Industry 4.0: The power of wireless technology
Author : By Martin Walder, VP Schneider Electric Industry
07 March 2019
At work and in our personal lives, wireless technology has become relied upon on a daily basis. Smart phones, tablets and headphones are just some of the devices we now expect to be both connected and wireless. As consumers, we demand access to information instantly at all times – regardless of their location. The many benefits of wireless technology is now being realised in a range of industrial settings.
There’s been a lot of buzz about the potential of smart technology in the manufacturing industry. Across the world, smart technologies are helping manufacturers to improve productivity whilst also improving energy efficiency. As a result, more manufacturers are embracing these technologies to more rapidly deploy smart infrastructure and Industry 4.0 solutions.
In recent times there have been huge strides in the progress of wireless for use with sensors. This includes very low power and long-range wireless with up to a 10-year battery life to battery-less self-generating communications capabilities.
Wireless technologies are a no brainer
For many businesses, implementing wireless sensors is a no brainer. Wireless sensors offer reduced installation time, both for new machinery and revamping of existing installations, and they can help to minimise downtime and improve the MTTR (meantime to repair) – such as trying to find the faulty section in a long sensor cable run and then replace it.
Whilst battery technology is improving rapidly, capable of storing more energy each year in a smaller footprint, it is still a limiting factor in some industrial applications with a high frequency of operations when you don’t want to be changing batteries all the time.
This is where mechanical energy harvester technology comes into play. This technology is independent of ambient light or vibration or temperature, as the energy is generated by the actuation of the push-button or the limit switch actuation head. This means it is both long-lasting and consistent with industrial machinery costs.
When the operator pushes the button, or when the limit-switch head is actuated, mechanical energy is transformed into electrical energy. This supplies the transmission of a one-time radio message to one or multiple receivers. In addition, up to 32 push buttons and limit-switches can be synchronised to one receiver, providing even greater mobility in any environment. This battery free solution offers permanent availability, benefits the environment and eliminates costly battery maintenance, re-charging and recycling. Ultimately, more companies ought to be implementing mechanical energy harvester technology for this reason.
Wireless technologies and Industry 4.0
We are constantly bombarded with Industry 4.0 updates and predictions. We only need to turn on the TV or open a newspaper to hear about factories and manufacturers implementing new automation technologies, robotics and machine to machine communication. However, the Industry 4.0 discussion is about much more than these automation technologies – and wireless technologies play a huge part in driving Industry 4.0.
By engraining these wireless sensors into the operations taking place on the factory floor, data can be gathered and computed to make automated decisions with a greater degree of confidence and speed. By bringing more unity to Industry 4.0 and wireless sensors, manufacturers are starting to move away from more traditional, manual and time-consuming processes. Instead, manufacturers are able to constantly collect data from operations across the floor, allowing for more predictive maintenance and more productive operations. With increased insights from this data, wireless sensors enable automation wherever possible. Increased automation means less risk of human error, less manual labour, increased efficiencies and productivity, as well as more informed decision making.
To drive efficiency, we’re witnessing industry turn to technology solutions such as wireless sensors, which enable teams to both predict and prevent downtime. Over the next year, wireless and energy harvesting technologies will become more commonplace. We will see them integrated into smaller and smaller form-factors including limit-switches and more low power electronic sensors. The popularity of wireless technologies is only set to rise – so manufacturers need to understand how to reap the productivity gains now, and remain competitive in the long run.
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