Hi Everyone! Glad to have you on board. Thank you for clicking this read. In this post today, I’ll cover the Role of Cloud Computing in IoT.
Digital transformation has gained momentum in the past few years, the reason traditional technologies are becoming obsolete over time. Now organizations are incorporating modern technologies into their business model at an accelerated pace. These technologies produce the influx of data and at times it becomes very difficult to process and handle that data, thanks to cloud computing that has made the handling of data easy and effective. You don’t need traditional data centers anymore to store and process information. Everything will be taken care of remotely in the cloud with data centers.
Not to mention, this is the era of automation. Companies strive to accommodate automation in the activities of their business so they can achieve maximum output without the interference of humans. And this trend complements the arrival of IoT (internet of things). The IoT is nothing but a data source and cloud computing is used to store and process that data. We’ll touch on this further in this article.
Scroll on.
Both cloud computing and IoT are separate terms but can work together for better efficiency and productivity. The former is an architecture that offers on-demand computing resources to the end-users to process, store and handle data over the internet while the latter is a technology that acts as a data source from where data is produced. In simple words, IoT (internet of things) is a network of ‘things’ like physical objects, humans, and machines connected and collect and exchange data in real-time through embedded sensors. For instance, a human with a heart monitoring device and a car with sensors that send an instant alert to the driver for any danger fall under the umbrella of IoT.
According to Statista, “the total Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices worldwide is expected to reach 30.9 billion units by 2025, compared to 13.8 billion units that were expected in 2021.”
This projects that billions of devices connected will produce enormous data which makes cloud computing a major part of the IoT technology. Both IoT and cloud computing are inseparable and make an effective integration. In the following, we’ll stretch on this further.
As touched on earlier, IoT devices are connected with each other and can produce a flood of data that needs to be handled and processed somewhere. Cloud computing serves that purpose. If IoT devices are connected with traditional data centers, it takes a capital investment to install, manage, scale and upgrade machines on-premises to handle that data. While with cloud computing, virtual infrastructure is created that allows the developers to access and handle computing resources remotely without having to worry about the management of on-site IT infrastructure.
There are cloud service providers that offer cloud computing services to end-users. The common service providers include AWS (Amazon Web Services), Google Cloud, and Alibaba Cloud. The computing capabilities they offer are virtually endless that can effectively process and store the information produced by IoT devices. These providers commonly offer pay-as-you-go service which means you can scale up or scale down the resources as per the requirement of connected IoT devices.
Cloud computing and IoT are not the same but they complement each other. The following are the main advantages of combining IoT data with cloud computing infrastructure.
Security is the top priority for any organization to run its business activities successfully. And when companies use cloud computing to their advantage, it gives them a sense of security because your data is processed and stored in remote data centers managed globally. The cloud service providers have a network of servers located at multiple locations which means your data is not stored at one data center, instead, the system creates files of your data at multiple locations in different data centers. If one server goes down, you can get a copy of data from another server.
Whether you pick private cloud or public cloud is another parameter to guarantee the security of your sensitive data. This is how it works – companies use the public cloud for storing a large amount of data and the private cloud to process sensitive data locally. If you want to keep your IoT safe and secure, you can pick a private cloud for this purpose.
Cloud makes IoT data easily accessible which means you can remotely access information produced by IoT devices from anywhere in the world. Quick and on-spot data access is crucial when it comes to monitoring information gained by connected IoT devices. In IoT technology, we often get continuous readings from the attached sensors and that readings need to be stored and monitored quickly to make instant decisions.
To stretch this further, you can even use edge computing (which is the extension of cloud computing) to your advantage for handling IoT data. The difference between edge computing and cloud computing is the time it takes to process the information. In edge computing, data doesn’t go to the cloud, instead, it goes to the edge device installed near the data source which takes less time to process it.
IoT-based businesses often pick cloud computing to speed up their business operations. Since on-site IT infrastructure is costly and requires up-front payment for the management of traditional data centers. While cloud models remove the hassle of hardware maintenance and give you the flexibility to pick the pricing package best suitable for your business needs.
The following are the frequently asked questions when it comes to integrating IoT with cloud computing.
