PlantNode

How it fits together

PlantNode, part by part

Scroll or tap a part. Press “See the 3D CAD design” to watch the model, built from our CAD, light each part up and show how it connects.

See the 3D CAD designShow the concept

Real-time 3D render · drag to rotate · final design may varySwipe sideways to rotate

1. 01

   The whole PlantNode

   One head on the starter panel reads the stack light, motor vibration, panel heat, compressor current, pressure and the dials, then sends one LoRa message.

2. 02Brain

   ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8

   The brain: it runs the plantnode-fw program

3. 03

   Stack-light clip

   Three light sensors read green, amber and red on the tower

   ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · 3 analog wires · Light level per tier

4. 04

   Motor vibration puck

   Feels the motor run, stop and its bearings wear

   ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · SPI over shielded Cat5e · 26.7 kHz vibration, temperature

5. 

   05

   Current clamp and pressure

   Compressor load and header pressure for the idle-air dollar figure

   ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · Clamp and 0.5–4.5 V leads · Amps and psi, 1 kHz

6. 06

   Panel thermal eye

   Heat map of breakers and terminals inside the panel door

   ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · I²C over shielded cable · 32 x 24 heat image

7. 07

   Busbar joint tags

   Battery-free tags report each bare copper joint's temperature

   ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · UART to the RFID reader · Joint temperatures

8. 

   08

   Gauge camera

   Reads the discharge-pressure and oil-temperature dials

   ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · DVP camera connector · One still per read

9. 

   09

   LoRa radio

   Sends every job's numbers to the site gateway

   ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · UART (AT commands) · One packed message

10. 10

    All connected

    8 key parts, one program, and your phone

The idea

One node on the compressor's starter panel: running or stopped, bearing trend, idle air in dollars, hot joints and dial readings

How the parts connect

PlantNode, wired up

Every part, what links it to the brain, and how the data reaches your phone. A solid line is a cable; a dashed line is a radio link.

The program

What controls PlantNode

void loop_task(void*) {
  for (;;) {
    State s = stack_light_read();          // MachineState
    Run   r = puck_run_stop();             // MotorPulse
    Air   a = adc_amps_psi();              // AirLeak
    if (changed(s, r)) lora_send_now(s, r);
    if (due(VIB))   bearing_trend(puck_burst());
    if (due(HEAT))  panel_zones(mlx_frame());
    if (due(GAUGE)) dials_read(cam_still());  // GaugeEye
    if (due(TAGS))  joints_read(rfid_scan()); // PanelSense
    if (due(SUM))   lora_send(summary(a));
    vTaskDelay(pdMS_TO_TICKS(1000));
  }
}

To your phone

How the data reaches PlantNode

iPhone, Android or a browser in the office

1. Node head
2. LoRaWAN 915 MHz
3. Site gateway (RAK7268V2)
4. Ethernet · MQTT over TLS
5. PlantNode server
6. HTTPS and push
7. Phone app and SMS

Key specs

Targets for production units; they may change during development.

Pricing

Target pricing. Bought separately for one compressor, MachineState ($150 + $19/mo), MotorPulse ($249 + $9/mo), AirLeak ($1,490 + $29/mo), PanelHeat ($690 + $12/mo) and GaugeRead ($349 + $16/mo for two dials) add up to about $2,928 + $85/month. Parts cost about $720 per machine (est.). Fitting inside a starter panel must be done by a qualified electrician.

Indicative launch pricing in USD, excluding taxes and shipping. Final pricing is confirmed before any balance is charged.

1. 29 Oct 2026, 10:55LatestSmall plants with one to three screw compressors and no reliability engineer stitch together 3 to 5 kits for vibration, run time, air and panel heat (for example a $999 four-sensor vibration kit, or the compressor maker's portal for its own machines only); no product found does all five jobs in one box (PlantNode DESIGN.md market check).

   • Drawn idea plan (idea.json): a compressor room from above with the starter panel, the screw compressor and its motor, dials and status lamp, the receiver tank, the air line to the plant and the maintenance office; pins for the node head, the thermal eye in the panel, the lamp clip, the motor vibration puck, the header pressure tap and the site radio gateway
   • The product picture is now this drawn plan instead of the plain fallback card; drawn from the design notes, not the CAD
   • What the plan keeps from the market work: one node per compressor instead of five kits, idle air shown in dollars, and a long-range radio because compressor rooms rarely have good Wi-Fi
   • Next: close-out C5 (buyer review prep for sports) from 12:00; until then more drawn plans for catalogue products on the fallback card (puretrack, qualitycheck-ai)

   See it in 3DFull research and design

2. 27 Oct 2026, 15:05A small moulder checks parts by eye and learns about machine trouble from the scrap bin: start-up after a stop is when most scrap is made, and inspection results are only useful when they can be tied back to the press (Plastics Technology; Fabrico on start-up rejects in moulding). Monitoring kits such as Guidewheel watch the press but not the parts, and vision cameras such as Overview AI watch the parts but not the press. Our own two products for one cell cost $5,088 + $438 a month with two apps that never meet.

