Technology Choices to Increase Machine Efficiency

Many technologies are included in these broad definitions, and what are now commonly known as Smart Components, are core building blocks.

Smart Components are increasingly being deployed by OEMs to help them satisfy the evolving demands of customers who are looking to facilitate a shift from mass production to mass customisation. Production flexibility is also required so that the end manufacturer can quickly adapt to rapidly changing market and customer requirements. The bigger picture of deploying Smart Components sees an improvement in overall digitisation, which in turn helps to achieve sustainability goals and pollution reduction.

To facilitate the above, machines must be able to collect and analyse huge quantities of data, which then feeds back into the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to inform decision making. It’s therefore the machines that make the greatest contribution that will be the best fit with the evolving demands of Smart Factories and Smart Manufacturing.

Actuation Technology

So let us now consider some of the technology choices facing design engineers in their quest for greater machine efficiency. When it comes to motion control applications in OEM machines, there’s no one dominant actuation technology.

For example, traditional pneumatics provide an ‘on-off’ motion solution, based on air flow regulation to control speed, and pressure adjustment to control force. These are manual adjustments, but components are typically simple to install and provide a low-cost linear motion solution.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are electric actuators which increase flexibility and motion control capabilities. While standard pneumatic actuators are not designed for mid-stroke positioning or controlled velocity, electric actuators, or servo pneumatic actuator solutions (which include proportional valves) are.

However, striving for Smart Manufacturing doesn’t just mean using innovative technologies, but choosing the optimal motion control technology for the specific application. It also means reducing Total Cost of Ownership throughout the lifecycle of the machine by considering the acquisition, utilisation and disposal phases.

Integration into a Smart Environment

Another key consideration for design engineers, when choosing technology, is how can it be integrated into a Smart Environment? The technology has to be able to communicate back to the MES or ERP of the factory so that the machine it’s integrated into can then be monitored in real time.

The collection of data is also important, so that an operating history can be built up. Algorithms can then be used to prevent system failures by harnessing the power of predictive maintenance.

Camozzi has developed Smart Components to do just this, using a technology called CoilVision, which integrates an algorithm into the electronics of, for example, a traditional on-off pneumatic valve to measure its health status. The algorithm monitors the valve over time and sends information back to a central system to prevent failures, by predicting issues before they arise. With this solution, engineers are presented with health status indicators, on a dashboard, which work in the same way that a fuel gauge would in a car.

The Importance of Data

In summary, new Smart Components allow OEMs to monitor the operation of their machines in real time and allow the collection of operating data which can then help to troubleshoot. This real time data can then be compared with statistical data to build predictive models through the use of machine learning and AI algorithms. The benefits of predictive maintenance as opposed to routine maintenance are then available.

The integration of Smart Components into machines enable the goal of the Smart Factory and Smart Manufacturing to be achieved. The availability of the data generated, once processed, and converted into intelligence, is the bedrock for more informed decision making, leading to measurable commercial benefits.