Edge Devices

The Essembi pulse app is responsible for facilitating the collection of data from edge devices such as sensors and scales on the manufacturing floor.

Local Server

The Essembi pulse app will run on a local server at the production facility. The purpose of this is to be able to collect data from edge devices even when no connectivity to the internet exists. The data collected will be stored locally on the server until a network connection is available to push the data to the Essembi cloud app.

Hardware Specifications

Hardware specifications for the Essembi local server vary based on production volume and desired sync times into Essembi. Connect with an Essembi team member to get assistance with the right specifications for your manufacturing business.

Setup Requirements

Static IP Address

The local server needs to be assigned a static IP address. The PLC software requires this to communicate real-time data from the PLC to the local server.

Mosquitto MQTT Broker

Essembi will deploy the Mosquitto MQTT broker on your server during the implementation process. After setup, you can validate the connection between your local computer and the server using the steps below.

Validating the Mosquitto Connection

Use these steps to confirm the broker, network, and firewall are configured correctly. You will need the Mosquitto client tools installed on your local computer (download here).

Step 1: Start a subscriber on the server. Open a terminal on the server and run from the mosquitto folder:

mosquitto_sub -h localhost -t essembi/test

Leave this window open. It will display any messages it receives.

Step 2: Publish a message from your local computer. Open a terminal on your local machine and run from the mosquitto folder, replacing SERVER_IP with your server's IP address:

mosquitto_pub -h SERVER_IP -p 1883 -t essembi/test -m "Hello from local machine"

Step 3: Confirm receipt. The subscriber terminal on the server should display:

essembi/test Hello from local machine

If the message appears, the broker, network, and firewall are configured correctly. If the connection is refused or times out, confirm port 1883 is open in the server firewall and check if the mosquitto service is running in Windows Services (Start menu > type "Services" > hit "Enter").

Edge Devices

The pulse app will read data from the local PLC for devices such as scales or directly from devices connected to the pulse app such as scales. Edge devices that are supported by Essembi are outlined below:

• Sensors: Photoelectric sensors that can be deployed along the production line to read real-time units produced and automatically log downtime incidents for hardware components along the line.
• Scales: Scales that can be deployed in bulk production areas to automatically finish containers of units by weight and detect when no finishes are occurring to trigger downtime incidents to be logged.