INDUSTRY RETROFIT UPGRADING OLDER MACHINES TO INDUSTRY 4.0 - aconno
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www.aconno.com
April, 2020
INDUSTRY RETROFIT
UPGRADING OLDER MACHINES TO INDUSTRY 4.0
The information contained in this document is the property of aconno GmbH and should not be disclosed to any third party without written
permission. Specification subject to change without notice.
www.aconno.com
April, 2020
RETROFIT
MAKING EXISTING MACHINES SMART
INTEGRATE WITH YOUR INDUSTRY 4.0 CLOUD
The information contained in this document is the property of aconno GmbH and should not be disclosed to any third party without written
permission. Specification subject to change without notice.www.aconno.com
April, 2020
UPGRADING MACHINES THROUGH RETROFIT
During our IoT journey and work with many customers we have seen a solid installed base of
working and established, but old machines. Too old to be integrated into modern production
infrastructure and monitoring – but too good to go. So the question is on divesting on these
machines for costly modern replacements or investing in upgrading and integrating them by means
of retrofitting the needed equipment to monitor and integrate these old machines into today’s
landscape.
Recently we had the opportunity to showcase how easy and economic such a retrofit solution could
be. We had the pleasure to be part of a showcase installation at the “Learn Factory” LFF from Ruhr-
Universität Bochum. Together with our partners we created an end-2-end solution for local and
remote monitoring. Coordinated by our friends from mdk GmbH and their partner PTC Thingworx
we fitted our sensor beacons onto an old bandsaw, visualized the sensor information right on the
production floor using a display from preDevolution, and forwarding the data via a mobile gateway
connected by 1NCE GmbH to the Thingworx cloud for remote monitoring. It all came together
smoothly, and we could perfectly survey and monitor the bandsaw performance.
But let’s jump to the beginning: first of all – let’s look at that old machine and think! What information
would make sense, what are the missing pieces of information that would improve you process?
How would data and sensor data help you to make this machine work better, smoother, or be easier
to maintain? What parameters can help identifying operational issues leading to poor quality or
failure in the process?
The information contained in this document is the property of aconno GmbH and should not be disclosed to any third party without written
permission. Specification subject to change without notice.www.aconno.com
April, 2020
So, for thee case of our bandsaw we could clearly determine our key data points. We wanted to
know how long is the machine in standby, how long is it working on cutting/ the saw in operation,
how good is the blade and how well is the cut? How are we doing on cooling liquid and hydraulic
oil?
Key data points could be identified and the question on how to obtain the data came up quickly. In
this case, we could get the key data using 4 aconno sensor beacons – together less than 150€ for
the sensor beacons.
In the case of the band saw, we worked with acnRANGE sensors measuring distances/ fill levels
using a time of flight sensor, and 2 acnSENSA beacons measuring vibrations, angular
displacements, shock, heat, light, humidity and air pressure. The two acnRANGE beacons were
used to monitor fill-levels, one was placed on the cap of the hydraulic oil tank, the other one was on
the drawer for cooling fluids (pic. 1), on top of the bandsaw. The acnSENSA beacons were placed
right in the middle-front of the band saw (pic. 2), and on top of the motor (pic. 3).
x
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Wondering what data we could actually get from these beacons and how that would help the
business in reducing stand still, down times or avoiding poor quality?
Based on the first beacon, applied to monitor the hydraulic
fluid fill level we could check upon real time status and early
on discover leakage or loosing oil and thus pressure in the
system. Same is true for the second beacon monitoring the
fill level of the cooling fluid ensuring proper cutting results
and saw-operations – by identifying low fill levels we could
automatically trigger a re-fill before running too low, thus
avoiding stand-still, and costly manual checks.
With the acnSENSA mounted above the blade in the middle of the machine we could measure
vibrations and the angular position (saw up/ down). The second one applied on the compressor unit
would measure motor vibrations and heat.
The information contained in this document is the property of aconno GmbH and should not be disclosed to any third party without written
permission. Specification subject to change without notice.www.aconno.com
April, 2020
From the vibration pattern generated by the saw in operation we could clearly discover if the blade
was still good – showing a smooth vibration curve on the preDEVLOUTION display using the
aconno Sensorics application as a basis. When the blade was starting to cut poorly we could clearly
see this in a changed vibration pattern allowing us to stop the operation, replace the blade and
continue the operations with clear cuts and proper quality.
From knowing the duration of the vibration generated by the compressor we could tell the stand-by
time of the saw, and from the vibration caused by the blade the operational time.
Thus, with only 4 beacons we could “read” key information from the machine – and forwarding it to
the cloud via the gateway for remote monitoring and analysis.
Mounting and setup of the beacons was relatively easy and did not take more than 30-45 minutes.
As we used the aconno Sensorics app inside the preDevolution display, we could use the build-in
cloud connector and use MQTT to forward the data to the cloud.
More industrial use cases? Sure!
Off course being in the “Learning Factory” we got inspired and played around a bit. SO we applied our
beacons to the logistics processes.
See here the acnACT beacon
featuring an order button combined
with the acnFIND featuring a beacon
with light, sound and accelerometer –
knowing when something is
transported and being able to quickly
find the right box by letting it blink
and beep.
We also used our acnNFC to combine
clocking with digital clocking, and we
played with the acnFIND to see if the
alarm clock vibration can be turned
from an analogue signal into a digital signal. Done deal! We had so many more ideas on how beacons and
sensor beacons can smarten up productions – we need to go back soon.
Contact us to discuss how we can smarten up your machines and processes!
The information contained in this document is the property of aconno GmbH and should not be disclosed to any third party without written
permission. Specification subject to change without notice.www.aconno.com
April, 2020
Retrofit! With only 4 beacons for sub 150€ we could measure and determine:
Ø Machine data:
o working hours, operating hours, stand by time, heat/ overheating, running smoothly
Ø Saw-Blade status
o Position (up, down, in operation, diameter of the tube to cut)
o Vibration (operating time, quality of the blade)
Ø Cooling liquid, Hydraulic oil
o Fill levels, re-ordering material
CONTACT US FOR MORE:
info@aconno.de
The information contained in this document is the property of aconno GmbH and should not be disclosed to any third party without written
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