Articles

Tablet Operating System: Windows or Android? Selecting between Windows and Android for your industrial tablet depends on your specific workflow, software ecosystem, and long-term operational goals. Both platforms offer rugged durability and strong connectivity, but they differ in performance, integration, and cost considerations. Windows Tablets…

Read More Android Tablet vs Windows Tablet: Which Operating System is Better?

In industries where equipment is exposed to constant washdowns, high-pressure cleaning, corrosive chemicals, or outdoor weather conditions, a standard panel PC simply won’t survive. That’s why waterproof industrial PCs have become essential across any industries that do work in, or create these harsh environments. Choosing…

Read More Choosing the Right Waterproof Panel PC

Introduction As industrial networks expand to support more devices, data sources, and connectivity to enterprise systems, network segmentation becomes critical. Without it, broadcast domains grow uncontrollably, traffic becomes congested, and troubleshooting turns into a nightmare. Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) provide an elegant solution. By…

Read More VLANs in Industrial Networks — Segmenting Traffic for Performance, Security, and Reliability

Introduction Unlike unmanaged switches that simply forward Ethernet frames, managed industrial switches provide fine-grained control and monitoring capabilities to help engineers shape, prioritize, and protect traffic on control networks. Features like storm control, Quality of Service (QoS), VLANs, and redundancy protocols ensure that time-critical data…

Read More Managed Network Switches in Industrial Automation: How Storm Control, QoS, and Advanced Features Optimize Network Performance

Introduction In Industrial Ethernet networks, reliability is everything. PLCs, HMIs, drives, and I/O modules rely on timely and consistent communication to maintain process control and safety. One of the most common—but often overlooked—threats to this reliability is the broadcast storm. Broadcast storms occur when excessive…

Read More Storm Control in Industrial Networks — Preventing Broadcast Floods and Protecting PLC Communications

Introduction In a modern industrial environment, Ethernet networks are the nervous system connecting every part of the operation—from PLCs and drives on the plant floor to SCADA and MES systems in the control room. As production lines grow more complex and connected, network visibility becomes…

Read More Monitoring and Diagnostics in Industrial Networks by Enabling Visibility, Predictive Maintenance, and Reliability

Introduction Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), drives, and sensors must exchange control data within precise time intervals. Even small variations in latency can cause jitter, disrupt synchronization, or trigger system faults. However, as modern plants integrate more devices—vision systems, data loggers, HMIs, and cloud gateways—the shared…

Read More Quality of Service (QoS) in Industrial Networks — Prioritizing Control Traffic for Deterministic Performance

Introduction In industrial automation, downtime isn’t just inconvenient—it’s expensive. Whether you’re running a bottling line, an oil processing system, or a semiconductor fab, even a few seconds of lost communication between controllers, drives, and I/O can halt production, damage equipment, or compromise safety. That’s why…

Read More Redundancy and Link Aggregation in Industrial Networks — Designing for Continuous Operation and High Availability

Rugged Design for Harsh Environments In the Oil & Gas industry, where operations are often spread across remote sites and harsh environments, reliable and efficient automation is critical. To meet these demands, Maple Systems HMIs provide a powerful solution by enabling easy integration with multiple…

Read More HMIs for Oil & Gas: Multi-Protocol Integration Without External Converters

“We may be a smaller company, but with Maple Systems in our corner, we’re ready to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the dairy CIP automation market.” Jake Emitte, Operations Manager, Double A Dairy Benefits of using a Maple Systems HMI The bright, high-resolution 15.6” display…

Read More Double A Dairy improves milk quality

In today’s data-intensive industrial landscape, enterprise network performance is a critical driver of productivity and business continuity. While traditional copper-based Ethernet cabling has long served as the standard for local area network (LAN) connections, it is increasingly reaching its limits regarding speed, distance, and environmental…

Read More When to use a Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) module

“We’ve had a great experience. Maple Systems is now our go-to HMI platform. We appreciate how user-friendly the IDE is and how it speeds up development. The flexibility of the platform have made it a natural fit for our product line.” Joe Bailey, Director of…

Read More GLX Technologies improved productivity using Maple Systems HMIs