the collection and use of relevant data been so important. Only an optimum insight into the machines, systems and equipment will make it possible for you to take the right decisions for your maintenance and production control and to implement optimisation measures. Wireless communication via Bluetooth Mesh saves you valuable integration time.

1. Sensors and actuators
2. Bluetooth Mesh adapter
3. PLC (optional, existing wiring is retained)
4. Bluetooth Mesh base station
5. IIoT applications

The Bluetooth Mesh system consists of up to 50 Bluetooth adapters that can be paired with a base station. The adapters are connected to IO-Link sensors (manufacturer-independent) and transmit the process data to the base station via Bluetooth. If the base is outside the range of an adapter, one or more adapters act as intermediaries and pass on the information. Using ifm’s IoT Core and MQTT/JSON, the base transfers the sensor data to downstream IIoT systems.

For example to ifm’s IIoT platform moneo. moneo lets you to integrate the base station with just a few clicks as well as save, analyse and process incoming data. This offers you maximum flexibility and scalability.
Not to forget: The pre-processed data can be passed on from moneo with appropriate connectors for cloud systems or via MQTT and OPC UA.

Good to know: In the case of a retrofit, the SIO signal of the sensor is transmitted to the controller without being changed.

Retrofitting for efficient energy monitoring

A manufacturer of care products uses SD flow sensors from ifm in different parts of their system to measure compressed air consumption. The subsequent analysis helps the customer to identify leaks or wear of the compressor at an early stage, take action and save money.

For subsequent integration of the distributed sensors into the IIoT, the Bluetooth Mesh system was used. This helped reduce the customer’s retrofit costs considerably: Instead of connecting the sensors to the IT level using long cable runs (of over 30 metres), all the customer needed to do was connect the Bluetooth adapters to the IO-Link sensors and pair the adapters with the base station. The base transmits the data to the IIoT platform moneo for further analysis before the results are transferred to the energy management system.

Keeping an eye on system health

In order to continuously monitor the condition of large fans, a customer from the automotive industry measures vibration parameters and the temperature curve using ifm sensors. Both parameters serve as a basis to obtain reliable information about the maintenance requirements of the fans. To this end, the data is evaluated through ifm’s IIoT platform moneo. Based on the information gained, imminent damage can be detected early and a failure of the system can be prevented. In addition, necessary maintenance can be planned in such a way that plant downtimes will be reduced to a minimum.

The Bluetooth Mesh system was used to integrate the sensors into the IIoT level. As only little effort was required, the implementation was undertaken by the customer. Long downtimes, complex cabling and added costs for external service providers could be avoided.

Bluetooth Mesh for temporary and easy monitoring

A customer from the food industry was looking for a flexible and temporary solution to detect and digitally evaluate the discharge of separators and the associated pressure surges. A simple, quick to implement solution was needed, allowing an easy connection of the changing measuring points to the IIoT level for data collection. The use of Bluetooth Mesh meets all the customer specifications mentioned above. The Bluetooth adapter can be flexibly screwed onto the desired measuring point, and then the process values can be transmitted to the IIoT application via MQTT/JSON and converted into information. Rewiring is not necessary.

Building on the first positive experience and having convinced himself of the benefits of digital wireless data collection, the customer is now planning to add further measuring points to the system, which will permanently transmit data to the IIoT level via Bluetooth Mesh.

Bluetooth Mesh is the right system if you want to retrofit your existing plant equipped with IO-Link sensors and benefit from the advantages of Industry 4.0. In concrete terms, this means that the process data is recorded, evaluated on the IT level supported by software and that the relevant information is extract for process optimisation. Thanks to the Bluetooth technology used, this can be done without additional wiring and without interfering with the communication between the sensor and the controller.