INDUSTRY 4.0 | Increase System Uptime with Intelligent Condition-based Monitoring Solutions & Planned Maintenance
E-T-A Engineering Technology
Driving technology forward in circuit protection and power management
Industrialization started with the steam engine, and over the decades we have now entered the fourth round of industrialization. Machines are intelligent and cross-linked to each other. Information is collected in real time and processed and evaluated via artificial intelligence (AI).
One of the primary tasks in Industry 4.0 is to further increase machine availability and output quantities based on digitization solutions. Collecting, saving and evaluating various machine and system data as well as creating a digital twin are the prerequisites for comprehensive maintenance concepts. Data is the resource of the future. An optimized, condition-based maintenance strategy requires permanent monitoring, also known as condition monitoring. The intelligent and communicative protection and power distribution solution of the REX system (fig. 1) helps collect data in a targeted way for the DC 24 V range - the heart of each automation solution.?
WHAT MAINTENANCE APPROACHES DO WE KNOW TODAY?
In general, we differentiate two main maintenance approaches. In addition to conventional maintenance in the event of a failure, machine operators are increasingly using planned maintenance approaches. At first glance, reacting only in the event of a failure seems easier and is also supposedly the more cost-saving method. But if you look more closely, unexpected downtimes may quickly lead to very high costs. Comparably longer downtimes due to more difficult troubleshooting and the current bottleneck for spare parts in the procurement market have a massive influence on the choice of the maintenance strategy.
We differentiate three main approaches of planned maintenance, which is the prerequisite for increased machine availability (fig. 2).
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, THE INDUSTRY 4.0 FLAGSHIP
Artificial intelligence (AI) means all applications where machines or computers perform humanlike intelligence tasks, also including machine learning. It is not supposed to replace human personnel with machines, but to simplify the daily tasks in a meaningful and supportive way by providing such technology.
Important! There is not only "one" AI, but strong and weak AI. Strong AI should be similar to human intelligence or even surpass it, which is still a dream of the future. A weak or methodical AI processes a specific problem, why it is mainly used for process automation, for image and voice recognition and processing.
CONDITION MONITORING AND ITS BENEFITS
In the industrial area, machine maintenance is often done preventively in order to keep downtimes to a minimum. Machine components subject to wear and tear are replaced in determined intervals to prevent failures. This strategy does not efficiently use the component's typical life, which makes it quite costly.
Therefore, more and more machine operators prefer using planned maintenance concepts to decrease maintenance costs by using special Condition Monitoring systems. These systems permanently monitor the machine condition and provide the necessary data for planned maintenance by detecting the actual degree of wear and tear. This helps plan maintenance actions for the end of the typical life and decrease maintenance costs.
Using intelligent Condition Monitoring solutions offers some benefits. Improved process stability leads to increased machine availability and to an increased output quantity. Early detected deviations or determined wear in applications are prerequisites for a sustainable optimization of all maintenance actions.
DIGITAL PROTECTION WITH CONDITION MONITORING
For a digital connection to the superordinate control unit, machine operators rely on fieldbus capable solutions. Instead of the Ethernet-based #PROFINET, #EtherCAT, #Ethernet-IP and #Modbus-TCP fieldbus connections, fieldbus-independent #IO link point-to-point communication is increasingly found in control cabinets.
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The REX system provides the basis for a planned maintenance. The DC 24 V Condition Monitoring solution combines selective overcurrent protection, compact power distribution of load circuits and transmission of measuring data via ControlPlex? controller.
The controllers are capable of all conventional communication protocols and transmit various diagnostic information for the DC 24 V range to the superordinate control level. This includes information on input voltage, load current, load voltage and threshold values as well as various setting options, such as workload warning thresholds in percent. The measuring values and the continuous transparency are prerequisites for Condition-Based Maintenance.
The measuring values gained during system start-up are the basis for the target and early-warning threshold values. The currently determined actual values are compared to the basic measuring values and in case of a deviation, an error message is displayed. These measured values in an intelligent algorithm - the AI - combined with the machine operator's experience and with various raw data generated in the machine, provides the basis for Predictive Maintenance.
Featured Products
CPC12 BUS CONTROLLER
The CPC12 bus controller collects status information as well as measuring values of the connected circuit protectors.?This data?is transmitted to the superordinate control systems via the field bus interfaces for PROFINET (CPC12PN), EtherNet/IP (CPC12EN), Modbus TCP (CPC12MB) and EtherCAT (CPC12EC). Thus, the CPC12 creates transparency and remote access to all essential information and functions of the DC24V power distribution.
REX12D-T ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT PROTECTOR
The compact and flexible all-in-one solution REX is comprised of the EM12D-T / EM12-T supply module for the plus and minus potential via a single or double channel REX12D-T electronic circuit protector which can be mounted side by side in any number and the PM12-T potential extension module for plus and minus multiplication.