Factory Walkthrough: The Many Applications That Require Quartz Oscillators and Other Timing Solutions

Touring an Industrial Facility Reveals Frequency in Action

To experience the latest technologies of our era, look no further than the modern factory. These are the sites where precision and optimization matter most. It comes as no surprise that our industrial revolutions’ key innovations have found their first homes on the factory floor.

Breakthrough technologies have powered manufacturing since the First Industrial Revolution, and they often get the credit for the successes that follow. However, critical factory equipment is not limited to large-scale industrial machines. A facility’s infrastructure is just as essential as the high-profile technology that helps a factory assemble, process and ship their goods.

To walk through a facility and witness the coordination of automated manufacturing processes and building controls such as HVAC, lighting, and security demonstrates that any industrial environment cannot meet its goals without its many support operations and processes. Yet these systems are not the only aspect of factory operations that deserve more credit. Within each of these structural support systems is a circuit-level innovation that makes a facility’s functions possible: timing.

Quartz crystal oscillators and other frequency-based solutions support the applications that define today’s industrial technology. They also provide the underpinning for how facilities run on a day-to-day basis. Join ECS Inc. for a top-to-bottom tour of the typical manufacturing plant to witness how many processes rely on exceptional timing components.

These Facility Processes Require Timing Solutions, Including Quartz Oscillators

If you were to take a tour of any given factory, you would notice the many pieces of manufacturing equipment that are dedicated to assembling products. To build the products that allow a factory to profit, workers depend on machines to help them create excellent products without defects to support their business’s marketplace credibility. In each of these machines, timing solutions enable key functions that are required for the creation of goods:

• Synchronization of automated functions to ensure efficient workflows
• Command execution for key manufacturing machinery
• Exceptionally precise data capture and transmission for safety, quality and efficiency analyses
• And much more.

However, timing solutions are required in ways that are not directly related to product development. After all, facilities are more than just industrial automation equipment like assembly line machines, robotics and quality control technology.

Building Security

Industrial security systems aim to protect manufacturing facilities from unauthorized access, protect sensitive data and intellectual property, and ensure the safety of workers through surveillance systems and access controls.

Electronic devices that focus on security encompass a wide range of technologies, including:

• Surveillance cameras.
• Access control systems (including keycards or biometric scanners).
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS).
• Biometric authentication devices (fingerprint or facial recognition).
• Security sensors (including motion, heat or sound).
• Electronic locks/control systems.
• Asset tracking systems.

Crystals and quartz crystal oscillators are essential in security device design, contributing to the stability, reliability, efficiency and resilience of security systems in various environments and operating conditions. Typical protocols utilized in security applications include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Z-Wave, Zigbee, Controller Area Network (CAN), RFID and GPS for location tracking.

Lighting Systems

Lighting is a crucial element in most industrial settings impacting task performance, quality control, safety, energy efficiency and environmental control.

Industrial lighting can extend to many end-use cases, such as:

• LED (Light-Emitting Diode) fixtures.
• Smart lighting.
• Motion-activated lights.
• Lighting control systems.
• Solar-powered lights.
• Emergency lighting.
• Lighting sensors and accessories.

Crystals, quartz oscillators and real time clocks contribute to the stability, reliability and capabilities of industrial lighting systems. Frequency control is there again, created by crystals, quartz oscillators and real time clocks to execute commands, precisely trigger functions without interruption and record accurate data.

Building Automation Systems

Building automation systems (BAS) provide smart control and connectivity necessary to optimize building operations. Building automation systems (BAS) encompass a wide range of electronic devices designed to automate and control various building systems such as:

• Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)
• Building Management System Controllers (BMS)
• Thermostat and HVAC controllers
• Lighting control systems
• Access control systems
• Energy Management Systems (EMS)

These centralized systems require what frequency-based solutions are known for: giving commands, synchronizing events and transmitting data, so that every process is controlled from one location. Real time clocks are also typically used in BAS systems to keep time even when specific infrastructure shuts down.

Use High-Quality Quartz Oscillators and More for Comprehensive Factory Applications

It is not just industrial automation components and equipment that benefit from frequency control solutions, and it is not just factories that thrive when key structural systems are implemented for safety, comfort and effective operations. Commercial buildings in general, including offices, retail stores and other places of business can benefit, as well.

However, there are manufacturing-facility-specific instances where the highest quality timing solutions are needed. Look for these characteristics when selecting your frequency-control solutions for industrial automation products and the infrastructure that facilities require:

• Shock and vibration resistance, which should be considered for designs where durability is of the utmost importance
• A long operational lifespan to protect against environmental factors that industrial facilities experience
• Extended temperature range capability for facilities with a fluctuating temperature range, such as a component that is located close to machinery that gives off heat
• High precision, stability and low frequency drift, in the case of applications that require data processing and communication

Industrial designs require frequency-control components that benefit a diverse set of applications. Known for comprehensive solutions across a wide range of industries, ECS Inc. offers a broad portfolio of crystals, quartz crystal oscillators and more that meet facilities’ needs and support industrial equipment with the most stringent requirements.