IndustrialPilot design rev A frozen (6 units), production v1 specified; not built, nothing run on a real machine yet

MachineState

Clip-on machine-uptime monitor that reads the stack light, with no wiring into the machine

Reads a machine's existing stack light (or Haas pendant beacon), texts a named person when the machine has been idle for 20 minutes or in alarm for 5, and sends a run-time report at 6 pm, without any electrical or network connection to the machine.

Who buys it: Owner of a small CNC or job shop.
Why it pays: Not yet quantified in the design docs: the value is idle stops noticed in minutes instead of hours, and real run hours and utilisation per machine. The 30-day demand test checks whether shops will pay $19 per machine per month.
Target price: $19/machine/month (demand-test price)
First-minute wow: Strap a clip on the stack light, plug in USB, and about 10 minutes later the shop owner gets a text when that machine stops.

See the CAD design Full product page

MachineState concept: the idea and where each part goes — The concept. The CAD design is below, under Printable CAD.

What the research found

And how this design answers it

Wiring into a machine control is risky and slow → optical sensing of the stack light only; the hardware has no outputs
Small shops have many tower sizes → strap-on clips for 40/50/60/70 mm towers, plus caps for the Haas pendant beacon
Flashing and steady lamps mean different things → 50 Hz sampling decided over a 2 s window; configurable colour map per machine
Shop lighting and neighbouring tiers leak light → black hood on the lens, baffle lips, per-lamp learned on/off levels, room-light reference sensor
A device on a flat shop network is a foothold → outbound TLS only, unique per-device credentials, optional own 4G router
Haas machines have a single colour-changing beacon → VEML6040 RGBW colour sensor and a Haas colour preset

Use case

A machine sits idle mid-shift

Shop ownerMachine operatorMachineState nodeAlert server

01Trigger: a CNC finishes a cycle and its stack light goes amber, or a Haas beacon flashes green waiting for the operator
02Detection: the node classifies each lamp as on, off or flashing and publishes every change; the server counts idle time in shift hours
03Alert: after 20 minutes idle (5 minutes in red alarm) the named person gets an SMS or WhatsApp; a "running again" note follows
04Action: the operator restarts the machine; the 6 pm report shows run hours, idle hours, utilisation and the longest stop per machine

Outcome: Stops are seen within minutes instead of at the end of the shift, with true run-time figures per machine (payback not yet measured)

How it works

Architecture

01
Sense: one ALS-PT19 phototransistor per tower tier in a black clip hood, or a VEML6040 colour sensor on a Haas beacon
02
Decide: firmware samples at 50 Hz, learns per-lamp levels and decides on/off/flash each second
03
Send: MQTT over TLS to a Mosquitto broker with per-device ACLs (Wi-Fi or optional 4G router)
04
Tell: Node.js rules server sends idle, fault and offline alerts by Twilio SMS/WhatsApp and a 6 pm run-time report

Hardware

Real parts, buyable today

Bill of materials: about $47 per machine at 100 units and $36 at 1,000 (production v1, est.).

Block	Part	Why this part
Controller (pilot)	M5Stack AtomS3 Lite (ESP32-S3)	Ready-made module for 6 pilot units; rated only to 40 °C
Controller (production)	ESP32-C3-MINI-1-N4 on a custom 2-layer board	Industrial temperature (−40 to 85 °C), pre-certified module
Lamp sensor	Everlight ALS-PT19 phototransistor	Simple on/off reading of each tier through a hood
Haas colour sensor	Vishay VEML6040 RGBW (I2C)	One beacon changes colour, so colour is needed
Power	UL-listed 5 V USB adapter	No wiring into the machine; plugs into an outlet

Mechanical

Printable CAD

9 parts, generated from code and checked as closed solids. Pick a part to inspect it, or download the STL files to print.

See the CAD parts render

MachineState printable parts, rendered from the CAD — Render of the printable parts from the actual CAD. Not yet printed or photographed.

Loading the CAD…

Real CAD · drag to rotate · scroll to zoomReal CAD · swipe sideways

Open risks we are working on

Light leaking from a neighbouring lit tier must be checked on a real tower (pass: lit and unlit at least 3× apart)
Haas beacon diameter and colour ratios are not published and must be measured on the first Haas
The pilot controller is rated only to 40 °C; the top of an enclosure may run hotter
Pilot firmware has not been compiled yet, and pilot units lack secure boot, certificates and OTA (fixed before sale)
Demand is unproven: production starts only if the 30-day demand test passes
Weak Wi-Fi at some machines may need the 4G router option

Design stage only: nothing on this page is for sale. Specifications and prices are targets.