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Unless you have been hiding away
there is no escaping the fact that
industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things
(IoT) is constantly in the news globally.
We are already seeing machine builders
and high-end manufacturers applying
these techniques to create intelligent,
connected industrial machines and
systems. These link directly from office
to device to deliver clear advantages
in terms of cost and risk reduction,
enhanced performance and flexibility
as well as opening up new service
opportunities.
Here at Molex we see engineers facing
the challenge of ensuring that vital
maintenance is carried out as machines
and manufacturing lines become even
more complex. Traditionally, rapid
response and versatile troubleshooting,
based on in-depth knowledge and
familiarity with the plant, have been
the stock-in-trade of successful
maintenance engineers. As these
present newpossibilities to help address
these maintenance challenges. These
same intelligent sensing, connectivity
and communications capabilities can
also enable new maintenance and
service opportunities. In contrast to
the traditional preventive approach,
based on predetermined maintenance
and fixed intervals or duty cycles,
operational machine and sensor
data is continuously monitored,
collected and analysed in real-time.
Stored in the cloud with appropriate
levels of security, this data can be
accessed remotely from anywhere in
the world, using a computer, tablet
or smartphone. Specialist software
flexibly monitors and analyses the data,
triggering alerts based on defined rules
and parameters, notifying the correct
team member depending on the
requirement, perhaps even assigning
digital service tickets.
Molex and MB connect line have
Remote Access
Remote Access Enables Real-Time Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance
Thierry Bieber, Molex
machines and systems integrate more
intelligent technology, their complexity
makes them increasingly difficult to
maintain. Globalisation compounds
this as they can be located anywhere
in the world. The issue here is that as
use of intelligent technology increases
they become more difficult to maintain.
In parallel, manufacturing plants are
typically an accumulation of highly
diverse installed technologies and
systems, acquired from different
vendors over time, running a variety
of software, operating systems and
applications – all needing to work
together
harmoniously.
Finding
maintenance staff with the skills and
expertise to handle the full scope of this
technology infrastructure is becoming
ever more difficult. This results in rising
costs simply to maintain the required
levels of availability– not to mention
higher risk!
But Industry 4.0 technologies also
Connectors & Cables
Special Edition
52 l New-Tech Magazine Europe