A UK panel builder manufacturing industrial control panels for manufacturing clients was asked to add 5G cellular connectivity to a new product line. The brief was for connectivity to be embedded inside the panel enclosure, not mounted externally. The existing 4G solution used an externally mounted router on the enclosure door – aesthetically poor and creating additional cable penetrations that complicated IP rating.
The Problem with the External Router Approach
The existing external router required: a hole in the enclosure for the antenna cable, a separate power supply circuit inside the panel to power the router, cable routing from the router to the panel PLC, and an external mounting bracket. This added cost, complexity, reduced the panel’s IP rating to IP55 (the router housing was rated IP65 but the cable penetrations compromised the enclosure), and the external router was susceptible to physical damage.
The UF31 Solution
The Milesight UF31 mounts on a 35mm DIN rail inside the existing panel enclosure. At 90 x 72 x 15mm it fits in the existing DIN rail layout alongside the PLC and other components. Power is taken from the 24VDC panel supply rail – the UF31’s 5-24VDC input requires no additional regulation. A single Cat6 patch lead connects the UF31 Ethernet port to the PLC Ethernet port. The SIM card is accessed via a slot on the module face. No external cable penetrations are required for the cellular connection – all antennas are internal to the UF31.
Outcome
The panel enclosure IP rating is maintained at IP65. The bill of materials cost for the cellular solution reduced (UF31 cost plus DIN rail hardware versus external router plus mounting bracket plus power supply plus cable glands). The panel layout is cleaner. DeviceHub management allows the panel builder’s support team to access deployed units remotely for diagnostics without requiring on-site access. The UF31 is now the standard cellular component in 6 panel variants in the product range.