Amongst all the hype surrounding IIoT, there is a groundswell of change on the plant floor. One of the early killer apps has been machine maintenance, and condition monitoring is entering a new era. The 2017 Maintenance & Reliability industry guide published by our Technews publication, SA Instrumentation & Control is an excellent reference point for the many different approaches and technologies that are now available for equipment monitoring and reliability-centred maintenance. It is available online at http://motioncontrol.co.za/*mr17.
The various references to maintenance can be confusing, and ARC’s Ralph Rio has a handy classification into five levels of maturity: reactive, preventive, condition-based, predictive and prescriptive. Reactive or run to failure maintenance is the most common approach and is only appropriate for non-critical assets. Preventive maintenance is based on either time or usage and applies to assets with an age-related failure pattern where the failure rate increases with age or runtime. Condition-based maintenance monitors the amplitude of a specific asset parameter, for example vibration monitoring. Predictive maintenance uses engineered algorithms and machine learning with multiple input parameters to give advance notice for scheduling and executing maintenance during planned shutdowns. Prescriptive maintenance builds on this with alerts that provide diagnostics and guidance for repair as well as help in assessing priority and urgency.
The key advantage is cost effectiveness. This is technology that limits downtime, saves energy and reduces maintenance costs. The potential savings are enormous. Instead of reacting when a component no longer works, technicians in the future will act before a defect becomes apparent as they will have a precise picture of their smart machines. Operating errors or wrong settings can be rapidly recognised and corrected. Predictive maintenance can not only analyse data from the machine itself, but also influencing factors such as order frequency or material quality.
There are plenty of examples already. Anyone travelling down the N2 south of Port Elizabeth will have noticed the 138 MW Jeffreys Bay wind farm. Consisting of 60 Siemens turbines, it is monitored 24/7 by a remote diagnostic centre in Denmark, which collects data from more than
10 000 wind turbines worldwide, streamlining performance and maintenance. This year’s Hannover Messe featured a special predictive maintenance display which attracted some big names. Included were Ingersoll Rand’s Intelligent Control remote monitoring, which allows users to control, manage and identify maintenance needs on air compressor systems through their computers. ABB’s Smart Sensor solution for low voltage motors
is creating new business models. It sends data to a cloud-based software platform which converts it into useable information and makes it available via a web-based client portal at any location – they call it software as a service solution with no investment costs.
Trends emerging from these innovations include the development of smart sensors and other low-cost online monitoring systems, and the increasing provision of built-in vibration sensors as standard features in large motors and pumps. There will also be increasingly sophisticated condition monitoring software with expert diagnosis capabilities. Very soon, additive manufacturing will produce parts, just in time at the place where they are needed – smart spare parts. In this scenario, vendors will sell 3D part specifications online subject to digital rights to allow customers to buy licences for printing a certain number of copies.
Our cover story is about Beckhoff’s XTS system and this embodies everything that IIoT is about. Its condition monitoring functionality allows the very early detection of wear in a mover roller or soiling of the guide rails. It’s sometimes difficult to report anything new about hydraulics, but our New Technology feature is about Artemis’ groundbreaking Digital Displacement Technology, which is set to change the face of hydraulics. It shows how the most innovative ideas are often the simplest. Still on hydraulics we have some fun explaining why spiders move so jerkily: blame it on hydraulics. And while still on the theme of nature, we feature Festo’s BionicAnt, which shows how by working together, groups can solve tasks co-operatively.
Kim Roberts
Editor
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