Bonner: Optimistic about the development of wireless products in China

In recent years, because wireless communication technology has the advantage that wired technology cannot match in many applications, it can effectively improve the efficiency of users in the fields of asset management, device diagnosis, supervision and control, and makes its application in the field of industrial control more and more. Guang, many wireless technology products launched by many major automation suppliers and professional manufacturers are also emerging. At the same time, however, many people are still skeptical and wait-and-see attitudes about the safety, reliability, and cost performance of wireless technologies. They also do not understand what kind of industrial applications wireless technologies are suitable for. Based on this, during the 2011 Industry Fair, China Industrial Control Network interviewed Mr. Huang Huqing, senior wireless products specialist of the US Bonner Products Division. He shared the application of Bonner wireless technology and products, the future development of wireless products, and How users plan and implement wireless solutions. It should allow everyone to deepen their understanding of wireless applications.

Technical advantages help many applications Wireless communication technology was originally a supplement to wired communication technology. Today, with the development and application of wireless technology, more and more wired applications are being replaced by wireless technologies. Many automation suppliers have joined the wave of competition in the wireless market. As a company that attaches importance to technology research and development and can accurately grasp the pulse of market demand, the United States Bonner is no doubt walking in the forefront of the wireless product market, Huang Huqing introduced, the United States Bonner launched wireless products as early as in 2006, first in the United States With sales positive feedback from customers, in mid-2008, Bonner officially launched its wireless products to the Chinese market.

Bonner's wireless products are complete, and the products can be divided into four major series according to the network topology and signal types. The first type is point-to-point DX70 wireless I/O, which belongs to a gateway and a node. The application is simple, and users do not need to make too many settings and can directly transmit data. The second category is DX80 point-to-multipoint wireless networks, which can form a star network and are suitable for applications where the data collection points are relatively decentralized but require centralized monitoring requirements. The third category is the DX99 intrinsically safe wireless system, which is suitable for petrochemical and Other fields, especially where flammable gas leaks. The fourth type of Data Radio wireless serial communication module can realize multi-serial communication. In addition to distinguishing functionally, Bonner also classifies industrial field signal types, including traditional analog quantities, digital signals, thermocouples, thermal resistance and other temperature measurement signals, as well as pulse signals. It can be said that from the product series and I/O types that the product accesses, Bonner can provide complete wireless solutions.

Freedom, convenience, efficiency, and ease of use are the user's choices for wireless considerations, but concerns about the security and reliability of wireless technologies have hindered many users from adopting wireless solutions. In this regard, Huang Huqing said that the technical advantages of Bonner wireless products can completely eliminate similar customer concerns. “Bonner puts industrial safety and reliability at the top of the list,” Huang Huqing said. “Bonner's wireless products are based entirely on industrial applications, and it takes a lot of effort in implementation, security, and reliability.”

For example, in order to ensure the normality and specification of the entire network communication, Bonner must always assign a unique IP address to each product before use to avoid signal conflict during communication. In addition, taking into account the security of many industrial applications, Bonner's wireless network design has redundancy capabilities. Once the currently used network is interrupted or interfered, it will automatically switch to the backup network. For situations where there is no power at all in the field or on some mobile devices, Bonner's wireless products can provide battery-based power supply to solve power supply problems. "Especially for signal interference, Bonner's wireless anti-jamming capability is very strong. It uses the most advanced frequency hopping spread spectrum technology and time division multiple access technology in the field of wireless communications to achieve multi-channel switching, on the communications channel. Redundancy and backup are realized." Huang Huqing said.

In what situation do you need wireless?

The above technical advantages of Bonner’s wireless products are reflected in multiple application areas. Huang Huqing gave reporters a few examples:

Metallurgical industry's aluminum smelting plant has one process that is rotating. It needs to use wireless temperature measurement. Bonner's wireless temperature measurement node plus battery module realizes a 24-hour unattended temperature acquisition to achieve temperature monitoring. Rotary internal processing temperature monitoring, maintain quality. In the roadway stacker used in the logistics industry, traditionally used optical communication requires both the receiving and sending of the communication to have certain values, which cannot be biased. However, the long-term operation of the roadway stacker will cause the deformation of the bracket, which will easily cause the light deviation and thus cause The transmission of data is unstable. With wireless there will be no such concerns, because radio waves are divergent 360 degrees, as long as both sides of the communication do not have obstacles between the two sides can directly exchange data. More importantly, the roadway stacker is a moving object. After a long reciprocating motion, if the signal is transmitted using the traditional wired method, the signal is poorly monitored due to repeated bending of the line for a long time. Engineers find it very troublesome to find a fault on site.

