Mar 25, 2019

Industry 4.0, Internet of Things (IIoT) or Maintenance 4.0 are important developments for the future. Güdel is working on smartService solutions and has recently started offering its customers condition moni-toring for rollers. The system provides notifications about the condition of components and alerts before they come to a standstill. The first systems have already been successfully put into operation.

Track rollers are of crucial importance for the function of the Güdel linear systems (e.g. floor axes, portal systems or linear axes). For this reason, it is important to know the condition of the rollers in order to ensure the smooth functioning of a system. The continuous evaluation of the automatically generated data is used to predict the failure of certain components. The roller condition monitoring system is also suitable for installations where rollers are installed in hard-to-reach areas.

Güdel defines and uses condition monitoring for a number of IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) based products and tools to enable customers to perform planned condition-based maintenance on smart products. The solution is based on a 5-step model.

Güdel’s system in the 5-step model
Güdel's step model is divided into the levels of the technical systems "twin" and "acquire". At these stages, data is collected. In the subsequent stages, these data is then evaluated and measures are derived for the production process. Stage 3 "evaluate" describes the function of determining the current status. This level consists of mathematical models to calculate the state of a component. Depending on the status, a notifica-tion is sent by e-mail for OK, warning or alarm.

The advantages for customers result from the modular and preconfigured software solution. Extensions can be made at any time. Due to its flexibility, condition monitoring is a secure investment with good per-spectives for the future. As a manufacturer of components such as guide rollers and track rollers, Güdel has the advantage of having a sound understanding of the product and can therefore offer solutions from a single source. The vertical range of manufacture for automation solutions is high. The development pro-cesses are customer-oriented.

The software solution increases productivity and longevity
The collected data is stored on the local condition monitoring computer. A network connection is not mandatory. The installed software (Güdel condition monitoring manager) makes it possible to manage the system locally. If configured accordingly, messages can be sent by e-mail if the threshold value is exceeded.

Visualization of data history and data collection units is included. So the customer can see at a glance what the trend is like. All data is automatically stored in a local database. In addition, the work carried out dur-ing repair and maintenance is documented in a logbook. Alarm signals triggered by the system are also logged in a traceable manner. This gives the customer a comprehensive overview of the efficiency and condition of his components. The necessary maintenance work can be planned and the financial expendi-ture for repairs can be calculated more easily.

Technical data
It is a pre-configured system that requires a 24 V power supply. Right now, Güdel guide rollers of sizes 15, 20, 25 and 30 can be monitored. The integration of external components such as energy chains into the condition monitoring system is possible without any problems. Data transmission between sensors, evaluation units and condition monitoring computers takes place via W-LAN or LAN. The status of the rollers is displayed in the OK, warning and alarm levels and the system automatically triggers notifications or alarms by e-mail when configured accordingly.