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Hi All.

We are looking at adding WiFi coverage into our manufacturing factory.

The factory is primarily metal construction (walls, roof, beams etc). The area we need to cover contains a lot of machinery (CNC, metal working machines, saw’s etc) and also metal / wood storage - along with heating / ventilation / extraction ducting - as well as being quite a dusty environment due to the nature of the work.

Size wise, the area is approx. 30m x 15m.

In our office block we are using Cisco WAP321 access points, which work fine - however i suspect these wont be ‘industrial’ enough for the factory due to the metal.

So, I’m looking for suggestions on which access points (and how many) to go for? I’d prefer to stick with Cisco as a manufacturer, and don’t want to spend a fortune on this! Coverage doesn’t need to be amazing, as only a few devices will be connected to it.

Thanks

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It’s only a small area - you should be able to get away with a single WAP. Mount it high, and point the aerials correctly to get good coverage. I’d also mount it in a plastic box so that you keep the dust out.

Depending on the layout, you may need to add a second unit if there’s not good coverage - for example a lot of metal racking which will attenuate the signal. But I’d try with a single unit to start & see where you get to.

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That’s not a big deal, hang it in the middle of the room of the ceiling but below all the metal and duct work, so its suspended in mid air, unobstructed, and one should easily cover that area. Ubiqity Ap-AC-Pro’s are sort of great for that because there are no open vents for dust/water to get into and provide good seal all around, or you could get another wap and put it in a container of some kind - that should be fine as well.

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If you are in a dusty environment, I would suggest an IP rated device that starts with e “6” for example IP67. This means, there is No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact (dust tight). The E500 is a good alternative here for less than $400. Output power on the device is higher than typical which means better range (~700 ft / 210 m range), this is good if you go with a single AP deployment.

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It can be done. We’ve covered massive warehouses with only a few Ubiquiti UniFi APs, and it has worked well. Like others have mentioned, the signal strength and how well wifi works will depend on where you place the APs and how much interference there is from metal devices in the shop. You can start with 1 and see how things go and then add another if the signal strength is not good enough or there is too much interference. Just don’t think that by adding a second / third AP it will fix the problem automatically. Make sure signals don’t overlap too much and that you’ve made sure each AP is on a different channel. Stay away from long range rated APs out in shops with a bunch of obstructions. What you don’t want is a really good signal but poor wifi service / speeds.

You could start with one AP at one end of the building mounted high up on a beam and see how good coverage is. That way if you put another AP in there it can go at the other end of the building / far enough away to not cause too much overlap. Putting them too close together will cause issues.

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That kind of an environment can be challenging to do it right: having enough coverage inside, and zero leakage outside.

If it were me, I’d hire in a firm specialising in wifi installations. Their costs would not be zero, but you’d get a professional job done.

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I have several factories all with full wifi coverage and also the warehouses done the same, all similar construction to yours. I use Cisco kit in there and specifically these: Cisco Aironet 1600 Series Access Point Data Sheet - Cisco
Make sure you get the ‘e’ model as it has additional dust protection and works better in slightly harsh environments. They’ve been in place for about 3 years and I’ve not replaced any so far. If you know how to do a wireless survey then make sure you do that first, if not then please pay for someone to do one because it makes a huge difference.

One of my factories is about the same size as yours and I went for slight overkill with 2 points, both mounted on a roof beam and both roughly a 3rd of the way in from the wall, one the front wall and one the back. They give full coverage individually so if one goes down the other can keep working, this is important in a factory because you can’t stop production to get a big hoist up to replace it very easily. With 2 it means things keep working and the replacement can be scheduled around production.

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We have a very similar environment, but the factory is a bit larger. We had no issues using Cisco 1100 series Aironet APs. Like Pictuelle said, make sure they are mounted below the ductwork and metal girders on the ceiling and you should be fine. If you only need coverage in certain area, place the APs there and see how it goes.

We’re now using Meraki APs and have no issues with those, either.

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I’ve done a few warehouses and loading docks with Symbol/Motorolla wifi gear. All that metal isn’t a big deal, as other s have already noted, just set it below the duct work so it’s mostly open space. between it and the floor. one of the things you didn’t mention was how many devices you were going to have using the wifi, this is as big an issue for the number of AP’s a the physical space to cover.

Set up your first AP dead center of the open area, then do a walk around and check signal strength and quality in the places you know you need coverage. If you find you have certain areas that need a little more coverage, you can install more AP’s, to shore up the weak spots.

I like to use directional antenna on the ends of the building pointing in, and one or two in the center depending on the length of the building in question.

