Anyone programming a machine control, filling out an inspection log directly at the equipment, or documenting a fault needs a device that can do two things at once: it must bring the right interfaces to the equipment, and it must withstand the environment in which maintenance actually takes place – dust, spray water, vibration, changing temperatures, and metal structures that swallow Wi-Fi signals. This article describes how mobile devices are connected to machines serially, via network, or wirelessly, what level of ruggedness maintenance staff on the shop floor actually need, how maintenance schedules and fault reports can be captured directly at the equipment, why Wi-Fi in halls with metal shelving is a topic of its own – and where explosion protection becomes necessary.
How Mobile Devices Connect to Machines and Equipment
In practice, three paths are available for connecting to machine controls and industrial equipment: the serial interface, a fixed network connection, and wireless radio technology. Which path fits depends on the specific equipment – older machine controls often still speak exclusively serial, while newer equipment additionally offers network or radio access.
Serial Interface (RS232)
Many machine controls and industrial devices still use the RS232 interface today for programming and monitoring, because it offers a stable and simple way to transfer data and allows technicians to read out diagnostic data and load software updates directly onto machine controls without depending on expensive special equipment. The RS232 protocol transfers data over a 9- or 25-pin cable and, according to the foundational explanation, allows reliable data transfer up to a distance of 20 meters – sufficient for most control cabinets and operator panels in production.
Since modern notebooks rarely still come with a serial interface from the factory, the page Laptop with a Serial Interface (RS-232) lists the Durabook models with a permanently built-in port: the Durabook Z14I carries two RS232 ports, the Durabook S15 one, and on the Durabook S14I a second RS232 port can be added to the existing one via a media-bay factory option. On the tablets, by contrast, RS232 is listed as an optional expansion module: on the Durabook R11 combined with RJ45 and a smartcard combo reader, on the Durabook U11I as an option (there RS232 is mutually exclusive with the USB 3.2 Type-A port), and on the Durabook R8 as a smartcard reader with RS-232/RJ-45 and USB3.2. Anyone interested in the technical background of the interface itself – DTE/DCE communication, null-modem and straight-through cables, DB9 and DB25 pinouts – will find it explained in detail in the article The RS232 Interface: What Is It?.
Network
Newer machine controls and equipment components are increasingly reachable over Ethernet. In our lineup, an RJ45 port is available wherever it is supplied as part of an expansion module – for example on the Durabook R11 in the combo module already mentioned with RS232 and a smartcard reader, or on the Durabook R8 in the module with RS-232/RJ-45 and USB3.2. For devices with a docking connector, a fixed network connection can additionally be established via a docking station at the workstation or in the maintenance office, while the device itself remains mobile at the equipment.
Wireless Connectivity
For wireless connectivity, the industry page Industry explicitly names RS232, Bluetooth, LTE, GPS, and a barcode reader as optional interfaces through which devices can be connected in an industrial environment. Bluetooth is used mainly for short distances to peripherals such as scanners or measuring instruments, LTE for connecting to higher-level systems outside the facility's own Wi-Fi, for example when fault reports need to be transmitted to a central maintenance system outside the hall. Which Wi-Fi generation a device carries for connectivity within the hall is a topic of its own and is addressed separately further below.
Why Maintenance Devices Must Withstand Oil, Swarf, Vibration, and Temperature Fluctuations
Maintenance staff don't work at a tidy desk but directly at the equipment – with oily hands, near swarf, and under vibration coming from running machines. A device meant to function reliably there therefore needs more than a normal office notebook. The industry page Industry puts it succinctly: "On the shop floor, ruggedness, availability, and clean integration count – not flashy specs," with typical stresses from "dust/vibration, changing temperatures, maintenance & inspection processes, documentation, and legacy peripherals".
Specifically, the industry page recommends a protection rating of IP53 or higher for manufacturing, which guarantees "not only protection against falling spray water, but also full protection against dust ingress and contact". This is documented concretely in the laptop comparison table: the Durabook S14I carries IP53, the Durabook Z14I IP65, and the Durabook S15 and Durabook S15AB each IP5X. According to the table, the S15, S14I, and Z14I additionally have port covers that protect connectors against ingressing dust and spray water – this row is not listed for the Durabook S15AB.
