Industrial IoT for Sheet Metal Stamping Presses

Crimson connects existing stamping presses without replacing their controls. Run status, production count and the interlock line are read as wired I/O into a PLC on the machine. Optional sensors for energy, oil pressure, air flow and temperature feed the same PLC over RS-485 and 4-20 mA. A Modbus gateway buffers timestamped records and pushes them onward over the network, so a connection outage delays delivery rather than losing production data.

Book a walkthrough
Signals read
Run status, production count, interlock
Machine interface
Wired I/O and existing relays
Sensor buses
RS-485 and 4-20 mA
Transport
Ethernet, Modbus, MQTT, GSM
Gateway buffer
17,000 timestamped records
Commissioning
Three days per press

In the product

The deployed signal path. The crimson leg is the command that returns to the press.

WIRED I/OETHERNETGSMINTRANETPressHydraulic / mechanicalPLCOn the machineModbus gatewayBuffers 17,000 recordsCloudSecureCrimsonPC and tabletRUN STATUS · PRODUCTION COUNT · INTERLOCKEnergy meterRS-485Oil pressure4-20 mACFM meter4-20 mAChiller temp4-20 mAINTERLOCK COMMAND
Signals in the deployed chain: wired I/O, RS-485, 4-20 mA, Ethernet, Modbus, GSM

What it does

Derived topic addresses
Each asset's address is built from its place in the plant model, so nothing is typed twice.
Buffered delivery
The gateway holds records with a real time clock, so a network drop delays rather than loses data.
Optional condition sensors
Energy, oil pressure, air flow and chiller temperature on the same PLC.
Command path back to the press
The interlock is a wired line, so the platform can stop a press and not only report one.

How it works

  1. Read the machine

    Crank encoder and existing relays into the PLC as wired I/O.

  2. Add sensors if wanted

    Energy meter over RS-485, pressure and flow over 4-20 mA.

  3. Push to the platform

    Ethernet to the Modbus gateway, then onward over the network to Crimson.

Who this is for

  • Presses from several makers and several decades on one floor.
  • A plant with no network run to the machines, using GSM instead.
  • An operation that wants condition data before committing to a maintenance model.

Questions

Do we need to change the press controls?
No. The signals are read from the encoder and the relays already present.
Which protocols are supported?
Wired I/O, RS-485, 4-20 mA, Ethernet, Modbus, MQTT and GSM. OPC-UA is not supported.
What happens if the network drops?
The gateway keeps buffering with a real time clock and delivers when the link returns.
Can older presses be connected?
Yes. The interface is the encoder and relay level, which is why press age matters less than you would expect.

Related

See it on your own presses.

We instrument one press, run it for a month, and show you the shift record against what you thought was happening.

Book a walkthrough