Imagine a machine supplier called “EfficiMonit LLC”. Their machines receive some kind of input and process it into a desired output, across multiple stages of functioning.

When building their equipment, the folks at “EfficiMonit LLC” installed sensors for these sections.
For this example, we’ll only focus on:

- Retrieving PLC data from a Siemens S7 device and  
- Gathering energy data from a Modbus-enabled device.  

A lot more could potentially be gathered. 

STEP-BY-STEP

1. Downlload coreflux hub  + Coreflux mqtt broker (on local device)

The first step is to install a Coreflux Hub on the machine’s edge device, which enables a free, out-of-the-box local MQTT Broker.
It will serve as the single source for this specific machine’s data.

2. Install S7-2-MQTT Connectors + Modbus Connectors on local edge devices

Installing an S7-2-MQTT Flux Asset and configuring it for the machine’s Siemens PLC will grant access to the variables within.
The same goes for installing theModbus-2-MQTT in relation to the energy elements (assuming the machine has these capabilities).
This data is moved onto the Coreflux MQTT Broker running on the edge device, making it available on a single source.

3. Slack Connector for alerts and notifications

At this point, “EfficiMonit LLC” can already install and configure additional functionality with Coreflux.
For example by implementing a Slack Connector to send notifications whenever the PLC raises an alarm event.

4. MSSQL-2-MQTT Connector to register values

“EfficiMonit LLC” needs a database linked to this system for:

- registering values,
- acting as an historian,
- allowing the querying of values across multiple periods and locations.

For this, an MSSQL-2-MQTT Connector is used.

5. Secure MQTT Bridge Connector to funnel data to/from future sources

The next step will be to move the data forward, integrating the machine with the client’s software infrastructure (historic databases, ERP/MES/CRM, etc.).

This is done by installing an MQTT Bridge, which allows moving the data securely with encryption and/or certificates.

6. MQTT Bridge Connector - Coreflux Online MQTT Broker

In this case, “EfficiMonit LLC” went a step further.
They decided to move the data even further into an , thus making the data available securely at a global scale (for example, to be consulted online by a proprietary app).

The team subscribed a free 7-day Trial of the Coreflux Online MQTT Broker so they could test the system with no cost compromises.

Next, they installed an MQTT Bridge, like on the version, and pointed it towards the Online Broker.

7. Coreflux - 3rd party dashboards for visualization KPI´s

Coreflux is currently developing a solution (alpha) to process data before uploading (in case you which to save in cloud processing costs).
It can also be directly fed into:

- Dashboards;
- Data analysis tools;
- Automation tools.
- Digital twins