These are cool if you are already using ubiquity an just need a small area covered. UniFi - Introduction - Ubiquiti

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Just remember, if a standard access point can’t reach your device because of all the metal, your device isn’t going to be able to talk back to one that could. You could violate some FCC regs and make an access point that could transmit 3x what a standard one will, but it will never receive anything back because the end points are still transmitting at the same standard power.

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Stay away from consumer kit (the entire Linksys range.) Cisco / Meraki is certainly an option, but the pricing is kind of high for what you get.

We’ve deployed wireless in a number of heavy manufacturing environments - the signal is fine until someone starts up some large machine when you go from 5 bars to zero due to the heavy interference these machines can cause. To overcome this you need to pepper the facility with APs. We found the low-cost of the Ubiquiti APs and simple central management make this an affordable solution. As others mentioned, stay away from the long range models. The UAP-AC-Lite models have worked well for us. Keep in mind that these are 24V passive PoE units, so either use Ubiquit’s PoE switches, deal with a ton of injectors, or inline 802.3af adapters with a regular PoE switch. While I like the Ubiquiti switches, they have a crappy warranty and no option for support contracts. They are cheap enough to just replace though as needed (I’ve never had one go bad.)

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One option that I’ve used before for extreme environments (manufacturing, metal forges, industrial freezers, etc) is to mount the APs outside of the harsh environment or in a box way up high and then run antennas to the area where you need coverage. This will allow your AP device to have normal temp/humidity and be free of dust. Just get some heavy duty outdoor antennas and mount them down low at the 8-10 foot range where people are going to be working.

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If I were you I would keep using what you have an just invest in a couple industrial grade enclosures for them.

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I have been using Aruba instant access points for 5 years in a very similar environment with laser cutters and metal grinding and Welding as well as CNC machines. They have run Rock Solid and the metal dust never bothered them. In your environment 3 should do the trick. Sometimes HP runs a deal where you can buy 3 and get 2 for free which would give you a couple of extra. If you want to talk to my vendor just let me know and I can put you in contact with the one who got me the deal on these. Annual support is only about 28 bucks per device if you want to keep them under maintenance which is really nice. They are very responsive when you call.

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We have Aruba WAPs all over the place. Now we are a medium size protein processing facility and distrubution center( DC). So we have a lot of SS equipment and about 700 employees. The processing plant is a constant 40F and the DC is set at 37F or lower and freezer are about 100’ long. We have Aruba 270 series in the freezer area and they do great. Our storage is full of frozen food in metal racks and 1 foot thick insulated walls. We have no problem with the signal reaching all areas in there. I am currently using 4 units to cover over 15,000 sqft (1394m2). The units are placed outside the freezer for easy access so we are only using about 2/3 of the coverage area. The virtual controller is a nice touch and easy to use. Just make sure you have a POE+ switch that can power the 270.

Based off what I have I’d say one IAP270 would work fine. Mount it in the middle or even close to middle and your coverage should be fine. If you do go with Aruba then make sure you have a good VAR to assist you. I use Barcodes Inc and they are outstanding. PM me if you want my contact.

Hope this helps.

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Alcyone92 I believe it’s probably correct. A single one may very well be all you need. The only problem I have ever had was related to Too Much bouncing signal, and I had to turn power down and remove an access point to resolve it. Take obstructions into consideration. If you have high shelving with boxes that keep the signal from spreading throughout the environment you may need more than one, but otherwise for the space one should be enough.

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I used Aerohive APs to cover the manufacturing floor of about 200x50 ft. building. The industry was hot tubs, so moisture was a major factor. Also, its in Phoenix, so heat was a major factor. At worst, one AP and range extenders should work fine.

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I would start with one in the middle and go from there. If it is high enough, you should be fine. At my workplace, we use Ruckus, we have a single AP in a large cafeteria environment and it covers that one area easily, even with 125+ clients using it. but YMMV depending on electrical interference and equipment blockage.

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As an MSP we use Xirrus access points. I see one accessory made for mounting to an I beam and an air filter kit. It can be seen in this PDF. Xirrus makes a number of large area AP’s and you should be able to find one to match the space. They can be a bit pricey, but the cloud management portal makes them very easy to maintain.

http://www.optrics.com/downloads/xirrus/Xirrus_Accessories_DataSheet_030813.pdf

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Don’t do what I’ve some some facilities do that couldn’t secure it to a beam… they just suspended it from the ceiling, with the data cable that it was connected to.

You can suspend it from the ceiling if needed, but use a bracket that has some kind of metal cabling. Doesn’t have to be super strong, WAPs are light.

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