How to Use IoT Platforms to Remotely Monitor Laser Equipment

The book explains in detail how to use an IoT platform to remotely monitor and manage laser equipment, covering topics such as setting up a network, collecting data, and setting up alerts.This book explains the techniques of intelligent transformation of industrial equipment, which can effectively improve maintenance efficiency and lower labor costs. It is especially suitable for technical managers of enterprises in the manufacturing sector to read.

Why would anyone need remote control of a laser?

As factory managers, we know that if a machine like a laser cutter breaks down, the production line has to stop.Last year, the plant next door didn't discover a problem with its cooling system in time, and the laser head burned out. The loss was over NT $ 200,000.If we could get real-time readings on the temperature and power output of our equipment, and if we could get an early warning when something is wrong, we could completely avoid this kind of headache.

Three steps to a remote monitoring system.

Choose the right hardware modules.

Don't buy the most expensive gateway in a hurry, first find out what type of interface you need.For example, fiber-optic laser equipment commonly uses the Modbus protocol, so you would choose an edge-computing gateway that supports RS485 communication.It is recommended to use a model with a 4G card slot, so that when the workshop WiFi signal is unstable, you can still use the data flow.

The IoT platform is configured with a display.

For example, with platforms such as Alibaba Cloud IoT or ThingsBoard, beginners can use visual drag-and-drop to create monitoring interfaces.The key parameters to watch are: Laser power fluctuations of more than ± 5 % are marked in yellow, and if the water temperature exceeds 35 ° C, a warning window pops up.Remember to label the location of the equipment.

Establish intelligent warning rules.

Don't just focus on the alarm bells that go off when the numbers exceed the safety limit; there are often signs of abnormality with the equipment.For example, if the flow of coolant water drops, and at the same time the temperature of the laser rises, even if it hasn't yet reached the threshold it should trigger a warning.The mainstream platforms all support multiple conditions, and you can even set it up to automatically push notifications to a WeChat work group.

A guide to avoiding pitfalls.

Last week, while working on the renovation of an auto parts factory, we found that the electromagnetic interference in the workshop was particularly strong, which caused the sensor data to jump around.Later, we added a metal shield to the gateway and replaced the communication lines with double-shielded twisted pair lines.I would recommend that everyone do a 48-hour stress test before deployment, and not wait until the system is online to discover that the data is 'windy.'

If your budget is limited, start with the most important equipment.For example, the system could be installed first on high-powered lasers costing more than NT $ 1 million. Once the benefits were seen, the system could be expanded.One of our clients, after using our system, reduced the failure rate of their equipment by 40 %, and they cut two shifts from their night staff.