SENSORS OF THE FUTURE… AVAILABLE TODAY As food and beverage production plant becomes more sophisticated, meeting imperatives of higher efficiency, product quality and production volumes is ever more challenging. Simultaneously, we’ve seen the development of 12 NOVEMBER 2017 Smart Sensors ifm have developed the most comprehensive range of digital sensors and smart connection technology, available today, ex-stock NZ! Our IP69k IO-Link technology is used in the most advanced F&B plants, globally. German quality - supported by local engineers. WARRANTY years on ifm products Order 24/7 www.ifm.com/nz Phone: 0800 289 436 Pressure Temperature Flow Level Vision and Optical EtherNet Connection Technology Vibration Encoders Inductive FT408 a new breed of sensors and transmitters to help remain abreast of greater plant requirements… instruments capable of providing more than conventional outputs, but ‘real-time’ information about product quality, output speed and inventory levels, performance and sensor health. From a maintenance engineer’s perspective, advanced self-diagnostic intell about plant, machine and sensor condition is also now easily accessible. By knowing the continuous condition of a process and equipment real-time, plant and process operating efficiency can be improved, production-diminishing down-time can be avoided - maximising production time and output. Traditionally, routine maintenance has been the operating modus of maintenance planners, based on periodic plant and related instrumentation calibration checks. Sound familiar? It is, given most of New Zealand’s food and beverage plants continue to operate this way. Why? Because of outdated regulations, and plant owners not investing in new technology quickly enough! Often, routine maintenance outcomes confirm no maintenance is required. Valuable production time is lost, and sensors and plant continue to operate as they should. The loser here is lost production time. Now imagine a new scenario, one where Smart sensors with internal ‘self-diagnostics’ and the capability to network direct with a Scada system and management ERP, monitoring and informing maintenance and production engineers when plant is approaching out of tolerance production. Or that an early warning alarm has been activated. Or the end-of-life of a sensor in a critical process is approaching. This is now possible, giving production engineers accurate analytics about plant condition, and how long they can realistically extend plant life. All without making unnecessary/costly hardware changes, or shutting the plant down without a reason! Shut-downs can be carefully planned on an ‘as need be basis’, with spare parts arriving on-time versus discovering issues during routine checks. Imagine a patient with a heart-beat monitor learning when a health issue is developing rather than hoping to pick up something during the annual health check? Anything could happen in-between the next checkup! The good news is Smart sensors have now been de- veloped by ifm electronic and other reputable sensor manufacturers. Additionally, ifm have specifically developed a specialised range designed to handle the harsh industry requirements of the F&B sector, such as hot water wash-down, all featuring 316SS construction, IP69k protection and gold-plated contacts. This new breed of sensors are a simple choice for plant engineers that require continuous performance reliability, and where avoiding unexpected plant down-time is a non-negotiable prerequisite. In reality, many of these smart sensors are being used in plants today, they just need to be woken up! If you found this interesting, contact ifm electronic New Zealand for more information. Ph. 0800 289 436
FT-Nov17-eMag
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