MIL-STD-810 certification is relevant for vibration and shock, as occurs near running machines. According to the comparison table, the Durabook S15, S14I, and Z14I are tested to MIL-STD-810H, among other things against "drops, shocks, vibration, rain, dust, altitude, frost/thaw, high/low temperatures, temperature shock, humidity"; the Durabook S15AB is tested to MIL-STD-810G against "drop, shock, and vibration". The models differ in drop protection: according to the table, the Durabook Z14I withstands drops of up to 180 cm, the S15 and S14I up to 120 cm, and the S15AB up to 90 cm.
The operating temperature range is also relevant in manufacturing, when devices move between cool storage areas, warm machine rooms, or unheated parts of the hall. According to the comparison table, an operating temperature range of −20 °C to 60 °C is confirmed for the Durabook S15, S14I, and Z14I; this row is not listed for the Durabook S15AB. What this range means in practice – such as the difference to storage temperature and the effect on the battery in cold conditions – is explained in detail in the article Operating Temperature: What −20 °C to 60 °C Means in Practice.
Capturing Maintenance Schedules, Fault Reports, and Inspection Logs Directly at the Equipment
Maintenance schedules, fault reports, and inspection logs can only be captured directly at the equipment if the device remains operable with gloves and in an environment with moisture or an oil film on the hands. According to the article Touch in Wet Conditions and with Gloves, an ordinary touch display is not readily suited for this: standard capacitive touchscreens are optimized for a bare, dry finger, while a switchable glove or rain mode adapts recognition specifically to these conditions. For data entry at the equipment, this means that a device with a corresponding operating mode makes capturing a maintenance log reliable even when technicians are wearing gloves or the display is wet.
Barcode and RFID capture are available for the unambiguous identification of machines, components, or inspection objects. The article Barcode and RFID Capture: Which Technology Fits When explains that RFID is only reliable to a limited extent in environments with a lot of metal – such as a workshop or a machine park – because metallic surfaces can reflect, shield, or interfere with the radio signals of RFID tags. A barcode label is not affected by this limitation as long as it remains optically readable – one reason why barcode capture is often the more dependable choice in metal-rich production environments. Barcode readers are available in our lineup as a factory option on several models; RFID modules can be retrofitted on, among others, the Durabook S14I, S15, Z14I, R11, R11L, and U11I.
Where maintenance logs need to be documented on a per-person basis, or access needs to be tracked in a controlled manner, for example at shift change, a smartcard reader with a TPM chip is an additional option: TPM 2.0 is present throughout the Durabook models according to the comparison tables, and a smartcard reader can be added as an expansion module or factory option on, among others, the Durabook R8, R11, R11L, and the Durabook S14I, as described in the article Smartcard Reader and TPM: Access Protection in the Field. A chip card can simply be removed at shift change, which locks the device immediately – practical when a maintenance device is used by rotating personnel.
Wi-Fi in Halls with Metal Shelving: a Topic of Its Own
If a maintenance device is connected via Wi-Fi instead of a fixed cable connection, the environment plays a bigger role than it might seem at first glance. The article Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 in Industrial Environments describes how shelving, machine housings, steel girders, and roller doors reflect and attenuate radio signals – this favors dead spots and multipath propagation, where a signal arrives at the receiver via multiple paths at different times. In addition, variable-frequency drives, motors, welding equipment, and other industrial equipment generate electromagnetic interference that can particularly affect the heavily used 2.4 GHz band.
Modern Wi-Fi standards counter this with additional spectrum and improved signal processing. According to the article mentioned, the Durabook S14I already carries Wi-Fi 7, as does the Durabook Z14I, the Durabook S15 carries Wi-Fi 6E, while the Durabook S15AB is still built on the older Wireless-AC generation (802.11ac). Among the tablets, the Durabook R10 is currently the only model to carry Wi-Fi 7, while the R11L, R11, U11I, and R8 carry Wi-Fi 6E. Importantly: a device with a newer Wi-Fi standard only delivers its benefits if the access points installed in the hall also support that standard – otherwise even a new device will only connect via the older, commonly usable frequency band.
Where Explosion Protection Becomes Necessary in Production
Not every production environment can get by with an ordinary rugged device. As soon as a work area must be expected to have an explosive gas, vapor, or dust atmosphere – for example in chemical processing, paint shops, oil and gas tank storage, or mills and silos with combustible dust – a high IP or MIL-STD rating alone is not enough. The article ATEX and Explosion Protection: When a Device Must Be Zone-Certified explains that this requires a separate, legally regulated certification under ATEX or IECEx, because an electrical device can itself become an ignition source – through a spark when plugging in a cable, through electrostatic charging, or through a surface becoming too hot.
