With intelligent sensors to smart production

"Sensor No. 3412, x-axis end position, detected a constantly approaching axis. Please check the bump stop!" This is something like how messages from the machines to the maintenance crews could look in the future. The ingenious part of it: the components detect changing conditions and report them automatically – without any additional programming effort. Simple IIoT! The prerequisite are open standards and platforms that Balluff is actively engaged in developing right now.

Sensors

The demands on machines and plants are continually rising. Greater availability, more flexibility, shorter startup times and an increasing number of machine per operator are just a few of the bywords. Intelligent components are an important foundation of this. But just what does "intelligent" mean in this context?

Pre-processing data with intelligent components

Intelligent sensors collect status information from the machine directly in-place and in real-time so as to create a virtual representation of the physical world. They make it possible to provide not only the primary data but also service data in the form of secondary data concerning their own status or their surroundings.
By means of light remission measurements factors such as increasing contamination, sensor misalignment or other irregularities can be detected early using intelligent photoelectric sensors. These intelligent components also often help to relieve the burden on the host controller while at the same time reducing data traffic on the fieldbus by pre-processing the incoming data.

Future Manufacturing with Industry 4.0