What would a system for this look like?
A monitoring or integration system is a chain: something that produces a signal, something that carries it, somewhere it is kept, and someone who acts on it. Six answers about your machine, network, data and people are enough to sketch the chain — and the sketch is the first page of a scope.
Computes in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent unless you ask. The link updates with your inputs, so a result can be shared.
Reviewed
Hover or focus a component to see what it is and what it talks to. Arrow keys move between them.
A system assembled from your answers: machine, signal source, gateway, store, and the people and systems that consume it.
Components:
- Your machine (older PLC): The equipment producing the signal.
- Retrofit sensor (proximity switch): Reads the machine from outside; touches nothing it does.
- Edge gateway (DIN rail): Reads the signal, buffers through outages, speaks MQTT upward.
- Broker + store (cloud): MQTT broker and time-series store, managed, backed up.
- Dashboard (plant TV + office): Counts, downtime, reasons, shift comparison.
Connections:
- Your machine to Retrofit sensor over 4-20mA
- Retrofit sensor to Edge gateway over Modbus
- Edge gateway to Broker + store over VPN
- Broker + store to Dashboard over REST
Send it as the start of a scope
The sketch goes with your message. An engineer reads it and replies within a business day with whether and how we would approach it. Nothing is sent unless you press send.
How this is calculated
The diagram is assembled by rule: the controller decides whether the gateway reads tags directly or a retrofit sensor is needed; the network decides whether a cellular router appears; where the data lives decides cloud broker versus on-premises server; the audience adds a dashboard, a rules engine and a phone; an integration adds ERP or a quality database.
It is the shape of a system, not a design. The design depends on the machine, the network and the plant's IT rules — which is what the first conversation is for.
How to use it
- 1Say what the machine is and what controller it has.
- 2Choose the signal you want and the network available.
- 3Choose where the data should live and who needs to see it.
- 4Watch the diagram assemble; hover any component.
- 5Export it, or send it as the start of a scope.
These are planning numbers, not a quote — a written scope follows a conversation. We publish no prices.
Asked about this tool
Is this the design you would build?
It is the shape of it. The real design depends on the machine, the network and the plant's IT rules, which is what the first conversation is for. The sketch gets that conversation started a long way in.
Can I keep the diagram?
Yes — export it as SVG or PNG. It is yours whether or not you talk to us.
What happens if I send it?
An engineer reads it and replies within a business day with whether and how we would approach it. Nothing is sent unless you press send.
Strategy. Software. Systems.
Bring the number to a conversation.
Describe the line, the part, or the process. An engineer replies within one business day with whether and how we would approach it.
Book a callOr describe it here
One line is enough. A person reads it and replies within a business day.