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In recent years, IoT sensors have become the go-to standard when it comes to increasing production up-time and efficiency in the manufacturing industry. Reducing downtime in any facility is key to such efficiency. Some causes of downtime include lack of planning, poor operation (by human error or machine error), time spent on maintenance, and lack of predictive maintenance. There are a number of sensors available for the manufacturing industry that can provide the necessary data to avoid downtime. NCD manufactures over 100 sensors to help increase efficiency and reduce downtime for many industries: Automotive, chemical, steel manufacturing, packaging, waste water management, agriculture, warehouses, oil, and gas, etc. IoT Sensors can be utilized in almost any industry to fill a need to monitor assets and resources. Click below to view NCD’s Enterprise line of IoT Sensors.
There is no set of fixed rules that a device has to follow in order to qualify to become an IoT sensor. The goal of installing or using an IoT sensor is to convert a physical parameter into a digital parameter. From this point, the user will send data to a cloud service, which will translate raw data into usable information. In general, there are a few things users look for when it comes to IoT sensors;
NCD manufactures over 90 types of sensors. These sensors can be used to test various parameters, such as;
A complete list of the sensors can be found here:
| Sensor | Sensor Type | Product SKU | Alpha Station | AWS Gateway | Azure Gateway | Losant Gateway | MQTT Gateway | Node Red | LabView | Python | Min Sample Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature Humidity Sensor | 1 | PR49-24A | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3Sec |
| Push Notification 2-Channel | 2 | PR52-3D | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Status change And 3 Sec |
| ADC Converter 2-Channel | 3 | PR52-1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3Sec |
| Thermocouple 1-Channel | 4 | PR52-2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3Sec |
| Gyro Magneto Acellero | 5 | PR49-24D | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5Sec |
| Wireless Pressure Sensor | 6 | PR49-24H | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3Sec |
| Acceleration and Impact Detection | 7 | PR49-24K | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Status change and 3Sec | |
| Wireless Vibration Sensor | 8 | PR49-24E | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5Sec |
| Wireless Proximity Sensor | 9 | PR49-24B | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3Sec | |
| Wireless Ambient Light Sensor | 10 | PR49-24C | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3Sec |
| In Development – Wireless Color Sensor | 11 | ||||||||||
| Wireless 3 Channel Thermocouple Sensor | 12 | PR55-19B | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Untested | Yes | 5Sec | |
| Wireless 1 Channel AC Current Sensor | 13 | PR52-7 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6Sec | |
| Wireless 1 Channel 4-20mA Receiver | 14 | PR52-9 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Untested | Yes | 3Sec | |
| Wireless 1 Channel 0-10V Receiver | 15 | PR52-10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Untested | Yes | 3Sec | |
| Wireless 1 Channel Soil Moisture Sensor | 16 | PR55-2B | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 3Sec | ||
| Wireless 1 Channel AC Voltage Sensor | 17 | PR52-13 | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Yes | 6Sec | |
| Wireless 1 Channel Frequency/Pulse Sensor | 18 | PR52-14 | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Yes | 3Sec | |
| Wireless 2 Channel Current Sensor | 19 | PR55-4B | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Untested | Yes | 6Sec | |
| Wireless High Precision Pressure Sensor | 20 | PR55-24 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Untested | Yes | 3Sec | |
| Wireless Differential Bi directional Pressure Sensor | 21 | PR49-24M | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Untested | Yes | 3Sec | |
| Wireless 0-24V AC/DC Optically Isolated Inputs | 22 | PR52-12 | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Yes | Status change and 3Sec | |
