CASE STUDY 01 / Industrial controls & systems integration
Industrial Air Control System
Product ownership and end-to-end engineering of an industrial filtration control system: sensor acquisition, PLC logic, fan control, operator interfaces, and validation.
Product Owner · Product Development Engineer
Surgically Clean Air
2023 — Present
sensing
control
Conceptual illustration of the project workflow.
THE CHALLENGE
Where the work started.
Develop a digital control platform for a high-airflow industrial filtration system operating under changing particulate loads and filter backpressure. As Product Owner, I drove the work from requirements and prototyping through controls implementation, testing, and production readiness within my engineering role at Surgically Clean Air. The core problem was coordinating sensor data, fan behavior, maintenance states, and operator feedback in one reliable system.
SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
Technical scope.
- Sensing
- PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4.0, PM10, temperature, humidity, and differential pressure.
- Prototype platform
- Python and Raspberry Pi 5; Sensirion SEN55-series and differential pressure sensors.
- Industrial platform
- Maple Systems HMC4070A-M PLC/HMI, programmed in MAPware 7000.
- Interfaces
- I²C sensor acquisition, Modbus translation and fan communication, and local-network VNC access.
- Control functions
- Manual and sensor-driven fan modes, filter status, maintenance timers, stack-light indication, and fault alerts.
- Data and serviceability
- Trend displays, historical logging, CSV export, runtime tracking, and operator documentation.
MY CONTRIBUTION
Engineering contributions.
Product ownership and requirements
Owned the development scope and translated operating needs, customer feedback, and manufacturing constraints into engineering requirements. Carried implementation decisions through prototype iterations, system integration, validation, documentation, and supplier coordination.
Prototype architecture and sensor acquisition
Built three working prototypes using Raspberry Pi 5 and Python. Integrated Sensirion particulate, temperature, humidity, and differential pressure sensing. Established the acquisition and display workflow before moving the controls to an industrial PLC/HMI platform.
PLC migration and communication interfaces
Migrated the interface and control functions to a Maple Systems HMC4070A-M using MAPware 7000. Developed the tag database, I/O mapping, register mappings, and program logic. Integrated I²C sensor data through a Modbus translation path and implemented fan communication over Modbus.
Fan control and operating states
Implemented manual speed adjustment and particulate-responsive automatic operation, including start/stop control and mode-dependent interface behavior. Tested commands against the physical fan and refined communication-loss detection and the associated operator alerts.
Filter monitoring and maintenance logic
Used differential pressure and fan operating conditions to determine filter status. Implemented maintenance alerts, delayed state changes to reduce transient indicator changes, and a stack light synchronized with the HMI. Added fan and filter runtime tracking and corrected data retention across power cycles.
HMI, logging, and remote access
Developed operator screens for measurements, fan controls, trends, maintenance, and settings. Implemented historical data views, USB CSV export, and local-network remote access through VNC. Refined navigation and alert presentation based on operational feedback, then developed illustrated user documentation.
Integration testing and production readiness
Tested custom boards and firmware with the electronics supplier, verified sensor-disconnection alerts, and checked fan start, stop, speed, and safety responses. Served as the sole Intertek contact for ETL certification work, coordinating technical submissions and compliance follow-up. Supported manufacturing across the product line through assembly instructions, test stations, quality processes, and training.
OUTCOMES
What came out of it.
- Delivered three working prototypes and progressed the control architecture from Python/Raspberry Pi to an industrial PLC/HMI.
- Integrated sensor acquisition, manual and automatic fan control, maintenance logic, data logging, and operator feedback.
- Validated system behavior through hardware tests, communication fault checks, and iterative board and firmware integration.
- Produced technical documentation and supported certification and manufacturing readiness; co-inventor on one product-related invention.
Reliable controls depend on more than the nominal operating sequence. Sensor validity, communication faults, state transitions, data persistence, and operator feedback all need to be designed and tested as part of the system.Talk to me about this work
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