Another example of a typical wireless alternative cable is the food industry filling line. The filling machine is a rotary device and needs to monitor the liquid level in the filling body, but it is inconvenient because of the rotation, and it is a 24-hour continuous operation. Once the machine stops, it will affect the production efficiency. So in this case the wireless method can be applied. Bonner's wireless solution puts a node on top of the filling machine and is equipped with a battery module to achieve liquid level detection. In addition, Bonner's wireless solution is also suitable for the entire plant's energy consumption monitoring, including an automatic control of the plant's internal fan. The Bonner wireless temperature and humidity nodes are deployed at different locations in the plant to collect temperature and humidity signals and feedback to the upper system. The upper system will automatically adjust the temperature and humidity of the air according to the current temperature and humidity, and control the opening and closing of the lights to achieve Energy-saving purpose.

Huang Huqing concluded that rotating objects, as well as moving objects, are inconvenient for the laying of cables. At the same time, reciprocating movements after laying lines can easily lead to the breakage of cables. Wireless applications are suitable for these occasions.

In addition, in addition to convenient and efficient construction, the wireless solution can also greatly reduce project costs and maintenance costs for customers. "For example, if you add cables to your equipment later, you have to put a bridge, and for outdoor projects, you have to dig cable trenches for safety. The cost of these calculations would be high," Huang Huqing said. "So we often talk to customers. In practical application, it is not only possible to consider the cost of the cable, but also to consider the cost of wiring, labor, etc. In addition, once the project fails, the technician needs to detect and troubleshoot the failure point, and it takes a lot of time. As a result, work efficiency is affected. Using wireless solutions can eliminate these hidden maintenance costs and greatly increase production efficiency."

Close to the needs of customers, the prospects for wireless products are promising. Looking at the current popular wireless technology specifications, including WirelessHART, Zigbee, and GPRS, the characteristics of each wireless technology are different, and different wireless technologies are not the same. Many users in China are actually very concerned about the development of wireless. Bonner found in the exchanges with many Chinese users that the understanding of wireless technology is not very deep, and many problems are relatively thick. "There are many kinds of wireless technologies. Different industries have different users and the requirements for these characteristics of wireless transmission are different." Huang Huqing said. In response to this situation, in addition to vigorously promoting the application of wireless technology, Bonner is also closer to the needs of Chinese customers and customizes solutions that suit the actual needs of customers, including the development of products suited to the current status of China based on the actual status of the Chinese market.

This reporter learned that, in order to broaden the scope of application of the product, Bonner has released a product based on wireless board, without a shell, is a pure PCB circuit board, it can be embedded into some of the user's equipment, so that the device has wireless data Send and receive functions. The customer group faced by this product is mainly a number of instrument manufacturers. After integrating wireless technologies in this way, instrument vendors can quickly make their products more competitive.

Like many foreign companies, for the localization needs of China, Bonner also began to pay attention to some low-cost products, considering simplifying some product features to meet customers with some basic needs.

In addition, the country emphasizes energy conservation and emission reduction, which is also Bonner’s concern. High-energy-consuming industries such as metallurgical iron and steel need to statistically calculate the energy consumption data scattered throughout the plant area. At this time, wireless solutions have advantages. And Bonner's products are very durable, based on the IP67 protection rating, the operating temperature can be from minus 40 degrees to zero to 80 degrees, suitable for harsh environments, to meet the needs of different industrial applications.

The shift to the overall solution provider role is also a reflection of Bonner's closeness to user needs. Huang Huqing revealed that with the gradual maturity of the concept of the Internet of Things, Bunner, who started as a research and development sensor, also hopes that not only the sensor equipment suppliers at the lowest level, but also hope to create a total solution through the wireless controller to provide customers. Bonner will expand its sensor, controller, human-machine interface, and integrated equipment, and gradually expand from a pure product supplier to an overall solution provider. "Now to many users, simply providing products can't satisfy them. They want to get some high value-added things. And from the point of view of the long-term development of the company, providing total solutions is also desirable and necessary."

Huang Huqing said that the market demand for wireless products in China is relatively large, as can be seen from Bonner’s sales performance. “From 2009 onwards, year-end sales have doubled each year from the previous year. Our current focus is on the metallurgy, petrochemical, and water treatment industries. These are national pillar industries and have great potential for wireless applications. ”

"We are very optimistic about the development of wireless technologies and products in China." Huang Huqing is full of confidence in the prospects of China's wireless market.