| Wireless 2 Channel Thermocouple Sensor | 23 | PR55-19A | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Untested | Yes | 3Sec | |
| Wireless Activity detection sensor | 24 | PR49-24J | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Status change and 3Sec | |
| Wireless Asset Monitor sensor | 25 | PR49-24I | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Status change | |
| Wireless Pressure Sensor | 26 | PR52-33P | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 3Sec | ||
| Wireless Environmental Sensor | 27 | PR49-24L PR55-45L | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 24Sec | |
| Wireless 3 Channel Current Sensor | 28 | PR55-26C | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 6Sec | ||
| Wireless Linear Displacement Sensor | 29 | PR55-2E | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 3Sec | ||
| Wireless Structural Monitoring Sensor | 30 | PR55-2F | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 3Sec | ||
| Air Quality TVOC eCO2 Temperature and Humidity Sensor | 31 | PR49-24G | Yes | 24Sec | |||||||
| Particulate Matter Sensor | 32 | PR52-33M | Yes | 60Sec | |||||||
| Wireless AC Current Detect Sensor | 33 | PR52-45 | Yes | Status change and 3Sec | |||||||
| Wireless Tank Level | 34 | Yes | 3Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 1 Channel Counter | 35 | PR52-3B | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Counter Thershold and 3Sec | |
| Wireless 2 Channel Counter | 36 | PR52-3C | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Counter Thershold and 3Sec |
| Wireless 7 Push Notification | 37 | PR52-18 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Status change and 3Sec | |
| In Development | 38 | ||||||||||
| Wireless 3 Wire RTD Temperature Sensor | 39 | PR52-27 | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 3Sec | ||
| Wireless Enterprise Vibration Sensor** | 40 | PR52-33N | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10Sec |
| RPM Proximity Sensor | 41 | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Yes | Yes | 3Sec | ||
| Wireless 0-24VDC Voltage Monitor | 42 | PR52-10A | Yes | 6Sec | |||||||
| Wireless Dual Temperature Humidity Current Detection Sensor | 43 | PR55-41A | Yes | Status change and 3Sec | |||||||
| Wireless CO2 Gas Sensor | 44 | PR52-33Q | Yes | 60Sec | |||||||
| 4-20mA 16-Bit Input Transmitter | 45 | PR55-5A | Yes | 6Sec | |||||||
| Motion Detection Sensor | 46 | PR52-48 | Yes | Status change and 3Sec | |||||||
| Wireless Tilt Sensor | 47 | PR52-33_TS | 3Sec | ||||||||
| 4-20mA 16-Bit Input Transmitter | 48 | PT55-48 | Yes – Untested | 6Sec | |||||||
| Wireless 6 Channel Thermocouple Sensor | 49 | PR55-47_6TC | 6Sec | ||||||||
| Predictive Maintenance Sensor | 50 | PR55-20A | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 10Sec | ||
| 6 Channel Current Sensor | 51 | PR55-59_6CT | Yes – Untested | 10Sec | |||||||
| Wireless 2 Channel 4-20mA Receiver | 52 | PR55-47_2CR | Yes – Untested | 6Sec | |||||||
| Wireless Air Quality CO2 and PM Sensor | 53 | PR55-59_THPC | Yes – Untested | 60Sec | |||||||
| Wireless 2 Channel RTD | 54 | PR55-47_2RTD | Yes – Untested | 6Sec | |||||||
| Wireless 3 Channel RTD | 55 | PR55-47_3RTD | 10Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 2 Channel 0-10VDC Receiver | 56 | PR55-47_2DC | Yes – Untested | 6Sec | |||||||
| Wireless Air Flow/Velocity Sensor | 60 | PR55-24V | 3Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless pH Temperature Sensor | 61 | PR55-47pH | Yes | 60Sec | |||||||
| Wireless ORP Temperature Sensor | 62 | PR55-47ORP | Yes – Untested | 60Sec | |||||||
| Wireless pH and ORPTemperature Sensor | 63 | PR55-47pHORP | Yes | 60Sec | |||||||
| Wireless EC Sensor | 64 | PR55-47EC | Yes | 60Sec | |||||||
| Wireless DO Sensor | 65 | PR55-47DO | Yes – Needs Parser Review | 60Sec | |||||||
| Wireless EC and DO Sensor | 66 | PR55-47EC_DO | Yes – Needs Parser Review | 60Sec | |||||||
| Wireless PAR Sensor | 67 | PR55-57PAR | Yes | 60Sec | |||||||
