What is the purpose of this article?
This article explains the setup and configuration to send data of Rheonics sensors through Wi-Fi, and the Node-RED setup in the IPC for remote data visualization through Ignition SCADA.


What products are involved?
This article is based on using the Rheonics Sensor Module Electronics (SME), an Industrial PC (IPC), and the USR-W610 to send sensor data through Wi-Fi to an MQTT Broker and visualize it remotely via Ignition SCADA.


1. Overview

This article outlines the steps to integrate Rheonics sensors with the USR-W610, which is an RS232/RS485 to Wi-Fi and Ethernet Converter. The integration allows the sensors to connect to a network generated by an IPC. The IPC, which is connected to the internet via Ethernet, can then forward sensor data to an MQTT broker using Node-RED which allows for remote data visualization through Ignition SCADA.

Figure 1: Architecture of Rheonics SME, USR-W610, IPC, and Ignition SCADA integration

Figure 1: Architecture of Rheonics SME, USR-W610, IPC, and Ignition SCADA integration

2. Prerequisites

  • Rheonics SME with Modbus RTU enabled
    • SME connects to the sensor probe and transmits the data using different industrial communication protocols. Modbus RTU protocol is used in this article.
  • Industrial PC (IPC)
    • Robust computer used in industrial environments.
  • MQTT broker
    • A cloud-based MQTT message broker acts as an intermediary between clients that send (publish) and receive (subscribe) data. In this case, it transmits the sensor data received from Node-RED to Ignition for remote visualization.
  • Ignition SCADA
    • An industrial platform that can connect to an MQTT broker, enabling real-time data visualization and interface creation for monitoring multiple devices.
  • USR-W610
    • RS232/RS485 to Wi-Fi & Ethernet Converter that allows the Rheonics SME to connect to a Wi-Fi network and send data using Modbus RTU

3. USR-W610 Setup 

The USR-W610 module is used to send serial data to a Wi-Fi network. In this case, the device is configured as STA, so it is connected to the Wi-Fi network generated by the IPC.

To configure the USR-W610 as STA and connect to a Wi-Fi network, refer to Connecting Rheonics Sensors to Wi-Fi Networks using USR-W610

1. Connect to the network generated by the IPC.

Figure 2: STA network configurationFigure 2: STA network configuration


2. Once the USR-W610 is connected to the Wi-Fi network, do the wiring for serial communication as the following diagram.

Figure 3: Wiring diagram of USR-W610 to Rheonics SMEFigure 3: Wiring diagram of USR-W610 to Rheonics SME


4. IPC Setup

The IPC used in this article counts with Windows 10 and makes it compatible with Node-RED, but you can refer to Node-RED Setup and MQTT for Rheonics Sensors in case you are using another OS.

4.1. Node-RED installation

Node-RED is used for different applications and can be easily configured to implement data acquisition via Modbus TCP obtained from the USR-W610 and send it to an MQTT Broker. 

To learn the basic steps for setting up Node-RED and using the modules mentioned in this article, visit the Node-RED Setup and MQTT for Rheonics Sensors

4.2. Obtaining Data in Node-RED

The goal is to obtain sensor data via Wi-Fi in Node-RED and send it to an MQTT broker.

1. The USR-W610 sends the data as Modbus TCP, so the node-red-contrib-modbus module in Node-RED is needed. 

2. The configuration for the Modbus-client is as follows, using the IP address assigned to the USR-W610 during its configuration and the Modbus Address of the SME (default: 1)

Figure 4: modbus-client configuration

Figure 4: modbus-client configuration


3. To send data from a Rheonics sensor to an MQTT broker, refer to Integrating Rheonics Sensors with Node-RED and MQTT for Remote Data Access

4. The node-RED flow to read viscosity, density, and temperature to send it to an MQTT broker would look as follows.

Figure 5: Node-RED flow

Figure 5: Node-RED flow

5. Visualization through Ignition

Now that the Rheonics sensor data has been published into the MQTT broker, the parameters can be visualized remotely with Ignition through another device.

To learn how to connect Ignition SCADA to an MQTT broker to visualize Rheonics sensor data refer to Using Ignition SCADA to Visualize Rheonics Sensor Data via MQTT


​Figure 6: Ignition visualizationFigure 6: Ignition visualization


6. Resources