Page 41 - EE Times Europe Magazine | March 2020

EE|Times EUROPE — Boards & Solutions Insert 41

Open-Source Platform for Industry 4.0

Figure 4: The card (top) and the wireless
hub for SmartMesh control
(Image: EE Times Europe)

often based on vibration analysis of rotating Figure 5: Arrangement of sensors and components on the iCOMOX board (Image: Shiratech)
machinery. Temperature sensors, meanwhile,
monitor critical machine parts to detect
changes in operating conditions.
Oil particle sensors monitor the level
of particle contamination in lubrication
systems; an increase in the number of
particles can indicate machinery wear and
tear. And current sensors monitor the power
consumption of machine components. A
typical application is monitoring the current
consumption of a motor to gauge wear.
In addition to sophisticated industrial
sensors, the implementation of a predic-
tive maintenance model requires control Figure 6: Block diagram of the ADuCM4050 (Image: Analog Devices)
technologies (often through production
control software). The acquired data is sent
to a programmable logic controller (PLC) via
IO-Link or other control systems, with the
aim of intelligently managing current and
future machine operations (Figure 2).
Let’s review the Shiratech iCOMOX board
in collaboration with Arrow.

BOARD DETAILS
The elegantly presented iCOMOX kit pro-
vides two devices: the real board and the
control hub (dongle) for SmartMesh wireless
communication. The connection cable for
firmware upgrade and the support structure
for optimal mounting are included (Figures
3 and 4).
The platform is equipped with vibration, Figure 7: Block diagram of the ADXL356 vibration sensor (Image: Analog Devices)

www.eetimes.eu | MARCH 2020