| Wireless 2 Channel Soil Moisture Sensor | 68 | PR55-2C | 60Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 1 Channel Soil Temp Moisture and EC Sensor | 69 | PR55-57_SLA | 60Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 2 Channel Soil Temp Moisture and EC Sensor | 70 | PR55-65_SLB | 60Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 3 Channel Soil Temp Moisture and EC Sensor | 71 | PR55-65_SLC | 60Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless SDI Soil Moisture Temperature Moisture Probe | 72 | PR55-66A | 60Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless Siemens Air Velocity Probe | 75 | PR55-5C | 20Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless CO Sensor | 76 | Yes – Untested | 90Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 3 Channel SDI Soil Moisture Temperature Moisture Probe | 77 | PR55-66C | 60Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless Oil Particulate Count Sensor | 78 | PR55-81P | 60Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless Oil Quality Analysis Sensor | 79 | PR55-57E | 60Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless Enterprise Vibration Sensor V3 | 80 | PR55-61E | 5Min | ||||||||
| Wireless Enterprise Dual Vibration Sensor V3 | 81 | Yes – Untested | 5Min | ||||||||
| Predictive Maintenance V3 Sensor | 82 | Yes – Untested | 5Min | ||||||||
| Standalone Smart Vibration Sensor V3 | 84 | Yes – Untested | 5Min | ||||||||
| Wireless One Channel Auto Lubricator | 85 | PR55-81OL | 5Min | ||||||||
| Wireless 1 Channel Current Sensor With Frequency | 87 | PR55-59BF | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 10Sec | ||
| Wireless One Channel Ultrasound Sensor | 88 | PR55-81US | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 10Sec | ||
| Wireless Two Channel Ultrasound Sensor | 89 | PR55-81U | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 10Sec | ||
| Wireless 1 Channel 0-100Amp DC Current Sensor | 90 | PR55-5DC | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 10Sec | ||
| Wireless Air Velocity Sensor HVAC | 91 | PR55-81AV | 20Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 3 Channel Current Sensor With Frequency | 92 | PR55-59CF | Yes | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | Untested | 10Sec | ||
| Wireless Oil Quality Analysis Sensor Lite | 93 | PR55-57OL | 60Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 1 Channel 0-24V DC Receiver | 95 | PR55-5F_24V | 6Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 1 Channel 0-48V Receiver | 96 | PR55-5F_48V | 6Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 1 Auto Luber Wither Ultrasound Vibration Sensor | 105 | PR55-85_1AL | 6Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 2 Channel Auto Luber Wither Ultrasound Vibration Sensor | 106 | PR55-85_2AL | 6Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless 4 Channel 4-20mA Transmitter | 107 | PR55-89D | 6Sec | ||||||||
| Wireless Machine Uptime Monitor Sensor | 108 | PR55-87UT | 6Sec | ||||||||
| C_50-27 | 502 | ||||||||||
| C_Current_1C | 505 | Yes – Untested | |||||||||
| C_Current_3C | 506 | Yes – Untested | |||||||||
| C_Current_12C | 515 | Yes – Untested | |||||||||
| Custom Wireless Air Flow/Velocity Sensor | 517 | PR55-24V_MAYA | |||||||||
| Custom Wireless Vibration Sensor With Wire Draw Sensor | 519 | PR55-59_GEO | Yes – Untested | 5Min | |||||||
| Custom 6 Channel Current Temp Humid Sensor | 520 | PR55-59_6C | Yes – Untested | 10Sec | |||||||
| Custom 3 Channel Light Sensor | 521 | PR55-59_LS | Yes – Untested | 10Sec | |||||||
| SDI Multi Soil Probe | 524 | PR55-81_SDI | Yes – Untested | 10Sec | |||||||
| Custom Noise Sensor | 531 | PR55-59_LS | Yes – Untested | 10Sec | |||||||
| Custom Wireless CO2 sensor | 535 | PR55-81_CO2 | Yes – Untested | 5Min | |||||||
| Custom Wireless Vibration Sensor | 537 | PR55-67A_CS | Yes – Untested | 5Min |
IoT sensors can be used by a plethora of industries interested in data collection of any kind. NCD produces sensors for a variety of industries. There are many common parameters and data points that are universally sought by countless industries. The lists below show the versatility of NCD’s IoT Sensors, and how many applications they can serve. Some of NCD’s multifaceted IoT sensors include Temperature/Humidity Sensors, Current Sensors, Temperature Sensors, and Analog Sensors. Below are lists of various industries that can utilize IoT Sensors on a daily basis.
