Infrared panels for IoT body shop

Merenel contributed to the development of an IoT system for the control and monitoring of radiant panels in an automotive paint booth, working on both the system programming and the development of the web interface.

At the heart of the system is an ESP32 microcontroller with Wi-Fi connectivity, which enables the paint booth to communicate over the network and exchange data with the web interface. Thanks to this architecture, operators can monitor and control the system through a responsive web app developed with Bootstrap, accessible from PCs, smartphones and tablets.

Through the interface, users can:

• monitor the current process and remaining time in real time;
• check actual and target temperatures of the vehicle surface and radiant panels;
• independently activate different groups of radiant panels;
• control ventilation, lighting, timers and operating modes;
• view counters, events and alarms;
• configure thresholds for predictive maintenance.

Customizable Work Cycles

The system allows different programs and individual process stages to be configured, including preparation, preheating, painting, evaporation, drying and cooling.

For each stage, parameters such as duration, panel and vehicle surface temperatures, ventilation and start mode can be defined, allowing the process to be adapted to different operating requirements.

Energy Consumption and Job Management

Each process can be associated with a specific job and vehicle. The system records operating times and energy consumption data, which can be exported to an Excel-compatible file.

This allows the body shop to determine how much time and energy are required for each job, estimate the related electricity costs, and compare the consumption, duration and costs of different jobs.

Counters and Predictive Maintenance

The platform records the operating hours of the radiant panels, ventilation and lighting systems, as well as the number of activations of different components. Maintenance thresholds can therefore be configured according to the actual use of the equipment.

A dedicated technical section also makes it possible to configure the power of the different panel groups and manage time sharing, optimizing operation when the available electrical power is limited.

Thanks to the combination of ESP32, Wi-Fi connectivity and a responsive web interface, the paint booth becomes a connected system where remote control, work cycles, energy consumption, job history and maintenance can all be managed through a single platform.