{"id":526,"date":"2020-02-21T21:21:02","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T21:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.axcontrol.com\/blog\/?p=526"},"modified":"2023-09-25T14:54:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T14:54:10","slug":"bringing-legacy-equipment-to-iiot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.axcontrol.com\/blog\/2020\/bringing-legacy-equipment-to-iiot\/21\/02\/","title":{"rendered":"Bring Legacy Equipment to the Industrial Internet of Things Age"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This photo of industrial equipment<\/a> by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are reasons to bring legacy equipment into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIot) Age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most manufacturers work with older equipment. A 2017 McKinsey report notes factory machinery and tools <\/a>have an average age of 11 years. Industrial equipment lasts by design; we even use the term “industrial strength” to attribute higher-than-usual durability and power to everything from bug spray to boots. And when something is still working–and working well–a full upgrade to something new can be a difficult sell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But many of these older legacy systems were created before the age of connected manufacturing systems, which bring with them a number of added benefits. A connected “smart factory” can mean higher productivity, increased flexibility, a safer manufacturing floor, and lower costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One option that bridges the gap between a full upgrade and missing out on all these benefits is to perform a retrofit of connected IoT gateway and data feedback devices. But until recently, this kind of upgrade was a complicated and costly affair. But it doesn’t have to be anymore, and more options are available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Industrial Internet of Things? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

IIoT or the Industrial Internet of Things is the industrial extension of IoT. Automation in a traditional factory improves through the use of interconnected smart sensors. Other instruments work with sensors to take advantage of data collection and analysis. This happens on a networked (Internet) platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Options for Connecting your Factory Floor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are several options now available for connecting your legacy systems<\/a> to the IoT. These include<\/p>\n\n\n\n