Condition Monitoring for a clear view
More data for efficient window production
Industry: Wood industry | Customer: 4B AG, Hochdorf, Schweiz
4B is Switzerland's leading regional company for intelligent building envelopes. They develop pioneering façade and window solutions so that customers can build, renovate and live in comfort ecologically, reliably and without additional expense. As a traditional company, you are committed to Switzerland as a location and produce a wide variety of windows in Hochdorf.
But despite all the tradition and craftsmanship, 4B also relies on new technologies in the field of condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.
Situation
Wooden windows are manufactured using classic woodworking machines. In order to achieve the best possible quality, the cutters must always be in optimum condition. In the worst-case scenario, any wear or even breakage of an individual cutter plate is only noticed once the production batch has already been processed. This can mean that all window elements produced up to that point have to be reworked or even disposed of and produced again. Of course, this is not in the inventor's interest and is very time-consuming and costly.
Challenge
A system for monitoring production quality must be easy to use and at the same time a reliable source of data on any deviations that may occur. The task here was to find a system that is able to map the complex processes in a woodworking machine.
4B's primary objective is quality assurance, the avoidance of rejects and maximum ease of operation without complicated connection to the existing production system. In addition, the testing system must also be able to cope with different types of wood and structures without having to be extensively retrained. This would require effort and time that is simply not available in production.
The system also had to be suitable for both stationary integration and mobile applications.
Solution
Balluff offers the BCM condition monitoring sensor in combination with the CMTK condition monitoring toolkit to solve the diverse requirements. This system enables the simple monitoring and visualisation of vibration, temperature and other environmental conditions. And you don't need to be an expert in vibration technology.
The BCM condition monitoring sensor has an IO-Link interface and was developed to make it as simple and straightforward as possible to find out how your machine is doing. The sensor tells you whether unwanted vibrations are occurring, whether the temperature is correct and whether the installation position is still as it should be.
Our Condition Monitoring Toolkit - CMTK for short - has proven to be the ideal sparring partner for BCM. This gateway has four IO-Link ports and ready-made data visualisation and data communication to IT networks directly on board. Any messages that arise can be forwarded directly by e-mail or status message.
Find out what is happening quickly, directly and easily. The CMTK offers completely new solutions here.
How was it realized?
The condition monitoring sensors were installed directly on the drive motors of the processing machines. This is precisely where an unplanned standstill would cause the most effort.
But before the system could go live, it was first necessary to determine what a "good and correct" vibration profile looks like. To do this, data was recorded and the course of the values observed. What effect do tool changes have? What does normal maintenance look like? And more importantly, what effect do faults, such as a broken cutting plate in the milling cutter, have?
All this data was recorded and used to draw a line between "good" and "bad". Any anomalies that occur and even small, creeping deviations can be recognised in this way.
The system has been set up so that the operator is informed by e-mail if a limit has been exceeded and intervention is required.
What did it achieve?
The first successes of the system became apparent very quickly. For example, a broken cutting insert on the profile cutter was recognised within minutes and not just at the end of batch production. The rapid detection and intervention saved a lot of money and prevented further damage to the tool.
A drive motor also showed a different vibration profile "overnight". But where did this come from? What had happened? After the motor was replaced as a precaution, it turned out that a ball bearing on the drive shaft was defective and had to be replaced. This could only be discovered in good time because the engine was checked. Otherwise it would have broken down in the near future and the problem would have become much bigger and more expensive.
The system has also achieved a high level of acceptance in production thanks to successes like this. "If the sensor reports something, something will be there!" says one operator of the profile milling machine.
In addition to the precise measurement results, the results are easy to visualise and the limits are simple to set. As a result of this success, a mobile version has also been developed, which is currently being tested quickly and easily on various motors, fans and pumps.
By using the BCM sensors and the CMTK condition monitoring toolkit from Balluff, we are always one step ahead. We recognise any deviations immediately and can react directly before it's too late. This saves us a lot of time and money.
Benefits
The use of BCM sensors in combination with the CMTK has resulted in many advantages for 4B-AG:
- The system recognises errors immediately and before they become larger
- Integration into the system was completed quickly
- Operators are immediately informed of deviations by e-mail or signal
- The devices are also used on the move to "have a quick look" at what is happening elsewhere
- The system impresses with an optimum price-performance ratio
Products
Take a look at the use and benefits of the system in the video here:
Condition Monitoring Sensor
Condition Monitoring Toolkit
Condition Monitoring Sensor
- Function
-
Vibration analysis in time domain
Vibration analysis in frequency range
Rotational speed input
Contact temperature monitoring - Vibration, frequency range
-
2...4500 Hz (±10 %)
2...6000 Hz (±3 dB) - Vibration, number of measuring axes
- 3
- Vibration, measuring range
- -16…16 g
- Contact temperature, measuring range
- -40…+80 °C
- Rated operating voltage Ue DC
- 24 V
- Interface
- IO-Link 1.1.3
- Connection
- Cable with connector, M12x1-Male, 4-pin, 1.5 m, PUR
- Housing material
- Stainless steel 1.4404 (316L)
- IP rating
- IP67, IP68, IP69K
- Ambient temperature
- -40...80 °C
- Secondary features
-
Identification
Device Discovery
Switching Counter
Logic Blocks
Operating Hours Counter
Boot Cycle Counter
Voltage and Current Monitoring
Pin Assignment - Secondary features for condition monitoring
- Internal temperature monitoring