Our own Ex variants are available in the RobustBook lineup for this purpose. According to its product page, the Getac EX80 is certified to "ATEX/IECEx Zone 0/20 and UL913 (Class I/II Division 1)" and additionally tested to MIL-STD-810G and IP67. According to its product description, the Durabook U11I-EX is "ATEX Zone 2/22 certified", with the Ex marking "Ex II 3G Ex ic IIC T4 Gc" for the gas area and "Ex II 3D Ex ic IIIB T135°C Dc" for the dust area. According to the ATEX article, the Getac F110-EX carries ATEX and IECEx certification for Zone 2/22 and is explicitly designated for specialists in oil and gas production, chemical processing, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. According to the same article, no specific zone rating is documented for the Durabook R8-EX, but it does have its own ATEX-marked accessories such as a dedicated protective case and screen protector.
Which device is actually certified for which zone, and which zone actually applies in your own production facility, can only be clarified using the respective product page and the company's own hazard assessment – a blanket assignment of "this zone fits that device" is deliberately not made here, because it cannot be derived from our own lineup. For operations that generally rely on rugged, dust-tight, and splash-protected devices without an Ex zone being present in the relevant production hall, the overview on Industry is the right starting point for the regular lineup.
Which Devices Are Suitable for Machine Control and Maintenance
For daily work on machine controls and maintenance, the industry page Industry recommends three models: the Durabook U11I tablet, the Durabook S15 laptop, and the Durabook S14I laptop – each with details on display, processor, memory, storage, battery life, and optional interfaces. For a direct comparison of all technical data – protection rating, drop protection, ports, Wi-Fi standard, battery, and temperature range – across the entire model range, the laptop comparison table and the tablet comparison table provide the full overview. Anyone wanting to know more about the RS232 interface itself, in addition to the serial connectivity aspect, will find the technical basics in the article The RS232 Interface: What Is It? and the model overview on the page Laptop with a Serial Interface (RS-232).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every machine control need a serial interface?
Not every one, but according to the article The RS232 Interface: What Is It?, many older machine controls, as well as some still in use today, continue to use RS232 for programming and monitoring, because a complete conversion to more modern interfaces can involve considerable effort. Which model offers the interface permanently built in or optionally retrofittable is shown on the page Laptop with a Serial Interface (RS-232).
Is IP53 sufficient for use in production?
According to the industry page Industry, RobustBook places value on a protection rating of IP53 or higher for manufacturing, offering full dust protection and protection against falling spray water. Whether that is sufficient for a specific location, or a higher rating such as IP65 makes more sense, depends on the actual stress profile of the respective workplace.
When is an ordinary rugged device no longer sufficient?
As soon as a work area must be expected to have an explosive gas, vapor, or dust atmosphere, an ordinary rugged device is no longer sufficient, according to the article ATEX and Explosion Protection – a separate certification under ATEX or IECEx is required here.
Why does Wi-Fi need to be planned differently in a production hall than in an office?
Because metal shelving, machine housings, and steel structures attenuate and reflect radio signals, and because industrial sources of interference such as variable-frequency drives or motors add further disruption, as described in the article Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 in Industrial Environments. A modern Wi-Fi standard only helps if the access-point infrastructure in the hall is designed accordingly as well.
The Two Requirements Machine Control and Maintenance Place on a Device
Machine control and maintenance in production place two different requirements on a mobile device at the same time: the right interface to the equipment – serial, network, or wireless – and a build that withstands dust, spray water, vibration, and changing temperatures directly at the point of use. Maintenance schedules, fault reports, and inspection logs can only be captured reliably directly at the equipment if touch operation, barcode or RFID capture, and access control fit the respective work environment. Wi-Fi in halls with metal shelving is a planning topic of its own, and as soon as an Ex zone is present, no IP rating, however high, replaces a proper ATEX or IECEx certification. An overview of the regular rugged lineup for industry is provided on the page Industry, and the complete technical comparison of all models on the laptop comparison table and the tablet comparison table.
If you have questions about the right equipment for machine control and maintenance in your production facility, the RobustBook team will be happy to help you choose the right model.