Introduction
Network equipment in electroplating workshops averages less than 6 months of service life — not because of poor quality, but because the environment “eats” equipment. Acidic fumes, high humidity, and strong electromagnetic interference combine to kill standard commercial APs within a single quarter. A single outage costs tens of thousands of RMB, with annual losses exceeding one million.
In this real-world case, we helped a large automotive parts supplier achieve three results: extended equipment lifespan from 6 months to 3 years, kept the production line running for 2 consecutive years without a single network outage, and cut O&M costs by 35%.
Background
A large automotive parts supplier’s electroplating facility had long suffered from severe wireless signal interference, frequent equipment dropouts, and high transmission latency — seriously impacting production efficiency and quality stability. The workshop features high temperatures, high humidity, and exposure to acidic/alkaline gases and corrosive liquid splashes. Standard commercial networking equipment aged and failed rapidly, leading to enormous maintenance costs.
Challenges
The electroplating workshop faced three major communication pain points:
1. Harsh Environmental Erosion: Acidic/alkaline fumes and high humidity corroded network equipment interfaces and cabling, with standard equipment averaging less than 6 months of service life.
2. Dense Electromagnetic Interference: Large electroplating equipment, overhead cranes, and high-frequency power supplies generated intense electromagnetic noise that severely disrupted wireless signals, causing packet loss and transmission interruptions.
3. Mobile Communication Bottlenecks: AGVs and crane remote controls experienced frequent handover failures and packet loss, leading to delayed process parameter uploads and lagging control command execution — resulting in recurring production stoppages.
Solution
KAXA deployed a comprehensive “anti-interference + low-latency + high-stability” industrial wireless communication solution, addressing the electroplating facility’s unique environmental and operational challenges through a three-layer architecture:
– Workshop Network Coverage: KXA5100-5N industrial wireless APs were deployed at high positions throughout the workshop, strategically placed to maximize coverage across tank areas, crane passages, and loading/unloading zones. These APs feature IP67-rated enclosures that seal out corrosive gases and moisture, ensuring reliable operation in the harshest conditions. Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) automatically detects and avoids radar and other interference sources, maintaining clean, uninterrupted wireless channels. The result is continuous, seamless wireless coverage across the entire facility — eliminating dead zones and ensuring stable connectivity for all production equipment.
– Equipment-Level Reliable Access: KXC1100-5N industrial wireless clients were deployed at critical connection points, including electroplating equipment, overhead cranes, robotic arms, and PLC cabinets. These bridges establish high-bandwidth, low-latency dedicated links between mobile and stationary equipment, ensuring real-time data flow even in high-EMI areas. Fast roaming protocols enable millisecond-level handovers as equipment moves across the workshop, preventing packet loss and ensuring uninterrupted communication for time-sensitive control commands.
– Industrial Ring Network Backbone: KXS408 industrial switches were deployed in control cabinets and central monitoring rooms, forming a redundant ring network architecture. This design enables millisecond-level automatic failover — if any single point in the network fails, traffic is instantly rerouted through the backup path with zero impact on production. With industrial-grade surge protection, wide-temperature tolerance, and robust EMI shielding, the backbone ensures core transmission remains stable and interruption-free, even during power fluctuations or electrical noise spikes.
– Centralized Management: All APs across the facility are centrally managed by the KX-WLC5508 wireless controller, providing unified configuration, real-time monitoring, and centralized security policy enforcement. This allows the facility’s IT team to manage the entire wireless network from a single interface, simplifying maintenance and reducing troubleshooting time.
Results
– The production network achieved “zero-interruption” operation for over 2 years after deployment — no network-related production stoppages recorded since implementation.
– Communication latency for mobile operations such as crane remote control and AGV dispatching was significantly reduced, with handover packet loss rate below 0.1%, ensuring reliable real-time control.
– The modular architecture supports rapid integration of future production lines or equipment, with O&M costs reduced by approximately 35% compared to traditional cabling solutions — thanks to simplified troubleshooting, reduced hardware replacement frequency, and streamlined network management.
– Equipment lifespan extended from less than 6 months to over 3 years, dramatically reducing replacement costs and unplanned maintenance work.
– Remote monitoring and centralized management enabled the facility’s IT team to identify and resolve potential issues before they caused downtime, further improving overall production reliability.
Customer Testimonial
“Since deploying KAXA’s wireless solution, our electroplating line has never stopped due to network issues. Equipment lifespan extended from less than 6 months to over 3 years. It’s been a huge relief.”
