Today I would like to talk to you about an important feature of industrial-grade routers - penetration. As an engineer engaged in industrial network communication, I have found that many users will ask a question when choosing an industrial-grade router: "Is the penetration of industrial-grade routers stronger?" Let me answer that question for you. Of course, if you need communication products, you can also pay attention to the official website of Xingchuang Yilian, without further ado, let's get to the point.
First of all, what is penetration? In simple terms, it is the ability of a wireless signal to penetrate obstacles. In industrial environments, wireless signals often need to pass through heavy concrete walls, metal shells, pipes, and other obstacles to reach the target device. If the penetration of the router is not enough, the signal will be easily blocked or attenuated, resulting in unstable or even interrupted communication.
So, where is the penetration power of industrial-grade routers? In my opinion, the main aspects are as follows:
First, the transmitting power is higher. Industrial-grade routers generally use higher-power wireless modules, and the transmit power can reach 500mW or even higher, while the transmit power of ordinary commercial routers is generally only about 100mW. The higher the power, the farther the signal can be transmitted and the greater the ability to penetrate obstacles.
Second, the antenna gain is higher. Industrial-grade routers are generally equipped with high-gain external antennas, such as omnidirectional antennas, directional antennas, Yagi antennas, etc., with antenna gains of up to 5dBi~12dBi, while the gain of ordinary routers' built-in PCB antennas is only 2dBi~3dBi. The higher the antenna gain, the better the reception sensitivity of the signal and the stronger the anti-interference ability.
Third, the frequency band coverage is more complete. Industrial-grade routers generally support multiple operating frequency bands, such as 2.4GHz, 5.8GHz, and 900MHz, and can flexibly select the optimal frequency band according to the field environment. The 5.8GHz band has poor penetration, but a higher transmission rate. The 2.4GHz frequency band has strong penetration, but is susceptible to co-channel interference. The 900MHz band has the strongest penetration, but the transmission rate is low. Multi-band routers can take into account both penetration and speed.
Fourth, the environment is more adaptable. Industrial-grade routers use higher-quality devices and have stronger adaptability to harsh factors such as temperature, humidity, vibration, and electromagnetic interference. They can generally work stably in a wide temperature range of -40°C~75°C, while ordinary routers can only be used in an indoor environment of 0°C~40°C. When environmental conditions change, industrial-grade routers can maintain stable communication quality.
Next, I will combine a practical case to give you a sense of the powerful penetration of industrial-grade routers.
Last year, our team undertook a wireless retrofit project for a steel plant. The steel plant is full of various pipelines, cranes, and steel structures, and the electromagnetic interference is also very strong, and the wireless signal is simply "impenetrable". Previously, they used ordinary commercial routers to network, but the effect was very unsatisfactory, the signal was intermittent, and the equipment communication efficiency was low.
After the on-site investigation, we decided to deploy an industrial-grade outdoor router and adopt the "ring interweaving" networking method. We chose a high-power router that supports 2.4G/5.8G dual-band with a transmit power of up to 500mW and a directional antenna with 8dBi gain. The router adopts IP67 protection level and can be directly installed on outdoor pipe corridors and towers.
After installation and commissioning, the quality of the wireless network has been significantly improved. The signal strength has been increased from -85 dBm to more than -65 dBm, the packet loss rate has been reduced from 15% to less than 2%, and the wireless transmission rate has been increased from 1 Mbps to 20 Mbps. The real-time and reliability of the data reported by the device are greatly improved, and there is no need to worry about the problem of "signal disconnection".
What surprised the customer even more was that some of the locations with dead spots in the previous signal, such as the underground pipe gallery and the inside of the thick-walled tank, could also receive stable signals, and the wireless coverage exceeded expectations. That's the power of industrial-grade router penetration!
Of course, no matter how penetrating the industrial-grade router is, it is not a panacea. In some extreme environments with ultra-long distance, ultra-high density, and ultra-strong interference, it may be necessary to cooperate with other communication technologies, such as 4G networks, LoRa, and NB-IoT, to build more reliable heterogeneous networks.
In general, industrial-grade routers do have more advantages than ordinary routers in terms of penetration due to their specialized design and excellent performance. For some industrial applications with high wireless coverage requirements and harsh environmental conditions, deploying industrial-grade routers is undoubtedly a wise choice. However, when we select the model, we still have to weigh the power, frequency band, antenna, cost and other factors according to the actual needs to choose the most suitable products and solutions.
As engineers, we need to think from the perspective of users, and we can't simply put "work regulations" and "civil regulations" against each other. Industrial-grade equipment is reliable, but if it's over-engineered, the ROI can be reduced. Our goal is to solve the most difficult communication problems in the most cost-effective way, so that the industrial Internet can blossom and benefit thousands of industries.
That's my little bit of insight into the penetration of industrial-grade routers. I hope that through today's sharing, we can give everyone a more intuitive understanding of wireless communication and avoid some detours when building the industrial Internet. Let us go hand in hand and use innovation and wisdom to jointly create a new era of intelligent manufacturing!