DIGITAL RETROFIT OF AN ANALOG MACHINE
Digital retrofit at one of the leading manufacturers in the field of electrical installation technology and SCHUKO® socket outlets
Avoid production downtimes thanks to IoT-capable machines
Connection of old plants and machines
The digital retrofit made legacy plants IoT-capable, so that true M2M communication became possible.
Error alerting
The permanent monitoring detects anomalies and wear in machine parts early on and can send alert messages with early warnings.
Reduction of storage costs
Expensive spare parts need to be ordered only when the parts in use show wear and tear and when a failure is imminent.
Better machine transparency
Permanent monitoring of structure-borne noise, vibration, load monitoring / torque and flow measurement.
The project at a glance
THE CHALLENGE
Our customer operates a custom-built, analog 30t punch-bending machine whose control process must not be interfered with. Small hairline cracks in the large drive wheel can lead to machine failure, resulting in a production stop. Due to high storage costs, the spare part is not kept in stock. However, order and delivery times for the replacement part can take up to three weeks. In order to avoid machine downtimes, the machine is to be digitally linked to the current production environment, while condition monitoring is to analyse the condition of the drive wheel and predict future breakage in useful time. The aim of our client was to use a digital retrofit to make his machine IoT-ready to be able to reduce machine downtimes and increase machine uptimes.OUR SOLUTION
It was indispensable to digitally activate the existing plant, so the client first installed sensors to detect gear breakage. The solution used, Fraunhofer IPT ‘s vBox, processes the sensor signals and sends the data to compacer’s data platform edbic. The system now measures structure-borne sound, vibration, temperature, torque, current and other data. The system detects, for example, an increased power consumption , which can be a sign of an increased load caused by friction and lack of lubricant. However, the collected and evaluated data can also alert operators of fissures and cracks. The frequency spectrum and other values are recorded and analysed for outliers in real-time. If an outlier is detected, for example a value indicating a crack, the system logs and alarm and alerts an operator. The staff can then act accordingly and avoid a production standstill.
