Applications

Applications by industry

How products are combined by industry. Tell us your equipment conditions and we will review the configuration and reply.

Protocol guide — Modbus · OPC UA · MQTT · IEC104 · BACnet and 5 more →

Connecting legacy equipment

Pulls just the run signal out of older machines that have no communication port and sends it upstream.

Machines without communication functions, such as presses and hydraulic equipment, require an operator to walk the floor and check run status and alarms. Replacing the machine or modifying the PLC is a heavy cost, and in many cases the manufacturer's warranty is at stake.

Signal flow

Existing control panel contactsEdgeIO controllerModbus TCP · MQTTMES · OEE

Example acquisition and control signals

DI	Run, stop, alarm and e-stop contacts, 8 to 16 points
AI	Hydraulic pressure and motor temperature, 4 to 8 points (4~20mA)
Pulse	Production count (branched from the existing counter output)

Points to review

The existing control circuit is left untouched; only a branch off the lamp and relay contacts is taken.
Check first whether the contact is dry or 24V-driven, so the input type (dry/wet) can be decided.
Isolated inputs are used so that taking the branch does not affect operation of the existing circuit.

Injection molding machine data acquisition

One controller per machine handles acquisition, logic, transmission and display.

Injection molding machines use different communication specifications depending on the maker and the model year. Fitting a separate gateway and PLC to every machine raises the per-unit cost and adds that many more points to manage.

Signal flow

Injection molding machineBL192ProMQTTCloud · MES

Example acquisition and control signals

Pulse	Shot count (clamp signal or the existing counter)
AI	Clamping force, barrel temperature, cycle time
DI	Run, alarm, mold change in progress
DO	Stack light, call buzzer

Points to review

Which signal the shot count is taken from determines data reliability. The clamp-complete signal is the most stable.
Local storage is configured so the counter is retained after a power failure or restart.
Calculating cycle time in local logic before sending it reduces the load on the upstream system.

OPC UA monitoring for textile machinery

Exposes data through a standard specification, with no new driver written for the existing SCADA.

Adding a new machine to a SCADA system already in operation normally requires developing a dedicated driver. The development repeats every time another type of machine is added, and it ties the site to the SCADA vendor.

Signal flow

Textile machinery · field sensorsBL191 (OPC UA server)OPC UAExisting SCADA

Example acquisition and control signals

AI	Speed, tension, temperature
DI	Run and stop-reason contacts
Modbus	Reading existing inverters and instruments

Points to review

Designing the OPC UA node addresses per machine in advance means the SCADA screens do not have to be rebuilt as machines are added.
The SCADA polling interval and the controller update interval must match, or values become unstable.
The OPC UA security policy (certificates, signing and encryption) has to be agreed with the upstream system first.

Smart factory · overall equipment effectiveness

A gateway per line brings machines from different makers into one scheme.

Even a single line mixes equipment makers and controllers, which makes it hard to collect output and downtime data on the same basis. When the acquisition method differs per machine, the basis for calculating OEE is not consistent either.

Signal flow

Line equipment groupGateway (per line)Modbus · OPC UA · MQTTMES · OEE

Example acquisition and control signals

Count	Good and defective quantities
DI	Running, stopped, stop-reason code
Time	Time synchronization between machines (for calculating downtime periods)

Points to review

Decide first whether stop reasons come from the machine as a code or from operator input.
OEE is time-based, so if the clocks on the machines are not synchronized the totals do not line up.
Separating the OT and IT networks and placing the gateway at the boundary makes the security segmentation clear.
A stopped line is expensive, so switch and link redundancy is reviewed at the same time.

Building automation · HVAC

Brings new Modbus equipment into an existing BACnet-based BAS as it is.

An existing building automation system is built on BACnet, while the air handling units and instruments being added are often Modbus. Because the specifications differ, they cannot be shown on the BAS screens and end up managed separately.

Signal flow

Air handling units · instruments (Modbus)BA190ProBACnet/IPExisting BAS

Example acquisition and control signals

RTD	Supply and return air temperature (PT100 / PT1000)
AI	Humidity, differential pressure, flow
AO	Valve and damper position control (0~10V / 4~20mA)
DI / DO	Fan and pump status, start and stop

Points to review

BACnet object numbers (instances) must be divided into ranges in advance so they do not collide with existing devices.
On segments using BACnet MS/TP, the baud rate and MAC address have to match the settings of the existing network.
Whether control is also handed over or the system only monitors changes how write permissions are designed.

