THE SOLUTION – A CONNECTED BREATH OF FRESH AIR
Altorum Leren already had Alfinity – its own cloud platform for remote management, which was used to generate reports, dashboards, and preventative maintenance alerts. What it needed was a reliable connectivity device that would act as a network communication bridge between Alfinity and the PLCs used in oxygen production plants.
The device chosen was our TRB145 industrial gateway, primarily due to its support of the RS485 serial interface. Different PLCs in oxygen production plants necessitate different interfaces, including RS485. However, this gateway also allowed Altorum Leren to install its Alfinity Edge OS firmware with a custom code onto it, further enhancing its compatibility by making it support the EthernetIP, ProfiNet, ICE, OPCUA, and Profibus interfaces.
Over 1000 Indian hospitals were equipped with oxygen-production infrastructure, and each of them was connected to Alfinity with the help of TRB145 devices. This allowed the end user – the Indian government, to precisely plan its oxygen supply and management.
In addition to providing reliable network connectivity, this fleet of gateways also offers a number of important software features, such as SMS control, Firewall, Open VPN, IPsec, and FOTA support. Its compact size, rugged aluminum housing, and 9-30V power supply voltage range made it incredibly easy to install and work with – a critical requirement for this kind of industrial application where multiple different PLCs are involved.
When all is said and done, this solution is paramount in maintaining a steady supply of oxygen, determining parameters pertaining to oxygen surplus and shortage, and ultimately – saving lives.
