IOT News

A precision instrument manufacturer operates multiple automated production lines, all controlled by Mitsubishi PLCs. As the factory accelerates its digital transformation, the company needs to collect real-time equipment status, production output, and alarm data from the production lines into its MES system, and also enable remote control operations to improve equipment management efficiency and production efficiency. However, the company faces the following challenges:

1. Some PLCs on site only have serial ports (already occupied) and cannot communicate with the host computer. Some PLCs have only one Ethernet port, making it impossible to communicate with both the host computer and a programming PC at the same time.

2. The MES system uses the Modbus TCP protocol, which is not natively supported by Mitsubishi PLCs. Configuring Mitsubishi's own conversion modules is costly.

3. The host computer is on the office network segment (192.168.1.x), while the PLCs are on the production network segment (192.168.3.x), making cross‑segment access impossible without additional configuration.

Solution

WideIOT offers a wide range of PLC remote modules that support Mitsubishi, Siemens, Schneider, Delta, Inovance, and other PLCs, with connectivity options including 5G, 4G, WiFi, and Ethernet. Without changing existing PLC programs or hardware, and without the need for new cabling or complex programming, these modules leverage features such as serial port multiplexing, switch functionality, protocol conversion, and IP translation to quickly collect PLC data and send it to the MES system, providing comprehensive and reliable data support for production management.

Key Features

1. The PLC smart gateway can connect to serial‑based PLCs. By enabling serial port forwarding, it forwards data through another serial port without affecting communication with existing equipment, reducing the need to purchase additional hardware.

2. The PLC smart gateway acts as a "switch," sending collected data to host computers or programming PCs through different ports, enabling multi‑center data transmission.

3. The PLC smart gateway has a built‑in rich protocol library, allowing it to convert Mitsubishi PLC protocols into the standard Modbus TCP protocol for communication with the MES system. Data collection rules are freely configurable.

4. The IP translation gateway provides NAT translation and network segmentation, converting IP addresses from different segments into a unified segment, enabling cross‑segment access to equipment and facilitating monitoring, programming, and diagnostics.

5. The PLC remote modules come with a unified remote management platform, allowing administrators to remotely configure collection parameters, update firmware, view diagnostic logs, and more, thereby improving work efficiency and flexibility.