An AV03 valve system controls the rodless cylinder on the left, and AES electronics detect cylinder position via a switch. The number of switching cycles of the individual valves is monitored within the AES electronics, independent of the controller, as is the movement sequence via time measurement. This information can be read out and be displayed to the maintenance technician on a tablet, for example.
The data can also be used for systematic condition monitoring. Internal data record assessments indicate wear occurring on individual valves, cylinders, or other mechanical components before there’s a failure. Maintenance personnel can then replace the component during a scheduled production break. This results in considerably higher system and machine availability.
Internal Data Processing without Programming
This topic exemplifies the evolutionary development of the IoT. Advanced valve electronics have long supplied process and diagnostics data. With AES valve electronics, however, the machine manufacturer or system integrator no longer needs to program the diagnosis or status functions for pneumatics in the control because they’re already integrated in the AES.
The electronics system records local data independent of the control and prepares and supplies them to users for further processing—a scenario similar to smartphone apps. Because of the Ethernet connection, retrieval can occur from any location with the appropriate permission. Both internal maintenance personnel and authorized service providers can use system monitoring to increase the system availability.
Flexible for Small Batches
A key aspect of the IoT in the industrial context is the flexible production of small batches down to a single item. At the same time, nearly all sectors need to adjust to increasingly short product lifecycles. This has consequences for production equipment. Assembly and handling equipment in particular will now be converted more frequently and adapted to new products. Because they’re very modular and accommodate a wide variety of operating parameters, pneumatics can be quickly adapted to new tasks in intelligent industrial environments. This may all seem revolutionary, bit it is truly evolutionary.
Dieter Michalkowski is Global Account Manager and Internet of Things expert with Aventics GmbH. For more information, contact Aventics USA at (859) 259-3817, or visit www.aventics.us.