Wi-fi Frees Industrial Scales From Data Cables

In an age where constant email checking is becoming a necessity, Wi-Fi is all the rage. Besides being important in the home and the office, it is found in airports, at train stations, and on moving buses. Now, it is also found in industrial scales.

A few higher-quality electronic scale manufacturers, such as Arlyn Scales, are now providing wi-fi connectivity as an option in much of their industrial scale lines. Previous to wireless, there were several methods for linking digital platform scales, bench scales, and floor scales to computers. RS-232 allows one scale to be linked to a computer. RS-485 allows several electronic scales at a time to be linked to a computer. For both of these protocols, RS-232 and RS-485 to USB converters are available. In these cases, the computer linkage can be used to store precise digital weight information in databases and spreadsheets.

More recently, Ethernet connectivity has become a common protocol for connecting digital scales into a Local Area Network. Besides allowing an industrial scale to be controlled and monitored from any computer on the network, this method also allows access to a scale controller from anywhere in the world, over the internet. Arlyn Scales even provides Remote Indicator software with its network electronic scales, which can read scale information on any computer with internet access.

RS-232, RS-485, and Ethernet all pose one typical difficulty-they require cabling. Often, an industrial scale may be found on a factory work floor that is several hundred feet away from a monitoring room or office. Particularly with RS-232 and RS-485, cabling becomes very expensive. Ethernet is much more commonly found built into many modern buildings for the purpose of having a Local Access Network, so very often, a building does not have to be retrofitted. Wireless connectivity, however, has the same benefits as Ethernet, when built into industrial scales, without requiring the cabling. Electronic scales can still be accessed from any computer on the network as well as from any computer in the world using the Remote Indicator software.

By: Mel Joelle

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Click here to read the rest of Wi-Fi Industrial Scales. If you enjoyed this article, you also might like our other stories about Internet Marketing Services.