In smart warehousing, pallet warehouses and conveyor systems are often built from equipment supplied by different vendors—roller conveyors, chain conveyors, lifts, shuttles, scanners and sorters. If each section is wired and maintained independently, it becomes very difficult to locate faults or optimize throughput once the system scales up.

In one project, the integrator selected RB series remote I/O to unify on-site signals. A typical configuration of 3×RB-1110, 9×16DI and 9×16DO collects status signals from pallet identification, sorting, conveying and buffering stations, while the PLC sends start/stop and interlock commands in a centralized way.

The RB modules mainly enable three capabilities:

1. Breaking the conveyor into manageable segments
   Each conveyor section is connected via a nearby remote I/O node, which shortens field wiring and allows software to track cycle time and faults by segment.

2. Driving multiple types of actuators
   Digital outputs control motorized roller drive cards and interface with VFDs to adjust conveyor speed and buffer length dynamically.

3. Providing visible data for warehouse scheduling
   Signals indicating stacking, in-position, jams and empty zones are collected through RB modules, giving the WMS and scheduling algorithms real-time visibility into aisle utilization and waiting times.

After commissioning, the project reported clearer zone management, higher conveying efficiency and simplified maintenance, all without replacing existing hardware. RB remote I/O also leaves ample room for future capacity and function expansion.