Technically speaking the answer is no and yes. NO, if you want to locally process your data in on-site IT infrastructure. YES, if you want to leverage the cloud since it’s preferable to pick the cloud model when there is a flood of information to be handled and stored.
There are four different cloud models named public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, and community cloud. You can pick any model based on your business needs and requirements. It all depends on the type of data you want to manage and store. For sensitive information to manage, you can prefer the private cloud model, and for non-sensitive, you can opt for the public cloud model. A hybrid model is another option that gives you the option to integrate both private and public clouds into your business.
It depends on the requirement of IT infrastructure. Do your current IT requirements constantly change over the year? Do local data centers cost you more? What is the type of data? The number of connected IoT devices? These are the main questions you need to ask if you need a cloud model or not. This cloud architecture is mainly suited for you if want cost-effective and reliable solutions to handle enormous data.
Technology is evolving and every business uniquely works to keep up with the pace of this technology.
Billions of devices are expected to be connected through IoT technology, the information produced by these devices is difficult to handle if you apply the traditional approach to handle and process that information.
As the demand to handle and manage a data grows, organizations will integrate cloud computing into their business models.
And on-demand availability with cloud computing is what makes this model more attractive since this way you can monitor and access your information remotely from anywhere in the world. This trend will complement the usage of more IoT devices in the cloud computing model.
It is safe to say that cloud computing is expected to open new and flexible opportunities for IoT-based businesses to handle, store and process a bulk of data.
That’s all for today. Hope you loved reading this article. If you’re unsure or have any questions, you can ask me in the section below. I’d love to help you the best way I can. Feel free to share your experience with the IoT and cloud computing integration. Thank you for reading this article.
However, today we will focus on the additive manufacturing technique and what you should look for during your search. Numerous businesses embrace the technology by delegating tasks to professional 3D printing services.
In the globally competitive environment, adding a supply partner to the company's value chain is the way to go because the technology is capital-intensive to implement. To help more businesses adopt the technology, we've created a simple guide to help them select the best 3D printing solutions partners.
Working with a 3D printing provider gives you direct exposure to a broad scope of 3D printing technologies. A 3D printing service can handle a wide range of industrial projects thanks to its extensive capabilities. As a result, one of the essential criteria in selecting the best 3D printing service for you is the wide variety of current technologies.
The service provider has significant expert knowledge in all technologies due to their broader technology scope. As a result, they can recommend and help consumers with the technology that will help them get the most out of their initiatives.
Choosing a 3D printing service isn't complete without considering the materials. Material considerations play an essential role in decision-making. Not all materials can be utilized successfully with all techniques.
Only some technologies can efficiently use solid materials. As a result, consider material availability when selecting a 3D printing service. The 3D printing service you hire should be experienced in printing with the required material.
The importance of design in 3D printing is frequently overlooked. While any design can be 3D printed, some can't be done well. Methods for additive manufacturing precepts should be used when designing for 3D printing.
A service agency must be aware of the difference and, as a result, strongly recommend or endorse design changes that are compatible with 3D printing. This compatibility can help customers save time, money, and materials while improving part effectiveness, longevity, and trustworthiness. As a result, choose a 3D printing service that specializes in design.
While contacting a 3D printing service with a wider variety of technologies is usually a good idea, it is not always the best option. Numerous service providers specialize in a specific area of expertise. This is commonly seen in medical and healthcare settings.
Medical implementations of 3D printing, as well as some aerospace implementations, must meet specific rules and regs. Service bureaus with FDA or ISO-approved amenities, technologies, materials, and procedures should be chosen for particular applications.
If you're working on a one-off 3D printing project, the 3D printing service you choose won't have an impact on your long-term work, product, or public image.
However, if you want to integrate 3D printing or outsource long-term work, finding the right 3D printing provider should be a priority.
Nowadays, more businesses across many industrial sectors adopt 3D printing as a viable alternative to subtractive manufacturing (acquiring machined parts online) and injection molding. We'll look at the benefits of 3D printing and how you can use this production method to benefit your company. Is it worthwhile to use 3D printing for your project?
