world of industries 3/2017 (EN)

When e-chains
carry sensors
Thanks to smart plastics, unforeseen machine failures and imminent
downtimes are detected in good time for an appropriate maintenance
HANNOVER MESSE
Intelligent energy chains and chainflex cables can
inform you when they need to be replaced. A new
series combine sensors with monitoring modules offer
predictive maintenance for production. Unforeseen
machine failures and imminent downtimes are
detected, and appropriate maintenance can be
initiated thus avoiding expensive production losses.
The digital networking of machines and products makes it
possible to continuously collect data about the status of
machine components and integrate them with other systems.
With preditive maintenance, production processes become simpler
and safer, since the constant monitoring of all machines
and components means that faults and wear are detected are predicted
before failure. As a result, measures for the maintenance
and repair of affected parts can be initiated at an early stage. This
reduces expensive downtimes demanded by periodic maintenance.
The predictive maintenance is therefore an important
element within Industry 4.0. Manufacturers in the automotive
industry in particular are asking for components for Production
4.0. Only the products are missing.
Author: Harald Nehring, authorised officer for e-chainsystems, igus GmbH,
Cologne, Germany
Avoid machine downtimes: The isense principle
At the Hannover Messe, igus presented smart plastics for the first
time with the name ‘isense’ - intelligent components for the factory
of the future. The isense series include various sensors and monitoring
modules in or on the plastic components of the energy chain.
Energy chains and the chainflex cables inside them supply energy
and data to machines and plants. If these parts suddenly fail, the
system would be stopped. An interrupted production run costs
the plant operator dearly. It is understandable that plant managers
want to prevent such possible failures. This is possible with the wear
monitoring isense EC.W(ear): A sensor chip embedded in the opening
crossbar of the e-chain continuously measures the status of the
gliding e-chain during the travel. If the abrasion is so advanced that
the end of the service life of the chain is near, the sensor reports by
triggering a signal. A nearby antenna unit receives the data by radio
and passes it on to a reader module. This processes the antenna
signal and then reports it to the central communication unit called
icom. The icom module prepares the data and forwards it to the
plant system. In this way, the system operator does not experience
a machine failure, but can include the replacement of the worn part
into its maintenance process in a timely manner. The fact that there
are no longer unforeseen downtimes increases the availability of its
system.
Conditioning monitoring products for plant safety
A few years ago, igus introduced products for predictive maintenance:
the PPDS push-pull detection system and the EMA diagnostic
tool for identifying a chain-link break. Since then, these
components have been gradually further developed and have been
44 WORLD OF INDUSTRIES