Gathering data using smart sensors
Author : David Hannaby, SICK’s UK Product Manager for Presence Detection
09 November 2017
Today’s production challenges are about getting the best availability, reliability and performance at ever-higher throughput speeds, while accommodating increasing product variation and customisation. Engineers must manage all of this while achieving greater data sharing and connectivity between machines and across departmental and company boundaries. Connectivity asked David Hannaby, SICK’s UK Product Manager for Presence Detection for his perspective.
Industry 4.0 is a term that was developed by the German government and first started to be defined at the Hannover Fair in 2013 to address these developing challenges of manufacturing.
Sensors are on the front line of Industry 4.0, because the data they collect is the key to it. We will get new insights from the data derived from sensors. In turn, new information about how our machines, processes and systems are performing and working together will provide the opportunity for further efficiencies.
How can sensors help address the challenges of Industry 4.0 implementation?
Industry 4.0 is often described in terms of ‘big data’ and how it can best be utilised. However, the big picture of universal connectivity can seem a somewhat remote concept to engineers working day to day. Looking at Industry 4.0 from a sensor’s eye view offers a different perspective to illustrate how it impacts at the shop-floor, micro level just as much as a global, macro one.
Industry 4.0 is all about releasing and communicating the data generated at a local processing or field level and developing new and better ways for industry to share and make use of it.
Can you go into more detail on why data is so important?
Sensors are the data-gatherers that give machines the information they need to operate. Simple tasks like detection, positioning, counting, measurement, timing and barcode reading are just as mission-critical as 2D and 3D vision inspection, level and flow sensors, safety laser scanners and light curtains.
Industry 4.0 enables machines to gather and use data and deliver greater flexibility in production. We can build in intelligent capability for sensors and systems to monitor, identify and respond automatically to situations on the shop floor in real time.
The role of sensors in Industry 4.0
What exactly makes sensors ‘smart’ – and how do we best select sensors to pave the way for the “Smart Factory”?
We can think of smart sensors in terms of four key dimensions:
1. Enhanced sensing
Firstly, it’s a pre-requisite that sensors must be able to first sense any object, no matter what the product, or how dirty, dusty or wet the conditions are.
Difficult-to-see objects, such as transparent, semi-transparent, uneven and highly-reflective objects like glass and plastics in bottling plants, or foil blisters used in pharmaceutical packaging, can be detected reliably with modern sensing technology from manufacturers like SICK.
2. Efficient communication
Before IO-Link, the information collected on machines was, in a sense, ‘trapped’, i.e. the data was not automatically visible and available to the control system. Then came IO-Link - and sensors were given a voice.
All the PLCs, computers, data networks and factory nets don’t mean a thing if they don’t have quality data fed to them in real time from the sensors operating reliably on the shop floor. So, you could say that the combination of IO-Link and intelligent sensor technology has bridged the gap and led to transparent production.
3. Diagnostics
Production lines are looking to minimise resource-intensive, reactive responses and eliminate breakdowns, as well as reducing the time taken for planned outages. A planned and predictive approach to maintenance lowers the whole-life operating costs of the machinery and extends the life of the equipment.
With the control system fully connected to “see” the sensor, engineers have access to a full range of diagnostic capabilities that were not available previously. Through the combination of sensor self-monitoring – both during set-up and ongoing operation - and full transparency, production teams have much greater flexibility in monitoring their processes.
Pre-failure notifications can prevent failures before they happen and sensor diagnostics can be integrated into flexible, needs-based maintenance plans. By continually monitoring process flow, faults can be displayed and detected quickly. If problems do arise, the cause can be easily determined with easy-to-use visualisation tools, either on the sensor itself or via an HMI, so machine downtime is minimised.
Machines can be monitored in real time to achieve production efficiencies that reduce scrap and save energy. Real-time diagnostics prevents failures before they happen, saving downtime and optimising product replacement and spares inventory.
4. Smart tasks
Advances in chip technology have enabled advanced intelligence to be embedded in the sensors themselves to make them smarter. Far from being the “dumb switches” of the past, their in-built functions, fully-connected via IO-Link, now enable more complex production tasks to be performed.
Manufacturers like SICK are working with customers to develop new smart sensor applications all the time. At SICK we have a fast-track programme to add new intelligent functionality and build-in IO-Link capability across all sensor types.
Smart sensor functions include:
• fault compensation for stable and reliable sensor signals
• advanced diagnostics and monitoring through individually-identified devices
• predefined detection modes for fast commissioning
• advanced adjustments for reliable detection
• manual adaptation of the detection parameters for individual application solutions
• auto adaption to adjust switching thresholds automatically as a signal degrades over time until an alarm threshold is reached
David Hannaby, SICK’s UK Product Manager for Presence Detection
• active sensor installation and alignment assistance.
When and where is it best to implement smart sensors?
It depends so much on the application. However, when selecting sensors, it’s wise to consider the future implications of your choice. This may mean opting for sensors that have IO-link, or that have embedded smart functions. In this way, you can leave an open gateway for future connectivity while providing the best, most reliable and intelligent response to the specific production task.
Will the current workforce have to adapt to use this type of smart technology?
There are always times when sensors need to be replaced. At SICK we want to make life as simple as possible for the engineer to install, commission or substitute a device.
Industry 4.0 sensors are straightforward to ‘teach’, without needing specialist skills to programme or commission. Once installed, they are easily adjusted to suit changes in production and able to be replaced quickly. Replacement sensors are ‘plug and play’ because they can be configured instantly with pre-set parameters downloaded via IO-Link.
What type of added demand will be placed upon sensors?
It goes without saying that devices need to be robust and reliable in themselves, but it is the additional value offered through diagnostic monitoring that perhaps presents the most opportunities.
Achieving maximum availability in any machine, system or component is a critical goal of any production environment. The more the impacts of both planned and unplanned downtime are understood, and its associated costs, the more an accurate through-life Return on Investment calculation can be made.
How is sensor technology going to evolve in the future?
Much of high volume manufacturing is driven by batch production. Altering machinery settings and sensor parameters manually every time there is a product changeover creates downtime and production stoppages.
Intelligent sensors such as code readers and vision systems can detect product changes on the line and trigger a change to new parameter settings automatically with little or no interruption. They can receive new settings in seconds to enable rapid product changeovers down to “Batch Size 1”.
The development of programmable sensor technology is set to evolve significantly. Developments like AppSpace, SICK’s unique open software platform for programmable sensors, will make it much easier to implement tailor-made application solutions on SICK programmable devices.
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