P L A S T I C S
TOMORROW'S
WORLD TODAY
WITH IGUS SMART PLASTICS
Industry 4.0, Internet of Things and Smart Factory - these
concepts are no longer a vague promise of what is to
come. Companies are already able to benefit from the
use of intelligent systems and products. At EMO 2019,
igus will be showing how machine tool manufacturers
and customers can raise their maintenance to a new
level and, at the same time, reduce costs by using smart
machine components.
Maintenance in the
era of Industry
4.0 means a
clear change of
paradigm. Instead of personnel
carrying out maintenance at
fixed intervals or merely reacting
to a failure or a fault, so-called
"predictive maintenance" makes it
possible to continually monitor the
status of the machine tool. Repair
or replacement is only carried out
when really necessary.
Maintenance tasks can be
planned precisely. At the same
time, unscheduled shutdowns
and therefore the costs of failure
can be reduced due to condition
monitoring. In order to make this
possible, igus has developed
sophisticated smart plastics,
by using diverse sensors and
monitoring modules for energy
chains, plain bearings, linear
bearings and slewing ring bearings.
For example, sensors for the
measurement of abrasion or wear
of the pin/bore connections of
energy chains as well as sensors
for the detection of breakages
and the push/pull forces being
applied. Due to networking with the
new igus communication module
(icom.plus), which igus will be
showing on Stand E01 in Hall 8 at
the EMO trade fair, the sensors are
integrated into the customer's own
IT infrastructure, for example into
production management systems
such as SCADA and MES, or online
into cloud solutions throughout a
company.
FLEXIBLE DATA
INTEGRATION WITH NEW
ICOM.PLUS
The icom.plus is programmed
with initial service life algorithms
on the basis of igus configuration
tools and, at the customer's
request, can be operated offline
without an update function after
Intelligent maintenance in the era of Industry 4.0: with igus smart plastics,
you can increase the reliability of machine tools, plan maintenance tasks
and as a result, reduce costs.
online installation. The user can
therefore decide how the module
is connected and how the data
is managed, while establishing
a balance between runtime
maximisation and IT security.
If online connection of the icom.
plus is chosen, the service life
information is continuously
compared with the igus cloud in
order to enable maximum machine
run times with a minimum risk of
failure. The data in the cloud inter
alia draw on the 10 billion annual test
cycles of energy chains and cables
performed in the company's own
3,800 square metre test laboratory.
On the basis of these tests, the
results of which are incorporated
into the freely available service life
calculator, it is possible to precisely
predict how long an e-chain, for
example, will work reliably in the
respective machine tool application.
Thanks to the isense components,
the service life is continually
updated, giving the customer
additional reassurance. This is
because each update takes into
account the current ambient
conditions of the application.
Thanks to machine learning and
continuous improvement, precise
information on the durability of
the individually used solutions in
real applications can be obtained.
This information can be viewed on
the screen of the machine control
system and, if online connection
is chosen, an SMS or e-mail can
provide the relevant details if
unexpected operating states occur
or maintenance is impending.
At an early stage, users are informed
if there is a need to procure
replacement parts; a wide range
of scenarios such as automatic
initiation of maintenance work or the
ordering of replacement parts as
well as "e-chain as a service" can be
implemented.
WORLD-LEADING INDUSTRIAL BOLTING TECHNOLOGIES
- NOW AVAILABLE FROM HTC LTD, NEW ZEALAND’S
SPECIALISED TOOL AND EQUIPMENT EXPERTS.
REN350
36 September 2019