IOT News

With the rapid advancement of industrial technologies, an increasing number of machines—including stone separators—are now equipped with PLC-based automated control systems. A stone separator is a type of mechanical equipment used to remove impurities and foreign matter from bulk materials. It typically consists of a feed inlet, screening screens, cleaning mechanisms, a discharge outlet, and a control system. These machines are widely used in industries such as mining, coal processing, building materials, chemicals, and agriculture—for applications including coal classification, ore screening, cement grinding, and grain cleaning.

To enable cloud-based monitoring of stone separators, WideIOT offers a PLC data acquisition solution based on industrial IoT gateways. By connecting the industrial gateway to the PLC controller of the stone separator, real-time data—such as temperature, pressure, vibration, and weight—can be collected and uploaded to a cloud platform. This enables functionalities including equipment monitoring, fault alarming, operations and maintenance management, and remote maintenance. 1. PLC-to-Gateway Connection
The gateway supports communication protocols used by PLC controllers from major brands such as Siemens, Mitsubishi, Omron, and Schneider. By configuring the appropriate communication parameters and protocols, the PLC is enabled to exchange data with the cloud platform.

2. Data Transmission and Interface
Corresponding data interfaces are set up on the cloud platform to receive and parse data sent from the PLC. Commonly used communication protocols such as Modbus and MQTT can be adopted for data transmission and parsing.

3. Platform Function Configuration
The cloud platform provides configuration options for device identifiers, data formats, and transmission frequencies. Additionally, parameters such as equipment models, device specifications, process graphics, and data dashboards can be customized as needed.

4. Data Alarming and Notifications
Data alarm rules can be configured on the cloud platform to centrally manage collected alarm events. Notifications are then delivered to management personnel at various levels via WeChat, SMS, email, or other channels.

5. Remote Monitoring and Control
Through the cloud platform's user interface, operators can view real-time equipment status, historical data, alarm records, and more. They can also perform control actions remotely, such as adjusting operating parameters or changing equipment operating modes.

6. Standardized Maintenance Workflow
Administrators can generate maintenance work orders and assign them to field engineers. Engineers then log work details and progress updates; once the work order is reviewed and approved, the maintenance process is completed.