One of the best aspects of 3d printing is the reduced labor costs. Operating costs heavily influence the quantity of money spent on building a structure. Whenever it comes to traditional manufacturing, production costs are incredibly high, and skilled machine operators are required. In 3D printers, however, all that is needed is for an operator to press a button, and the printer's automated process will take care of the rest. Furthermore, 3D printing is comparable to both small-scale and large-scale manufacturing.
Due to the speed and lower expenses of 3D printing, item life cycles are decreased. Organizations can improve and upgrade an item permitting them to convey better things in a more limited time.
3D printing permits the actual show of another item to clients and financial backers instead of passing it on to their minds, accordingly lessening the gamble of data being misconstrued or lost during communication.
It also enables low-cost test marketing, allowing prospective clients to provide feedback on a physical item without the risk of high upfront prototyping costs.
Traditional production techniques can lead to shoddy designs and, as a result, shoddy prototypes. Consider baking a cake where all of the ingredients are blended and mixed before being baked. If the ingredients were not extensively combined, the cake would have air bubbles or fail to bake thoroughly. The same thing can happen when using subtractive or injection techniques; quality isn't always guaranteed.
Because of the nature of 3D printing, it is possible to assemble a part or product step by step, resulting in improved design and higher quality parts/products.
Traditional manufacturing techniques are efficient at making dozens and dozens of identical items, but the models are devoid of life and repetitive.
While 3D printing allows designers to create unique models with limitless personalization, it also makes it easy to include unique features that customers demand. Meaning you can get precisely what you want after handing over your 3d printing quote to a form well-versed in this sector.
The majority of additive manufacturing's constraints relate to how to generate a print quickly enough to eliminate the need for support. As a result, developers are free to create intricate geometries and concepts.
3D printing is a cutting-edge technology that is preferable, cost-effective, speedier, more viable, adaptable, and environmentally friendly than previous generations. We currently reside in a fast-paced universe where everything needs to be done quickly, and 3D printing technology can help us turn our ideas to life; this is a massive advantage in the printing world.
JLCPCB (JiaLiChuang Co. Limited) is a worldwide PCB & PCBA Fabrication enterprise. It is a leading company in high-tech manufacturing products specializing in PCB and PCBA production. With over a decade of experience in PCB manufacturing JLCPCB has made over a million customers through online ordering by the customers of PCB manufacturing and PCBA production.
JLCPCB is a professional manufacturer of large-scale manufacturing of PCBs, well equipment, strict management, and superior quality. It deals with the production of all types of PCBs, Stencils, and SMT.
In this article, we are going to discuss widely how the company operates its ordering system of the PCBs by their customers for production through the online booking process.
Normally, SMT components are used in professional/industrial PCBs and JLCPCB offers the best SMT services. You should first check these JLCPCB SMT services to get an idea. Let me highlight its important points:
So, it's quite easy to order for manufacturing of Metal Core PCB on JLCPCB.
Ordering of PCB at JLCPCB is not a complicated process, since the system is user-friendly to every customer. The steps below show the steps to be followed when placing an order.
Register on the official site of JLCPCB, if you don’t have an account. if you already have an account just log in
After login into one account. It will display a home page with a quotation calendar that will display an ordering page. On the quotation calendar, the customer would be asked to enter the size of PCB which he/she requires, quantity, layers, and thickness of their choice
In this step, the customer is required to enter the PCB board details on the online calculator to get the price of the quoted items in step 2. Also, there is the minimum price which is the cheapest one for a particular PCB.
Then click to “Add your Gerber file” this will upload the file. There are written guidelines on how to generate different Gerber files in the best format on the well-known circuit design program found in the company industry. A very small customer ID is always added to the PCB ordered to distinguish the PCB order from all others.
If one wants to put it in a specific location you are required to indicate the location by adding a unique text like “PBCJLPBCJL”
The system will analyze the file Gerber to confirm the dimensions and layers of the board after uploading the Gerber file.
Then click the “Gerber viewer” to the design of the boards. Customers are advised to confirm the Gerber file carefully for any errors. After checking and confirming the errors and no problem is detected just click “save to cart” and continue to the next step
After saving to cart then click “add new item” if you want to order multiple PCBs repeat the same steps from the beginning as you add both of them to the cart.
