June 2020

27 www.drivesncontrols.com June 2020 analytics for condition monitoring and predictive analytics for condition-based maintenance can be placed on top of this. This path is also set out in the Profinet OPC UA specification, which covers the collection and presentation of asset management and diagnostic data. Currently, this data is collected in a system controller via existing Profinet services and delivered to higher levels using OPC UA. Profinet’s openness makes it possible, for instance, to add sensors with OPC UA interfaces which send their data directly to cloud services or edge gateways, without needing to rebuild the automation system. It is thus possible to implement innovative diagnostic methods, even in existing systems. It’s a situation that’s familiar in automotive body construction.“To us, a robot is simply a subordinate device of the PLC,”Mayer explains. “We’d like penetration down to the data all the way at the bottom, but we don’t want to put a separate network in place. If you have to lay an additional cable to more than 2,000 robots, it just doesn’t work. Not only this, but we don’t just use a single robot manufacturer. Depending on the application, we rely on a host of different manufacturers.” OPC UA hasn’t yet been implemented by all equipment suppliers. It’s still missing, for example, from important body construction technologies such as spot and stud welding, gluing and riveting. By contrast, robot manufacturers are already well ahead, as are RFID manufacturers. In practical implementations, the advantages are realised rapidly in applications where a combination of Profinet and OPC UA has already been introduced. Take, for example, an in-line measurement system at Neckarsulm that feeds rivets over a flexible hose from a filling area to a riveting tool on a robot arm. The challenge here lies with the rivet closure speed of around 20m/s. The hose has to be replaced between the 500,000th and 1 millionth riveting operation, halting the process for 20–30 minutes each time. This is now no longer happening during production, but at a more convenient time. The Audi team created a time series analysis for detecting wear in the rivet-feeding hose. It was relatively easy to implement – as soon as the smallest porous spots crop up, more air flows through the hose. This is detected, and the information is forwarded to Profinet via OPC UA and visualised. Now, all employees can find out about events taking place on the lowest level and take action faster, without needing extra cables. Mayer hopes that device manufacturers will implement specifications quicker in future. At the same time, he believes that users shouldn’t wait.“If you want to achieve benefits in production, you have to get involved with this subject early on. Frommy perspective, Industry 4.0 already arrived in practice a while ago. All we have to do now is implement it.” n Audi engineers regard industrial robots simply as subordinate devices of PLCs motion plastics ® ... for longer life igus ® Caswell Road Northampton NN4 7PW Tel 01604 677240 sales@igus.co.uk igus.co.uk/dryve Versatile ... D1dryve O For stepper, EC/BLDC and DC motors O Digital I/O, analogue inputs, CANopen and Modbus TCP O Energy-saving closed-loop motor control O Quick parameterisation via an integrated web server interface O Ready for shipping from 24 hours The intuitive motor controller from10 pieces £410.00 per piece: £450.00

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=