The industrial environment of material handling facilities can make implementing a proficient network challenging. Fortunately, there is a solution. Industrial networking equipment fulfills the crucial role of providing ruggedized networking equipment in the correct form factor, power input and supporting various industrial protocols. To learn more about the relationship between material handling facilities and industrial networking, continue reading.

Applications for industrial networking equipment in material handling facilities

Industrial networking equipment can overcome many of the unique challenges that material handling facilities face when implementing a network. For example, a standard commercial network Ethernet switch cannot fit inside a standard control cabinet, mount on DIN Rail, and power from 24VDC. In addition, commercial switches cannot support a wider operating temperature for control cabinets that are not in a temperature controlled environment. Industrial switches are specifically designed to operate in these environments and therefore allow for Ethernet to be used as the communication protocol in a material handling network.

Wireless communication is also a growing requirement in many material handling applications, especially to control the actions of autonomous vehicles like forklifts. Putting a commercial Wifi radio onto an autonomous forklift will often require designing a special mounting bracket and also providing AC power which is not standard on a battery powered forklift. This is where an industrial Wifi AP/Client/Bridge unit that can power from 24VDC and fit inside the control enclosure on the forklift will allow for wireless communication to the factory’s wireless network.

Requirements for industrial networking equipment in material handling facilities

In order to operate effectively despite the many challenges that the environment of manufacturing facilities present such as extreme temperatures, humidity, cabling restrictions, and electromagnetic interference, several requirements must be met. Such requirements for industrial networking equipment in material handling facilities include:

- Resilience to shock and vibration
- Ability to operate in environments with extreme temperature ranges
- Rugged wireless communication
- Resistance to electromagnetic interference
- 24VDC power input
- Small form factor

Antaira’s Industrial Networking products for material handling facilities

Antaira Technologies provides a wide range of industrial Ethernet switches and industrial wireless networking equipment to provide your material handling facilities with the networking capabilities it requires. Among our many industrial Ethernet products includes our line of LMX-1002G switches and AMS Wifi access points. Our line of 10-port industrial light layer 3 managed Ethernet switches supports the ring network redundancy function and a standard operating temperature range of-10°C to 70°C. For more information regarding our industrial switches and other products Antaira offers such as industrial PoE media converters and serial devices, contact us today.