Smart energy · power grid

Converts field instrument data into the specification the grid operations system accepts, then transmits it.

Power grid operations systems accept only IEC 60870-5-104 or IEC 61850. Field energy meters often use DL/T645 or Modbus, so they cannot be connected as they are.

Signal flow

Energy meters · protection relaysProtocol gatewayIEC104 · IEC61850Grid operations system

Example acquisition and control signals

Measurement	Voltage, current, active and reactive power, power factor, accumulated energy
Status	Circuit breaker and disconnector open/closed status
Event	Protection operation, alarms (with time stamps)

Points to review

The ASDU addressing scheme has to be agreed with the grid operations side first. Changing it later means changes on both sides.
Time stamps on events matter, so a time synchronization method (NTP or similar) is part of the configuration.
Substation equipment is hard to take out of service, so adding only a data layer while keeping the existing equipment is the suitable approach.

Water treatment · environmental facilities

Unattended monitoring of remote sites with no wired network, over a 4G link.

Pump stations and small treatment plants are hard to reach with a wired network and have no staff on site. A fault can go unnoticed until the next inspection round.

Signal flow

Pump station · treatment plant4G RTUMQTT · SMSControl server · staff mobile phone

Example acquisition and control signals

AI	Level, flow, pressure (4~20mA)
RTD	Water temperature
DI	Pump run, overload, flooding, door open
Relay	Remote pump start and stop

Points to review

Local logic is put in place so pump control keeps working on site even if communication is lost.
Alarms must still go out during a power failure, so a backup battery and power-failure detection are configured together.
Alarm recipients and the escalation order have to be defined in advance so that night-time events are covered.
Transmission interval and event-transmission criteria are set separately to keep data charges in check.

Industrial AI inference

Finishes the decision at the site and sends only the result upstream.

Sending vision inspection images to the cloud for a decision adds the round-trip delay and accumulates link costs. If the decision cannot keep up with line speed, the inspection itself becomes the bottleneck.

Signal flow

Cameras · sensorsEdgePLC with NPUResult only is transmittedMES · cloud

Example acquisition and control signals

Image	USB / Ethernet camera
DI	Trigger (product arrival detection)
DO	Good/defective sorting output, reject actuator
AI	Vibration and current for anomaly detection (when an IEPE module is used)

Points to review

The NPU performs with INT8 quantized models. Model size reduction has to be considered from the training stage.
Decision speed depends on model size and input resolution, so it is selected to match the line tact time.
Lighting conditions have the largest effect on accuracy. Fix the lighting conditions before selecting hardware.
A remote deployment path (BLRAT or similar) is included in the configuration so models can be replaced on site.

Protocols

Protocol guide

Selecting a gateway starts with deciding two things: what it reads from at the site, and what it sends upstream. Below are the protocols supported by the BLIIoT product range, organized on that basis.

Reading at the site (downstream)

The segment that pulls values from equipment and instruments. It is determined by what the target device supports.

Modbus

Modbus RTU / Modbus TCP

The most widely used open communication protocol in industrial sites. Its structure is simple, so most instruments, inverters and PLCs support it.

Transport	RS485 / RS232 for RTU, Ethernet for TCP
Port	502 (Modbus TCP)
Structure	Master-slave (a response only follows a request)
Addressing	Slave station number 1~247, register address specified

Typical use

Devices with RS485 terminals, such as energy meters, temperature and humidity transmitters, inverters and flow meters, mostly use Modbus RTU. If the equipment datasheet includes a register map, it can be taken as Modbus.

PLC vendor protocols

Siemens S7 · Mitsubishi MC · Omron FINS · Delta

Proprietary protocols used by each PLC maker. Internal memory can be read directly without modifying the PLC program.

Siemens	S7comm (ISO-on-TCP, port 102)
Mitsubishi	MC protocol (Ethernet / serial)
Omron	FINS (UDP 9600 and others)
Read targets	PLC internal device areas such as D/M/X/Y

Typical use

Used when only data has to be taken out of a PLC that is in operation. No Modbus block has to be added on the PLC side and no ladder has to be changed, which avoids equipment warranty and validation issues.

DL/T645

DL/T 645 energy meter communication protocol

The Chinese energy meter standard. Meter readings are read directly from meters that use this specification.

Transport	RS485
Targets	DL/T 645-1997 / 2007 meters
Values read	Voltage, current, power, power factor, accumulated energy

Typical use

Used to collect meter data from equipment fitted with Chinese-made energy meters. Meters in Korea often use a different specification, so check the meter model on site before applying it.

