Reliable WLAN in a red-hot environment
A robust wireless technology from Siemens is being used to help manufacture massive steel components. In one of the most modern open-die forges in the world, a facility owned by Saarschmiede GmbH, turbine and generator shafts are being manufactured for power plants. During the production process, it is important to ensure precise interaction between the 12,000-metric-ton forging press and the two gantry cranes that hold the workpiece. Siemens accomplished this by installing an industrial-standard WLAN connection between the cranes and the forging press control system. The solution shows that reliable wireless communication can be realized even under extreme conditions of the sort that prevail during the forging of hundreds of tons of hot steel.