Cool Tools for Industrial IoT Sensor Monitoring

Wait, what?

I might need actual, physical hand tools to do Industrial IoT (IIoT)?!?

Uhh, yeah. Yep.

The ‘T’ in IIo’T’ stands for ‘Things’ and those Things exist in the Real World (like the flow meter in the manhole photo from one of our customers).

IoT for Your Real World - that's the whole point, isn’t it?

To work on the actual hardware that actually gathers the data that ends up all virtual and in the clouds, you’ll need to use your hands.

And physical tools. At the request of one of our favorite IoT customers (hey, you’re ALL our favorite customer, who are we kidding?) — We're starting this series on the crucial tools to do the work we do.

First up, the absolutely crucial, can’t do this work without them, basics that we use almost every day.

Let's start talking about screwdrivers, pliers, and all of the other nifty tools you'll need to work with Industrial IoT sensor systems that save your time and your money while increasing your organization's effectiveness.

I can’t live without my set of Wiha precision screwdrivers.

And yes, quality matters in screwdrivers.

These are made from a very tough, hard tool steel that does not warp or chip under stress, even though they are tiny. Must have. I bought this as a set with the pliers, on Amazon. The bundled standard-size needle nose pliers are very nice, incredibly high quality, and come in handy often.

My only complaint about them is the handle can be irritatingly bulky when working in tight spaces. The sadly crummy, but unfortunately essential organizer/folder is also on Amazon. If I could get a nicer one, made from tougher canvas or maybe even leather, I think I’d spring for it.

You can see this one is suffering after 4 years of field and shop work, and will probably fall apart within another several months. The screwdrivers are fine though. If you already have a nice needle nose pliers (and you really should), you can instead get a set with 8 screwdrivers AND the crummy organizer, at a slightly better package price.

I’ve never missed that 8th screwdriver — I think it’s a larger Phillips, which frankly I prefer in a Klein (more on those in an upcoming article) because as the screws get bigger, the requisite torque usually goes up too, and these little Wiha handles are not great for applying a bunch of torque.

These three are not offered as a set, as far as I’m aware. But we own at least 3 sets like this, with a couple extras of the cutter because it needs to be at hand all over the shop.

Unlike the Wiha screwdrivers, these pliers are relatively inexpensive, despite their near perfection and incredible utility.

The Precision Cutter, CHP-170. You just need this. Maybe more than one.

The Tiny, Flat-Point Needle Nose, CHP PN-2007.

These perfect, incredibly useful needle nose pliers are also available with a sharp-point nose, PN-2005, or as flat point with no interior serrations, PN-2008.

You might want all three, but I think the PN-2007 is the most generally useful. Whenever your own fingertips seem a little too awkward or bulky or weak (or sensitive to heat!) these pliers are super handy.

Holding wires while you solder them, pushing tiny wires into tiny screw terminals, straightening out small kinks in solid stripped wire, or holding a tiny hex nut while you turn the matching screw with your terrific Wiha screwdriver!

AWESOME little wire stripper, the CHP CSP-30–1 — this makes quick and perfect work of stripping insulation off tiny wires, from 30 AWG (smaller than the interior of ethernet, think breadboard jumper wires) and up to 20 AWG. You’ll need a bigger one too, but those are a dime-a-dozen (though we do have a favorite, which we’ll show in another future article about bigger tools for Industrial IoT).

Before we wrap up this first article in the Physical Tools series, how many of you noticed the compass in the 1st image?

We carry a nice lensatic (mirror) compass with angle indicator in the field all the time.

It does two things for us:

• Helps us orient solar panels (both southerly AND appropriate tip/angle for latitude)
• The mirror helps look underneath stuff, like the flowmeter-in-the-mud photo, which had all the data connections on the bottom, right against the mud

The exact compass model in this link is for the northern hemisphere and includes American units for map navigation. Depending on where you are, it may or may not suit you.

They’re available for global (Northern and Southern) use, with adjustable declination if that level of accuracy matters to you, and of course with metric map units.

In any case, try to get a decent one with the mirror and the inclinometer (lean angle gauge) built in.

Quick Question

Did this story help you better understand or deploy Industrial IoT monitoring systems?

What we showed here is the real deal of what happens in the actual world of Industrial IoT / IIoT.

We've learned these things over the years through our experiences with customers monitoring water, air, and anything else with Tools.Valarm.net. We're sharing these tips and tricks with you in hopes that this helps you more effectively monitor what you need to monitor, whether it's flood warning systems, water wells, vehicles, or anything else.

Have a look at our IoT Customer Success Stories page to see more real world examples of how this all works in the field by taking advantage of Tools.Valarm.net a.k.a. Valarm Tools Cloud.

And please don't hesitate to get in touch with me at Info@Valarm.net if you've got any questions.