Sending upstream

The segment that sends collected data to an upstream system or the cloud. It is determined by what the receiving side requires.

OPC UA

OPC Unified Architecture (IEC 62541)

An industrial standard that carries equipment data together with its name, unit and data type. Unlike Modbus, which passes values only, it also conveys structure.

Port	4840 (default)
Structure	Server-client (a PubSub mode also exists)
Security	Certificate-based signing and encryption built in
Feature	Information model — meaning is attached to each tag

Typical use

Used when connecting equipment to SCADA or MES. The gateway acts as the OPC UA server, so the upstream system only has to connect with a standard client and no new per-machine driver is needed.

MQTT

Message Queuing Telemetry Transport

A lightweight publish-subscribe messaging protocol. It is used to send data to the cloud over narrow or unstable links.

Port	1883 (plain) / 8883 (TLS)
Structure	Publish-subscribe, via a broker
QoS	0 · 1 · 2 (selectable delivery guarantee)
Feature	Transmits only on change — low link usage

Typical use

Used to send data to AWS IoT, ThingsBoard, Ignition or a self-hosted broker. At remote sites on a 4G link, data usage is much lower than with polling.

SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol

The standard protocol used for monitoring network equipment. Industrial signals are converted into a form an NMS understands and sent up.

Port	161 (polling) / 162 (traps)
Structure	Manager-agent
Targets	Values mapped to MIB objects

Typical use

Used at sites that already manage devices with an NMS, such as server rooms and telecom facilities, when equipment signals like temperature, humidity, power and flooding should appear on the same screen.

Sector standards

Specifications tied to a particular sector, such as buildings, power and motion control. Connecting to a system in that sector requires matching the specification.

BACnet

BACnet/IP · BACnet MS/TP (ISO 16484-5)

The standard dedicated to building automation. Most BAS installations in large buildings in Korea are built on this specification.

BACnet/IP	UDP 47808 (0xBAC0)
MS/TP	RS485 (master-slave token passing)
Structure	Object based (AI/AO/BI/BO and others)
Identification	Distinguished by device instance number

Typical use

Used to bring new air handling units and instruments into an existing BAS. Even if the equipment supports only Modbus, the gateway converts it into BACnet objects so it appears on the BAS screens as is.

IEC 60870-5-104

IEC 104 — power grid telecontrol protocol

The standard a grid operations system uses to exchange data with substations and generation equipment. Events are sent together with the time they occurred.

Port	TCP 2404
Unit	ASDU (application service data unit)
Data types	Single-point and double-point information, measured values, integrated totals, commands
Feature	Includes time information — used for sequence-of-events analysis

Typical use

Used to connect distribution automation, substation monitoring and renewable generation equipment to a grid operations system. Even if field equipment uses Modbus, it must be converted to IEC 104 for the grid side to accept it.

IEC 61850

Substation automation standard

The standard that defines communication between intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) inside a substation. It standardizes device naming and data structure as well.

MMS	TCP 102 — monitoring and control data
GOOSE	L2 multicast — protection signals (millisecond range)
Structure	Hierarchical model based on logical nodes
Configuration	Configuration defined in SCL files

Typical use

Used in substation retrofits and renewable plant construction to bring existing Modbus equipment into the IEC 61850 scheme. The approach matches only the data layer to the specification, without replacing the equipment.

Industrial real-time Ethernet

EtherCAT · PROFINET · EtherNet/IP

Ethernet-based specifications used where the control cycle must be guaranteed. They divide along the controller maker's family.

EtherCAT	Processed on the fly as the frame passes — microsecond cycles
PROFINET	The standard in Siemens-family control systems
EtherNet/IP	Rockwell (AB) family — CIP based
Use	Motion control, high-speed I/O synchronization

Typical use

Used on equipment where motion is controlled with TwinCAT or CODESYS, and on lines where a Siemens or Rockwell PLC is the main controller, to add remote I/O or bring existing Modbus devices in.

Scope

Industries

Industrial IoT · remote equipment monitoring
Factory automation · smart factory
AIoT · industrial AI inference
Smart energy · power grid
Building automation · smart buildings
Water treatment · livestock · agricultural facilities

Confirmed platforms

Products from an OPC Foundation member company
Participation in the EtherCAT and PROFINET standards organizations
AWS IoT hardware partner
ThingsBoard and Ignition SCADA integration verified per the manufacturer
Custom flows based on Node-RED