Manufacturing Sector
Healthcare Sector
Power and Utilities Sector
Oil & Gas Sector
HVAC Sector
Agriculture Sector
Production downtime is one of the key deficiencies when it comes to production resources. It is important to reduce downtime for purposes of cost, increasing productivity, and mitigating lead times. There are many factors that can cause production downtime and productivity loss. For each industry, there are a number of common problems that could cause production downtime. In a production facility, there are multiple pieces of equipment that could fail and cause loss. Major culprits when it comes to productivity loss across all industries include:
These issues can be identified and rectified using IoT Sensors.
Most manufacturing plants have a production assembly line. In such a set-up, if one machine breaks or starts to malfunction it could impact the entire production line. This can cause a significant loss in productivity as well as a loss of revenue.
A production line, for example, could be that of a beverage manufacturer. This manufacturer will have hundreds of machines and various equipment set up throughout a plant or facility. This type of facility and production line will contain motors, conveyor belts, packaging machines, pumps, fans, etc. If any one of these assets malfunctions or fails (or fails to work properly) it will impact the entire production line. In order to prevent these types of malfunctions, the problem will need to be identified prior to loos. Using IoT Sensors such as Vibration Sensors, Counters, Current Sensors, Temperature Sensors, and Pressure Sensors, the parameters and data points can be monitored, and the software is “trained” to identify potential issues before things go awry. Whichever software is chosen to be used with NCD hardware, will collect data over time. This will allow the software to have more information, thus identifying potential loss or malfunction before it strikes. In turn, this will reduce and/or prevent machine downtime, and increase production output significantly.
Another major concern at production facilities has to do with scheduling within said facility. In order to schedule production effectively, it’s very important to know which machines are used and for how long they are used. IoT sensors can be utilized to log any and all data that is of concern; such as, how many hours a machine was running in full capacity, idle, or off. How long was a machine operating at heavy vibration levels? How long has your machine been running at too high of a temperature? All of this data can be gathered by NCD IoT sensors and sent directly to you at a moment’s notice.
Building an IoT system may appear to be very straight-forward but statistics show, over 60% of IoT projects fail. A few main reasons behind such failure are:
For better or worse, it’s very difficult for a single company to provide its own top-notch IoT solution. All companies that work with IoT have their strengths and weaknesses, and in order to build an ideal IoT system, it’s ideal for working with three different entities to generate the best results possible when gathering data.
Hardware Manufacturer — Once the requirements are partially or fully identified, the user will need to seek out a hardware manufacturer that supplies the tools which may be used for the application. While searching for the correct hardware, users generally want to consider the following:
*NCD manufactures IoT hardware that checks all of the above criteria.
Cloud Provider — The user has a few options to consider when choosing a cloud provider:
System Integrator — It’s always recommended to incorporate a system integrator into an IoT project. In NCD’s experience, if the user has a system integrator involved in their project(s), the chances of success increase up 3 to 4 times. There are multiple levels of system integrators to choose from, based on the user’s comfort level with the project. There are even system integrators who will take the project from pilot, all the way to full integration!
Bottom line – factory operators and manufacturers need and rely on precise data regarding uptime and production downtime in their facilities. If there are resources being lost due to unnecessary downtimes, there’s no longer an excuse not to track such data and plan and execute a way to reduce such downtimes, thus saving much time, assets, materials, funds, etc. NCD has a sensor for all of your production needs!