Intelligent igus® smart plastics as active shapers of smart factories
A milestone in maintenance: Products detect a need for maintenance
The intelligent products of the isense family of products include a sensor for continuous measurement of pushing and pulling forces (EC. P – Push/pull detection) as well as a sensor for detection of any chain link breakage (EC.B – Break detection). For moving chainflex® cables, the service life can be predicted exactly until expiry of the period indicated in the warranty specifications. For the time after this, a sensor with the name CF.Q (Cable Fracture/Quality) has been developed. Detection of the electrical parameters make it possible to estimate the remaining service life.
For status measurements such as acceleration or temperatures, the EC. M (Motion) can be used, the measured values of which are the basis for further more complex calculations. The type PRT.W (Wear) sensor provides information concerning wear on slewing ring bearings . For all linear drives, the DL.W (Wear) sensor delivers information on wear in good time for measures to be taken. These measured values are only a fraction of what makes the isense product family a strong and smart tool for Industry 4.0. These sensors become especially effective due to their linkage with the icom module – a data concentrator –, that can transfer the measured values to a system of the isense product family.
The sensors at a glance:
iCOM: the data concentrator
The following sensors become especially effective due to their linkage with the icom module.A data concentrator – that can transfer the measured values to a system of the isense product family. How the sensor data can be further processed depends on the respective system chosen. igus® currently offers four variants.
EC. M: e-chains® movement & EC. W: e-chains® abrasion
Always in motion: EC.M sensor makes this possibleTo record the data the EC.M sensor is installed on the moving end of the energy chain. It detects values such as acceleration, speed, temperature and completed cycles, and, from them, determines the distances completed as well as the remaining service life of the system. Wear detection with the EC. W sensorAn abrasion sensor measures the wear, depending on the product, at the crossbar, at the pin/bore connection or at the liners and sends a signal when the limit is reached.
EC. I: Integrated
Non-contact wear measurementFor roller chains, e.g. series P4, the pin/bore connection is the mechanically most stressed component. Integrated directly in the chain link, the EC.I sensor measures the percentage wear of the pin/bore connection without contact and in this way enables the timely planning of replacement or repair.
EC. P: Push/pull detection
The forces are critical: EC.P sensor measures push/pullUse of the EC. P sensor saves maintenance personnel from having to travel many kilometers - thanks to its status information always being available and which can automatically be passed on to the isense system. The principle has been successfully used as the so-called push/pull detector system by igus® for 14 years.
EC.B: e-chains® breakage
Chain breakage as an easily solvable problemThe EC.B break detection sensor from igus® reduces the amount of work of maintenance technicians tasked with looking after crane installations and gantries. This applies from classical smaller indoor cranes in production facilities right up to the huge cranes used in ship-building. The EC.B sensor can detect breakage of a chain link caused by parts falling into the system or similar. In the past, this problem was often a critical factor in the failure of a crane as breakage of a chain link automatically leads to overloading and failure of the opposite side.
CF.Q: chainflex® quality
Hidden cable damage detected by CF.Q sensor at an early stageThe CF.Q sensor indicates changes in the electrical properties; and allows detection of impending cable failure in advance. The electrician then decides what priority the replacement of a cable has and what the consequences of a defect might be.
CF.P: Push/pull detection
Easy life for the cablesTensile forces acting on the cables of an e-chain system® can significantly reduce the service life! The CF.P system measures the forces directly at the strain relief and indicates the need for action in a timely manner.
EC. RC: Run Control
Monitoring the operating status of the e-chains®, especially in guide troughs on long travels.Sensors measure and check the position of the energy chain. In this way, the machine is prevented from continuing to operate when mechanical faults occur; meaning that total loss of the chain or an electrical shutdown due to cable damage are a thing of the past.
DLT.W: wear measurement
Used to detect when the wear limit of a drylin® linear unithas reached a level normally associated with the end of the guide‘s service life. A plastic element that has an integrated sensor and can be retrofitted, signals the need for replacement in good time.
PRT. W: Wear measurement
To determine the wear limit of iglide® slewing ring bearings. Mounted in a milled slot below the sliding elementsMounted in a milled slot below the sliding elements of the PRT, the PRT. W sensor measures the wear and tear and can indicate the required replacement promptly via the icom communication module before a cable failure.
Integration into your own infrastructure
isense stand-alone
Simply by integrating a machine programmer
Sensors (EC.B break, CF.Q – cable monitoring) on e-chains® and cables acquire the measured values
Machinery can be switched off in two ways: directly by means of the NC contact or through evaluation via an I/O interface of the customer's PLC
Customers can arrange for the data to be sent to them via a serial interface (RS2322/UART) so that they can evaluate the data themselves.
isense offline
An additional industrial PC is needed to display the messages via the customer's intranet.
No connection to the Internet and therefore no comparison of the maintenance recommendations with an online database
Manual update of service life information through comparison with the igus® database necessary. Good overview on the IPC: All impending failures in the production environment are displayed
Ideal for production managers and shift supervisors who are interested in facilitating their everyday work in component manufacturing or service provision and want to deploy their maintenance technicians efficiently.
Quickly and easily installed streamlined SW solution
All messages are displayed on an additional industrial PC
isense integration
Wide variety of topologies and standards (Profinet, Ethernet, EtherKat, CC-Link IE), OPC-UA, MQTT
Integration into the existing software environment and the intranet
Large number of protocols such as OPC-UA or MQTT
Integration into the customer's production visualisation software
Operating states of different igus® components at a click of the mouse and at a glance
Ordering of replacement parts via connected ERP system
Connection to control software via customer's infrastructure (Ethernet, Profinet, CC-Link etc.)
Shutdown of the machine or acoustic or visual warnings
isense online
Use the best method to plan servicing work and only do the work that is really necessary
Efficient work prioritising after the sensor warning, and thanks to integration into the ERP, appropriate replacement parts from stock.
Predictive and plannable servicing work due to early information on required maintenance or replacement
Data from the igus® laboratory are processed on a server with the anonymised customer data and also with open data of other customer applications in order to produce a data model
Service life forecasts from the protected customer area are regularly compared with the data model
Benefits from millions of test data in the igus® database and learns something new every day
Application examples of our customers
smart plastics in use at an Austrian automotive supplierThis factory in Steyr is the biggest and most important engine factory of a car manufacturer. On average, an engine comes off the assembly line every 14 seconds - in peak periods, more than 6,000 engines are produced every working day. This output can only be achieved with a high degree of automation with reliable components. This is why companies rely on smart plastics from igus® in order to avoid unforeseen failures and machine shutdowns.
Tested! In the industry's largest test lab
Anyone who is able to make reliable and useful predictions around maintenance work is one step ahead of the competition. In the age of digitalisation, more than big data is required for such predictions. In order to be able to use the sensor data to derive the correct recommendations for work to be accurately scheduled, long term empirical values from the igus® test database are used. The service life of all igus® products can be calculated online and quickly delivered. To this end, igus® operates the largest test labs in its industry. The heart of igus® innovation beats there.
Day to day maintenance recommendation
Online status monitoring from anywhere in the world - day to day maintenance recommendationIn addition to the maintenance recommendation time in days, all measured sensor values can be displayed with history on a detailed page. In this way, exceptional operating conditions or creeping mechanical changes can be detected early on and corresponding measures initiated at an early stage.