Expand the cart and view all the details of the PCBs ordered, including the price of each one of them, its specifications, and all the number of PCBs ordered.
After viewing all the details in the cart and seeing all the PCBs you wanted click the “checkout securely” button
On the checkout, menu add your shipping address where are the PCBs are to be shipped. The country where the PCBs are shipped determines the rates. Also, the shipping options are found on the same page just below the address. The shipping methods available are DHL and Airmail both of them vary in their delivery time.
This is the payment method. JLCPCB offers two kinds of payment methods which include
When the order payment is made the company arranges the production where you can go through your “ACCOUNT” menu to track your order status.
Customers may sometimes feel the urge to add a new order to the existing order. This may be because may feel the items ordered are not enough or an increase in demand for the PCBs which were previously ordered
Here below we are going to go through the steps of how to add a new order to the existing order in JLCPCB.
STEP 1: log in to your account and locate the existing order.
When you log in the process will only go through if the existing order is still in the production process. If the order is finished and delivered you will not be allowed to add an order unless you make a fresh order.
STEP 2: You will open the ordering page, upload the Gerber file and add the items you want and click “combine”. Also, this will only appear if there is an extra shipping cost for the order added.
STEP 3: when you click “combine” a new order will be added to the existing order and you can check on its progress.
After placing your order and payment has been made successfully, you can track your order through your account on the company website. Let’s discuss the steps to track your orders.
Login to your account and account menu click order history. After clicking on order history it will direct you to a previously placed orders page where all your previous orders are listed indicating their current status
Once you open the product files column file review status will appear and also the order status in the order status column. Then click order details to learn more.
When you are put I am production-ready to be processed. Click the production progress to check the process.
Once the order has been put into production and processed shipment process takes place. Once the shipment process has started a shipment notification will be sent through your email advising you on the shipment status of your order and the shipping tracking number. One can also use the JLCPCB company website to track the parcel. While on the website click shipment tracking and all the details about your parcel and delivery time information will be displayed.
When the person ordering the PCBs does not specify on the solder mask bridge which is importantly required, it will be ignored. When doing the solder-resistance bridge a spacing between the pins needs to be 0.254mm and special notes on doing that are required.
Zip file attachments such as PDF files, EXCEL, DXF files, etc are ignored and PCB will be done according to the Gerber file provided. One should ensure the correct parameters are chosen and those needed to be converted into a Gerber file when placing your order. If otherwise, zip files attachment are important should be added to the remark field.
In the presence of plated slot or edge, they should not be longer than 6mm, and make a note about it when placing the order or the system will make it for you. In the case where no note is provided the company will assume it and make it in the normal process.
Since there is the use of different software by different clients to design the printed circuit board and the software where Gerber data is processed is not the same as the software used in designing the data it sometimes causes the software incompatibility problems to appear. Due to the reason of no warning notification when transferring and importing the data into the software so it is not easily noticeable and cannot be confirmed to the customers. This makes the company responsible for some of the problems caused by software incompatibility.
There are some marking that sometimes appears on the base material. This is because of some security issues and there is a way it can be removed. There is no track on which PCB will have the mark so all the PCBs have equal chances of having the marks. One should check from their side whether it is accepted while placing the order.
This tab is functional for reasons of reviewing the file quickly before paying for the order. Acts as the preview button on the website. At times the website causes errors when there is something wrong to display it exactly so it is advisable before placing the order to check the file carefully when you feel there is doubt.
The customer should ensure the v-cut line, cut out and millings are located on the same layer with the board outline. If not on the same layer with the board line it will not appear. It is advised when one is placing the order should check carefully because when it is missed due they are not in the same layer with the board outline the company will not be responsible.
When you want the silkscreen clear on the PCB board the width of the texts and space between letters should not be less than 0.15mm and a width of not less than 1mm. when outline is the font is made and the solid part is filled with lines the fillings then should not be less than 0.15mm. the company will not modify the silkscreen on the Gerber file but the text may be widened. If the text is not enough the company will not be responsible for any complaints made regarding unclear texts caused by nonstandard design.
