R M O A B C O H T I N I C E S
R Y
WHAT IF MACHINERY
COMPONENTS WERE
THE SENSORS?
In all industrial machinery, components add
value to the system, and the life cycle of the
system creates an entire value.
Digital technologies typically play an important
role in analysing data from components and
sending this back to the cloud, to what we
call a ‘digital twin’. This data can be used to
optimise maintenance schedules or improve the
performance of the system by changing the way
it is used.
Sensors are one of the main methods of data
collection, and are commonly placed on parts
such as bearings, shafts, axles, bending beams
and other moving parts. But they can’t always
measure component parts, because of limited
space or a lack of availability.
To solve this accessibility problem, and
revolutionise the way we think about
sensors, world bearings and digital
technology leader Schaeffler has
developed new technology that
allows the industrial or automotive
component to be the sensor.
Schaeffler’s Sensotect coating system
is a directly coated sensor layer that
can sit over the top of components
such as bearings to measure
forces in previously unavailable
places within machinery, which
can help achieve fuel and energy
savings.
With the aid of modern thin film technology, the
component becomes a sensor and the sensor
becomes a component.
Sensotect is a globally significant technology that
has enormous potential in Australasia for use as
intelligent sensors, offering data transmission in
real time. With Sensotect, the forces and torques
that act on a component can also be rapidly
recorded in places where existing sensors cannot
be used.
Sensotect is engineered to have a number of
advantages, including no adhesives, a high strain
sensitivity, no aging drift and no temperature
creeping.
The innovative coating system opens up strain
and force measurement possibilities that have
always been impossible with adhesive strain
gauges, due to their limited operating life.
This innovative measuring technology means
that it is also possible to precisely determine
the torque acting on drive shafts and vehicle
transmissions, and to adjust the engine’s output
to exactly match the occurring load. Sensotect
therefore makes an important contribution to
Schaeffler’s revolutionary
Sensotect coating allows
components to become
sensors in their own right
SCHAEFFLER’S INDUSTRIAL SERVICES EXPERT MARK
CIECHANOWICZ LOOKS AT THE FUTURE OF COMPONENTRY
AND SOME OF THE ROLES IT WILL PLAY IN INDUSTRY 4.0
34 November 2018