December 24, 2008 - Hannover. The special display "Condition Monitoring Systems" at the trade fair Motion, Drive & Automation shows once again how the condition and status of machinery and plant can be permanently monitored. It is only by having precise knowledge of its condition and status that the operators of machinery and plant can introduce improvements and achieve higher levels of efficiency. This special display is now taking place for the third time in succession, thereby documenting the technical and economic importance of optimizing process efficiency.
Leading suppliers will be presenting their CMS solutions in Hall 24 on a total display area of 1,000 square metres.
It is relatively simple, for example, to incorporate technology into pump controls that is capable of diagnosing blockages, dry running, vapour locks, cavitation, excessive wear, overloading and poor efficiency. The financial benefit lies in the fact that the plant operator can take remedial action before serious damage is done.
Usually a sensor, an electronic analyzer or a remote system is all that is needed to achieve excellent results in machine diagnostics. A good example is the HydacLab pocket-size diagnostic lab, which can check the condition of the oil in a gearbox or hydraulic system. Vibration sensors also give an important indication of the operating behaviour or the degree of wear in machinery and plant. Professional evaluation of the data thus collected plays a key role in being able to schedule service inspections in a coordinated and timely fashion.
"Vast sums of money can also be lost when rolling mills have to be shut down at short notice because they need to undergo a costly service," notes industry expert Peter-Michael Synek, project manager for Germany's central engineering federation VDMA and co-organizer of the CMS display. In one case the introduction of a CM system to monitor the operation of a cold-rolling stand for aluminium has saved the plant operator 200,000 euros a year. The savings come from reduced repair times, lower material input and a more consistent quality standard.
CMS improves availability
Around 20,000 visiting professionals attended each of the first two CMS events at HANNOVER MESSE in 2005 and 2007 to learn about ways of systematically improving the efficiency of their machinery and plant.
Machinery and plant now have to do more than just turn out a product. Now more than ever before they need to make sound economic sense. This means that operating costs and down-time need to be reduced to a minimum - and that in turn means being able to calculate them accurately. Synek understands how this works in practice: "A further improvement in efficiency, given the high technical standard of modern machinery, can only be achieved by using sophisticated measuring and monitoring technology of the kind supplied by manufacturers of condition monitoring systems."
Recent studies have shown that roughly 35 per cent of all machine breakdowns can be detected in advance - according to pneumatic systems manufacturer Festo. The company also believes that exhaustive diagnostics can help to detect the remaining 65 per cent of faults more quickly.
High-calibre MDA Forum
Hall 24 is also the setting for the MDA Forum. The speakers here will be exploring key concepts in modern industrial management and citing successful case histories. Topics include Return on Investment (ROI), Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), Life Cycle Management (LCM), Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and, of course, Condition Monitoring Systems (CMS).