JLCPCB company does not make 3 layer PCBs. If one orders a 4 layer PCB with a single inner layer, the company will process it with the 4 layer process directly and confirm with the customer again. So before placing an order confirm whether there is an inner layer miss or not.
This is the placing of orders same just as the previous one which had been successfully processed. With these orders, the company will not make any changes to the file which was used in the production. The customer should ensure not to leave any related note for the order to be changed while placing the order since the repeated order will not be checked manually by the engineers.
The board outline is used to show how the PCB will look like when made. So everything that needs to be included in the board should be cut out clearly on the board outline. You should avoid the least useful items to avoid confusion. When both the GKO layer and the GM1 layer are found on the Gerber file the engineers will ignore the GKO layer and make boards according to the GM1 layer. when GMI, GM2 or GM2, GM3, GM4 layers are in the Gerber file at the same time, engineers will go for the smallest number after the letter GM as the outline layer by default.
When you place an order to JLCPCB the JLCPCB panel will panel the order by default with the v-cut. JLCPCB only panels PCBs with rectangular and circle shapes. When you penalize the boards yourself but choose “Single PCB” when ordering, the numbers of designs/boards in the Gerber file should not be greater than 5, otherwise, we may cancel this order. If “Panel by Customer” has been chosen, the designs in the panelized Gerber file should not be greater than 10.
The remark field is used when you place your order so that you can leave a note in case of any import, but the company does not recommend the use of this option since all the orders with an English note will take a longer time to get through the audition process.
Large boards sometimes the company might consider them, but if the good board available can not meet the quantity like the one ordered on the website due to the high cost of production they will ship the good boards and refund the difference to you.
The recommended thickness design of boards outlined by the company is 0.15mm. in a case when the board is greater than 0.15mm the centerline will be followed to make the board outline
Orders missing crucial information such as the board outline, solder mask layer the order will be canceled out clearly during the audit process.
Orders beyond the company and engineers’ capabilities, will be canceled directly and an email will be sent to inform you about the reason. So before placing an order kindly check your file carefully before you pay for the order to save the loss due to the cancellation.
Order removal will not affect the functions of the boards if JLCPCB puts the order number at random or miss to remove. The removal of the order number will be refunded.
Easyeda is a free online tool that we provide to design the PCB, and you can place your order on JLCPCB easily and quickly. But if there is a manufacturer error due to the design error, we may not responsible for that.
When the silkscreen overlaps with the openings on the board surface, the principle of openings first will be put into consideration. we will ignore the silkscreen and make the openings on the boards only. In the case where you want to keep the silkscreen on the openings, kindly make a note in the remark column so that the company engineers and factories pay attention to it and meet the required standards.
solder mask clearance is larger than the copper pad it’s exposing, in most PCBs, these pads are known as Non-Solder Mask Defined pads (NSMD).
Some of the other components have another type of solder mask called Solder Mask Defined pad. Which has a clearance of solder mask that is smaller than the copper pad. One can suggest pad and solder mask clearance size in the datasheet when applying. One should ensure that at least 3 mils (0.076mm) of the mask will be printed on all sides of the copper pad. The reason is registration tolerance on the solder mask placement if the mask is smaller than the pad there are possibilities that the mask could move enough exposing bare substrate which will lead to bad results.
In the ordering system, there is no given option to add details on whether the board required has an SMD pad. If CAM engineers don’t get this kind of information the solder mask clearance for SMD pads will be enlarged to its default size.
When transferring SMD information to JLCPCB the following steps are used
On your account page in the ordering system, there is a text box called “PCB Remark”
Write a special instruction informing JLCPCB that your order design has an SMD pad
On clicking yes, the JLCPCB engineers will come up with a production file that is required to manufacture the PCB. When the production is put into consideration a check notification will appear where you can check and confirm it before reproduction. An email will be sent to you when the file is complete and ready for production. Download the processed Gerbers, pay attention to inspect the solder mask clearance for the SMD pads
and their able logistics partners make every step to deliver your PCBs faster.
JLCPCB is a good company since it provides great customer satisfaction, as long as you consider the time differences, and try to make orders with enough time to respond during your working days, and making orders, not near the weekend, they are well worth the money saved and the simple interface.
Their chat support is fairly good, and the assembly service is also mostly good.