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Industry 4.0 Condition Monitoring

FAQ

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about PCH Cloud here

What are the main features of the PCH Cloud Solution?

With the PCH Cloud Vibration Monitoring Solution, you get an IIoT platform (REST) that delivers vibration data from PCH monitors to an online database (either our AWS database or a database of your own choosing).

The IoT solution includes:

  • 1 or more PCH vibration monitoring modules, most notably the PCH 1420 4-channel vibration monitor
  • 1 PCH Etherbridge module
  • A web application for direct monitoring and analysis
  • An online dashboard with:
    • Current measuring values for your connected PCH vibration and process monitors
    • Trend curves
    • Time waveforms
    • Customised FFTs
    • Enhanced FFT analysis tools
    • A system and alarm log
  • Open program interface
    The open program interface (REST) and format makes the integration with other systems easy.
  • Local and remote access
    The PCH Cloud web application can be accessed locally and remotely, from any PC, smartphone or tablet, wired or wireless.
  • Safe and flexible data storage
    The data is encrypted and safely stored in an AWS storage media (AWS EC2 or your own database).
  • Data visualisation tools
    Visualised data helps staff make informed decisions.
  • Integration to:
    Thingsworks, Influx dB, Kafka Streams

Features you can add to the standard version as needed:

  • Smart reporting features
    You can choose to add features such as smart reporting by email, text message and widgets for portable devices to your PCH Cloud solution.
Contact us to learn more

 

How does the solution work?

The PCH vibration monitors collect data from your machinery and export it through the LAN connection in the EtherBridge module to a cloud database of your choosing. You can use our AWS EC2 database or your own AWS storage medium.

You can now visualise the data online using the PCH Vibration Studio software or your own database interface.

Must I invest in new equipment?

There is no need for heavy investments in new Industry 4.0 machinery and production equipment with the PCH Cloud solution.

If your machinery is already mounted with one of the compatible PCH vibration monitors (PCH 1073, 1272, 1277 or 1420), you simply add an EtherBridge module to get the full IoT functionality.

If not, the PCH vibration sensors and monitors can easily be retrofitted to your machinery – regardless of its age. All you need to get started are PCH vibration sensors and monitors, a PCH EtherBridge module and an Internet connection.

In other words, the PCH Cloud solution is a simple, safe and cost-efficient way to make your machinery ready for Industry 4.0.

Which PCH monitors are compatible with the PCH Cloud Solution?

The IIoT solution can be added to the following range of PCH monitoring installations:

1-channel vibration and proximity sensors/monitors

PCH 1072 (4-20 mA, 2 relays)

PCH 1073 Vibration Monitor with External IEPE AccelerometerPCH 1073 (4-20 mA, 4 relays)

Compact 1-channel vibration guards with networking capabilities

PCH 1420 vibration monitor product pagePCH 1420 (4-20 mA, SIL 2, relay outputs)

All of the vibration monitors can be retrofitted to your existing machinery.

To collect the most extensive data for your trend analyses, we recommend that you use the PCH 1420 4-channel vibration monitor. If you already have PCH 1420 monitors installed, these can be connected to the IIoT platform via an EtherBridge module to give you all the benefits of the IIoT technology while maintaining your local machine safety.

We are happy to help you select the vibration monitoring solution to suit your need.

Contact us for further advice.

Who owns the data collected by PCH’s Open IIoT Platform?

You do. Always.

We want to give you a flexible solution that can be adapted to your needs and existing systems, e.g. AWS IoT Core. That is why our IIoT solution is an open platform based on integration to other systems.

You retain ownership of the data collected by the vibration sensors, and you choose where to store it and how to analyse it.

All of the PCH vibration monitors mentioned above can be connected to a cloud database of your choice.

You can either store it in our cloud services. They run on AWS cloud servers (AWS EC2), and data is encrypted and stored in our PCH Cloud.

Or you can store it on your own storage medium. We integrate with the following 3rd party time series databases:

Time series databases

  • InfluxDB
  • KairosDB
  • OpenTSDB
  • Amazon Timestream

Whichever storage solution you choose, you retain ownership of your data at all times.

How do I install the PCH Cloud solution software?

It is quick and simple to start using the data visualisation and storage tools of the PCH Cloud solution. The web application can be accessed online from any device anywhere. In other words, no installation of software is required.

Once you have your PCH EtherBridge IIoT Module, you can be up and running in approximately 10 minutes.

Here is how it works:

  1. You create an account in the PCH Cloud portal (you will receive a link from us).
  2. You connect one or more PCH vibration monitors to the Etherbridge module through RS-485.
  3. You connect the PCH EtherBridge IIoT to the internet.
  4. Contact us when you are ready, and we will pair it with your account.
Now, you are ready to store and see your vibration and process data online.

Which data format do you use?

We use standard, open API formats such as Backend Interface, Devicemanager Interface and Usermanager Interface. To download these formats, check out our information for data scientists here.

Our data specialists can also design a solution to suit your data requirements.

Give us a call to learn more about customised formats.

Did you find the answers you were looking for?

If not, we are happy to help with any questions about the PCH Cloud Solution.


Get in Touch

PCH Engineering A/S
Ved Klaedebo 4
DK-2970 Hoersholm, Denmark
VAT: DK 20891386

(+45) 45 76 87 76
pch@pch-engineering.dk

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