Use Cases - Interstacks for the industrial internet of things and Industry 4.0

We live in the world of NOW! In a winner-take-all world, the companies that have real-time, agile operations throughout their entire value chain will prevail. Add real-time operational intelligence to your enterprise processes and OEM products. Decisions that you need to make can now be made in real-time. Today! Our customers are using Interstacks to:

Increase productivity by remotely monitoring machines in real-time to measure utilization (OEE – Overall Equipment Effectiveness) Learn more about OEE
Reduce maintenance costs by pro-actively scheduling maintenance based on usage and sensor data
Improve quality and yield by building custom QA stations
Meet regulatory and operational requirements by monitoring air and water quality
Differentiate their OEM products and add new business model options based on monthly payments by adding IoT features to existing and new products
Optimize field maintenance truck runs for OEM products via remote monitoring
And many other innovative applications of the industrial internet of things (I IoT or Industry 4.0 ). Use cases are only limited by your imagination!

Rapidly deploy your industrial IoT (Industry 4.0) project in a low risk, non-disruptive way. Just overlay a real-time nervous system in parallel with your current operations. Get real-time alerts sent via text message and email. Get IT and OT (operations) working together – TODAY! Email us at info@interstacks.com to discuss your ideas.

Customers innovating with IoT include

OEE Machine Utilization Monitoring

Monitor machine OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) in real time and view on any phone, tablet, or laptop. Use a power consumption sensor and/or dry contact switch inputs connected to an Interstack’s stack. Sensors are sampled once per second, timestamped, and sent to the MyStacks cloud dashboard for saving, visualizing, and text/email alerts.

Make Old Machines Smart

See the status of legacy machines from anywhere, anytime. Attach sensor or machine data interfaces to a stack then send to cloud or on-premise dashboards using Wifi, cell network, or ethernet blocks. Have software in the stack check the machine’s status and look for any error conditions every minute. Send alerts to on-site and remote personnel via email and text.

Pump & Motor Status

Send on-site and cloud alerts when a water pump gets clogged by attaching power consumption and vibration sensors to the pump. Attaching these sensors to motors can provide an independent measure of usage and status.

Reduce Maintenance Costs

Optimize air, water, or other filter replacement and maintenance costs based on actual usage not just fixed time windows. Power consumption sensors can track on and off time as well as indicate abnormal power conditions. Flow sensors can track liquid flow. Vibration sensors can give early warning of future failures.

Monitor Refrigeration

Monitor temperatures in remote refrigeration units and food preparation areas by connecting multiple temperature sensors to a stack. A convenience store central office can monitor all of its hundreds of remote locations in real time. Temperatures in refrigeration units and food preparation areas can be recorded for food safety and operational efficiency.

Get PLCs Connected

Connect a data output port (RS-232, RS-485, Ethernet) or other PLC output (switch closure, analog output port) to a stack to indicate machine status. Attach external sensors like power consumption, temperature, and vibration. Send the PLC and sensor data together.

Remote Maintenance Monitoring

For field equipment under maintenance contracts, monitor usage and status in real time. Optimize in-field preventative maintenance truck rolls. Enable usage based business models. Send data over the cell network or via Wifi.

Water & Air Quality

Send alerts on water and/or air quality by using pH sensors, temperature, humidity, CO2 sensors, and particulates. Continuously stream water and air quality data to the cloud and take local action if unsafe conditions are detected like shutting off drinking water valves.

Upgrade Existing Products

Add smart connectivity to new or existing products by embedding a stack or adding on in the field. Send usage and maintenance data to a central dashboard to increase customer engagement and enable usage based business models.

Quality Assurance

Rapidly build a custom QA station using barcode scanning, laser distance measurement of parts, remote temperature measurement, bluetooth enabled test equipment, manual keyboard entry, and cloud or on-premise server communication.

Monitor CNC Machines

Connect a data port from a CNC machine (RS-232, RS-485, Ethernet) to a stack. Use a software block running in a stack to get CNC machine information. Optionally attach external sensors like vibration or power. Send the data to a dashboard via Wifi, ethernet, or cell network. Use a MT Connect software block to make a stack look like a MT Connect device.

Smart Water Fountain

A stack inside a water drinking fountain samples sensors for water quality and water flow, sends the data to a cloud dashboard, and controls two water valves. Leaks are detected and water valves shut off, plus alerts are sent for lead in the water.

QA Data Collection

Barcode scan a serial number, collect data via QA tests using sensors, a remote surface temperature reading (via a USB device), then do a final pass/fail test. All data is timestamped, displayed, and sent to the dashboard for visualizing and saving in a permanent database. Now any field failures can be traced back to the original manufacturing process.