Verified Projects and Demo Cases
Page Guide
1. Case Background
The machining workshop of an equipment manufacturer wanted to validate a device networking solution. The workshop houses CNC machine tools, air compressors, cooling water pumps, exhaust fans, and other power equipment, along with several temperature-humidity, current, and vibration sensors. Previously, operating status relied entirely on manual inspection and transcription, and anomalies were often discovered only after a shutdown.
The goal of the demo environment was to run through a complete chain: automatic collection of device data to the platform, automatic alarms when key parameters exceed limits, automatic fan linkage when the temperature rises, and managers keeping track of workshop status remotely from the office dashboard and their phones — accumulating experience for later plant-wide rollout.
2. Solution Implementation
2.1. Device Access
Devices were connected in two categories according to their communication conditions: instruments and sensors with RS485 interfaces were attached to the IoT gateway over a Modbus bus; controllers with Ethernet ports connected directly to the gateway over TCP. After protocol conversion, the gateway reported data over the plant LAN to the on-premises FastBee platform, and the few measurement points requiring unit conversion were preprocessed on the gateway side with visual programming.
2.2. Thing Model Modeling
Products were created on the platform by device type: the machine tool product defines properties such as rotation speed, running status, and current, plus methods such as start/stop and reset; the fan and water pump products define start/stop methods and a running-status property; sensor products define read-only properties such as temperature-humidity and vibration. Once bound to a product, a new device inherits the full set of points, and property reporting and command delivery were verified device by device.
2.3. Linkage and Alarm Configuration
Two types of rules were configured on the platform: safety alarms, which set thresholds on properties such as current and vibration and push alarm notifications to on-duty staff when limits are exceeded; and scene linkage, which automatically starts the exhaust fan when the workshop temperature exceeds the set threshold and stops it after the temperature falls back. All rules were configured through the visual interface without modifying any original device programs; for details, see Rule Engine and Scene Linkage in Practice.
3. Feature Demonstration
3.1. Device Monitoring
The device's generic interface organizes monitoring panels by drag-and-drop according to the workshop layout, showing each device's running status and key parameters in real time and supporting start/stop commands delivered directly from the panel. Property reporting and control operations for every device are logged and can be traced back by time.
3.2. Visualization Dashboard
A visualization dashboard was deployed in the workshop control room, presenting device online status, temperature trends, energy consumption distribution, operating rate, and other indicators in one place, with alarm activity scrolling in real time — one screen shared by visitor tours and daily duty.
3.3. Mobile App and Video Surveillance
On-duty staff use the mobile app to view device status, receive alarms, and perform remote control, which is especially convenient during unattended night hours. Network cameras at key points in the workshop are connected to the platform via GB28181, allowing real-time video viewing and direction and zoom control on the monitoring page, corroborating the device data.
4. Operating Results
After going live, the demo environment ran stably and met its goals:
- Workshop temperature, device current, and other parameters are now collected automatically with historical records, and manual meter reading has been eliminated;
- The temperature-to-fan linkage rule triggered and reset as expected, requiring no manual intervention during summer heat;
- Limit-exceeding alarms exposed early signs of anomalies several times in advance, allowing on-duty staff to arrive in time and avoiding the passive situation of discovering problems only after a shutdown;
- The dashboard and mobile app became the daily management entry point for the workshop, and management reached consensus on rolling out to the whole plant.
For the platform's edge-side design thinking, see Applying Edge Computing in IoT Systems; for more industry implementations, see the Industry Case Overview.
5. FAQ
How many devices are connected in this demo case?
The demo environment covers multiple machine tools and supporting power equipment in the workshop, several environmental and electrical sensors, and cameras at key points. The scale follows a typical machining workshop configuration, focusing on verifying the complete chain of collection, remote control, linkage, and alarms rather than targeting a point count.
How long does it take from device arrival to platform go-live?
On-premises platform deployment and gateway installation and debugging were completed within a few days; thing model modeling and linkage rule configuration depend on how well the point table is prepared. In this case, the early work focused mainly on point verification and joint debugging of typical operating conditions.
Can this demo solution be copied directly to my factory?
You can start along the same path: first sort out the device list and point table, then follow the deployment steps in the Data Collection and Remote Control Reference Solution. Differences between factories lie mainly in device protocols and point definitions; the gateway's protocol compatibility and visual programming capabilities cover most field situations.