Revolution in Modern Automation: ENDA's ERC Industrial IoT Gateway

Modern industrial automation provides enormous opportunities but also sets high demands. In today's world, continuous connectivity and communication between industrial devices are nothing new. A significant majority of industries are undergoing or have already completed a digital transformation, enabling the automation of many processes, optimization, and minimization of human error. Such solutions limit the human role to monitoring parameters and data collected by various sensors and reacting by adjusting the appropriate values. Below, we present a product that significantly improves the process of control and parameter setting, collecting all data from controllers in one place, and allowing us to control process flows from anywhere with internet access.

What are industrial IoT gateways?

Industrial IoT gateways are essentially small computers that collect, store, process, and analyze data before it is introduced to the network. This has a huge impact on network throughput because raw data collected from sensors or machines are not sent directly to the cloud. Such a solution would significantly burden the network, reducing its throughput. Using an IoT gateway allows connecting all sensors to a single master device, which filters the data it receives and then sends only the most critical parameters to the cloud. This helps to organize data flow while minimally burdening the network.

What are the advantages of IoT gateways?

• Compact size

IoT gateways are small-sized devices, easy to install, especially useful in spaces with limited room where traditional PC installations are not feasible.

• Device connectivity

Industrial IoT gateways not only connect devices but also modernize the entire facility, allowing connection and control of older machines from any location.

• Process monitoring and control

Remote access to measured parameters and the ability to manipulate them is an incredibly useful feature, especially in emergency situations, allowing us to respond immediately. If such a situation occurred during our absence, data sent to the cloud allows us to trace the exact moment of the fault and implement system safeguards for the future.

• Data filtering and network offloading

Data continuously sent by sensors, thanks to the use of industrial IoT gateways, do not flood the cloud, causing significant network load. Instead, they are collected and processed by IoT gateways and then sent with minimal impact on network throughput. What does the ENDA ERC gateway offer us? The product named ERC by the manufacturer ENDA is an excellent choice if you are considering implementing an IoT gateway. It offers all the aforementioned advantages, combined with ease of use and a dedicated cloud service, providing a wide range of possibilities. Quick and easy configuration allows for almost immediate use of this device. The ERC can connect up to 10 slave devices. From the device, we have access to:

• Viewing the status of slave devices

The device displays the name of the slave device, its address, and status.

• Ethernet settings

A section allowing for manual (STATIC) or dynamic (DHCP) IP address assignment.

• Modbus configuration

A tab where we can change the Modbus communication speed (BaudRate).

• Pairing the device with the cloud

To pair the device with the cloud, enter the code generated by the ERC on the website, which is obtained in this tab.

• Authorized email addresses

A view of the email addresses with which we can log in to the cloud.

• Tracked slave devices

The most important tab, provides insight into the parameters sent by slave devices, including a table with the following data: device ID, register type, register address, and measured/assigned value.

• Updates

This tab contains the latest software versions that we can download to ensure our device operates with the latest software.

• Factory reset

This tab allows us to restore the device to factory settings.

How does the ERC process control of a slave device work?

Thanks to ERC’s communication with the cloud, we can remotely read measured values and set parameters that control operations. The list of transmitted and controlled parameters can be edited, allowing us to configure this aspect according to our needs, so we have all relevant parameters at hand while non-essential ones do not take up unnecessary space. Since collected data is stored in the cloud, we can view it all on a clear graph. We can select which parameters will be displayed on the graph to limit values to only those of interest. Additionally, we can manipulate the time range to adjust the period of data relevance. These functions allow for quick and easy data analysis, resulting in improved control over the processes.

Summary

Industrial IoT gateways are essential devices in modern automation. They greatly facilitate and streamline process control, automatically collecting and processing data from controllers. This ensures remote access to measured parameters at any time. The ERC gateway is an excellent choice for implementing such a solution. It offers all necessary functions, is easy to use, and fits applications with limited available space. These and many other features position the ERC highly, which should be considered when choosing an IoT gateway.