Arduino PLC vs ESP32 PLC vs Raspberry Pi PLC: Which to Choose Jul 6, 2026 Complete guide: How to choose an industrial controller Arduino PLC vs ESP32 PLC vs Raspberry Pi PLC: which one should you choose? Choose an Arduino based PLC (M-Duino, ATmega2560, no operating system)... Read more
RS485 troubleshooting: step-by-step bus fault diagnosis Jul 6, 2026 Most intermittent RS-485 faults (timeouts, CRC errors, garbage bytes) come from the physical layer, not from the code. Check the bus in this order: the real topology, the termination (about 60 Ω betwe... Read more
PLC Wiring Mistakes: The 10 That Destroy Your Panel Jul 6, 2026 PLC Wiring Mistakes: The 10 That Destroy Your Panel A panel working on the test bench doesn't mean it's wired correctly. We see it constantly in technical support: the integrator tests everything in t... Read more
Arduino Industrial Components: 7 You Should Never Install Jul 6, 2026 7 'Maker' Components You Should Never Install on the Plant Floor (and Their Industrial Equivalent) The maker ecosystem is the best automation school there's ever been. We say that with full knowledge ... Read more
Modbus RTU vs Modbus TCP vs OPC UA: Which to Use Jul 6, 2026 Use Modbus RTU for the field bus (RS-485, up to 1,200 m, one master and up to 247 slave addresses), Modbus TCP for the control network between PLCs, SCADA and HMIs (Ethernet, TCP port 502, several cli... Read more
From prototype to industrial production: 12 steps Jul 6, 2026 From prototype to industrial production: the 12-step checklist "The prototype already works. Now what?" It's the question I've been asked most often since we founded Industrial Shields in 2012. And th... Read more
CE marking for control panels: the integrator's guide for 2027 Jul 6, 2026 A control panel needs CE marking when you place it on the EU market or put it into service as a product. For a typical industrial panel, the panel builder applies the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU,... Read more
Open source PLC: 5 real case studies in industry Jul 6, 2026 Open source PLC: 5 case studies of machines that run on it There's a question every engineer asks before their first project with an open source PLC: "does anyone actually use this for real work?" It'... Read more
Node-RED vs CODESYS vs Arduino IDE: which to pick Jul 6, 2026 Complete guide: How to choose an industrial controller Node-RED vs CODESYS vs Arduino IDE: which one should you use to program your PLC? Use CODESYS when the team already works in IEC 61131-3 (Ladder,... Read more
8 Signs Your Prototype Isn't Production Ready Jul 6, 2026 8 signs your prototype doesn't have industrial reliability (the full audit) Your prototype works. That doesn't mean it will hold up on the plant floor. We're writing it this bluntly because it's the m... Read more