   • Combined into LineCell (https://iemilabs.com/products/linecell/); PlantNode itself is unchanged

   See it in 3DFull research and design

3. 27 Oct 2026, 04:30A small plant wants to know, for each compressor or big machine, whether it is running, whether the motor bearings are wearing, how much air leaks while the plant is closed, whether a panel joint is getting hot and what the dials read. Today that is five separate kits, such as a $999 Flir vibration kit, the compressor maker's own portal (Atlas Copco SMARTLINK, its machines only) and a clipboard round.

   • New product PlantNode: one ESP32-S3 node head does the jobs of MachineState, MotorPulse, AirLeak, PanelSense and GaugeEye
   • New CAD parts: node head (base with six cable glands and magnets, lid with camera window and glare hood), motor puck (body and cap on a 1/4-28 stud), panel thermal eye (front and back), stack-light clip and busbar tag carrier; every bought part fits and each part is one solid
   • 3D view: a compressor room with the head on the starter panel looking at the gauges, the puck on the drive motor, the eye inside the open door and the receiver tank behind
   • Dropped: MotorPulse and GaugeEye batteries, PanelSense's separate hub, GaugeEye's arm and LTE-M option; AirLeak's handheld probe stays a separate buy
   • Product page: $1,190 + $39/month instead of about $2,928 + $85/month for the five; parts about $720 (est.)

   See it in 3DFull research and design

4. 27 Oct 2026, 04:30A small plant wants to know, for each compressor or big machine, whether it is running, whether the motor bearings are wearing, how much air leaks while the plant is closed, whether a panel joint is getting hot and what the dials read. Today that is five separate kits, such as a $999 Flir vibration kit, the compressor maker's own portal (Atlas Copco SMARTLINK, its machines only) and a clipboard round.

   • Combined into PlantNode (https://iemilabs.com/products/plantnode/); MachineState itself is unchanged

   See it in 3DFull research and design

5. 27 Oct 2026, 04:30A small plant wants to know, for each compressor or big machine, whether it is running, whether the motor bearings are wearing, how much air leaks while the plant is closed, whether a panel joint is getting hot and what the dials read. Today that is five separate kits, such as a $999 Flir vibration kit, the compressor maker's own portal (Atlas Copco SMARTLINK, its machines only) and a clipboard round.

   • Combined into PlantNode (https://iemilabs.com/products/plantnode/); MotorPulse itself is unchanged

   See it in 3DFull research and design

6. 27 Oct 2026, 04:30A small plant wants to know, for each compressor or big machine, whether it is running, whether the motor bearings are wearing, how much air leaks while the plant is closed, whether a panel joint is getting hot and what the dials read. Today that is five separate kits, such as a $999 Flir vibration kit, the compressor maker's own portal (Atlas Copco SMARTLINK, its machines only) and a clipboard round.

   • Combined into PlantNode (https://iemilabs.com/products/plantnode/); AirLeak itself is unchanged

   See it in 3DFull research and design

7. 27 Oct 2026, 04:30A small plant wants to know, for each compressor or big machine, whether it is running, whether the motor bearings are wearing, how much air leaks while the plant is closed, whether a panel joint is getting hot and what the dials read. Today that is five separate kits, such as a $999 Flir vibration kit, the compressor maker's own portal (Atlas Copco SMARTLINK, its machines only) and a clipboard round.

   • Combined into PlantNode (https://iemilabs.com/products/plantnode/); PanelSense itself is unchanged

   See it in 3DFull research and design

8. 27 Oct 2026, 04:30A small plant wants to know, for each compressor or big machine, whether it is running, whether the motor bearings are wearing, how much air leaks while the plant is closed, whether a panel joint is getting hot and what the dials read. Today that is five separate kits, such as a $999 Flir vibration kit, the compressor maker's own portal (Atlas Copco SMARTLINK, its machines only) and a clipboard round.

   • Combined into PlantNode (https://iemilabs.com/products/plantnode/); GaugeEye itself is unchanged

   See it in 3DFull research and design