Intelligent solutions for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance

Extend product life & save maintenance costs with smart plastics

Smart plastics for e-chain® cable carriers and chainflex® flexible cables are a group of sensor systems that detect breakage, monitor push/pull forces, cable tension, and the electrical resistance of conductors. i.Sense for condition monitoring checks for any unexpected operational states, such as a broken cable carrier link, and will either sound an alarm or shut off the system completely to prevent catastrophic failure. i.Cee for predictive maintenance incorporates software to determine the maximum service life of your igus® cable management system and when the best time is to service it.

Smart Plastics Overview

i.Sense - Condition Monitoring Sensors:

Smart sensors allow self-monitoring for select products
Real-time alerts prevent unplanned downtime
Value limits can trigger a system shut-down

i.Cee - Predictive Maintenance Software:

i.Cee dashboard visualizes all movement data
Increase user safety and product service life

Condition monitoring (i.Sense)

Condition monitoring is the fastest, simplest way to combine many igus® products to form a self-monitoring smart plastics product. Sensors are mounted to measure values (such as temperature, forces and sound waves/vibrations) within predefined limits. Values outside the limits result in an alert or notification. This information provides the basis for taking subsequent steps, such as maintenance or shutting down the system. Values outside defined limits can directly trigger a system shut-down to prevent costly damages and repairs. At igus®, we use the term "i.Sense" (i feel) to refer to condition monitoring.

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Predictive maintenance (i.Cee)

Predictive maintenance uses sensors, software, and the elements of condition monitoring to create a system that allows dynamic service life calculation and determines the best times for the maintenance of igus® products. This makes predictive maintenance the next step in achieving a comprehensive concept for smart energy supply and bearing technology. This predictive maintenance system is called "i.Cee" (i see ahead) and is available in a wide variety of designs. The goal is always to maximize system and user safety and product service life.

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Smart plastics general overview

Insight into the complete product portfolio for Industry 4.0

Content overview:

Condition monitoring (i.Sense)
Condition monitoring products
Condition monitoring application examples
Predictive maintenance (i.Cee)
Application examples for predictive maintenance
How does data flow in the case of predictive maintenance?

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Smart plastics industry 4.0 solutions, tools and applications

Reliable condition monitoring in the crane industry

Heavy loads, long periods of use, and a wide variety of weather conditions – cranes must present a fantastic performance. To ensure this at all times, reliable condition monitoring concepts are needed.

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Predictive maintenance in automotive production

In automotive production, the assembly lines never stand still. Smart production concepts in the style of predictive maintenance have long been established in these production lines.

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Application examples with smart plastics

smart examples with e-chain®, chainflex® cables and bearings.

Industry: Automotive

Intelligent Breakage Monitoring in 22 Ton Driving Simulator

Which smart plastics technology is used?
P4.1 roller chain, i.Sense EC.B, chainflex cables

Why is it used?
Increase in plant safety and availability; complete project implementation from a single source; smart early warning system.

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Industry: Crane

Longest travel with smart roller chain system

Which smart plastics technology is used?
i.Sense EC.P for permanent monitoring of the system

Why is it used?
The system includes intelligent sensors for monitoring the pull/push forces, which can be used for an emergency shutdown in the event of increased forces.

Industry: Crane

Smart shipyard cranes in successful use for years

Which smart plastics technology is used?
Roller energy chains with the iSense EC.P pull/push force detectio.

Why is it used?
To avoid system damage and failures through preventive maintenance or remote intervention.

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Industry: Crane

Complete smart plastics package on RMG crane

Which smart plastics technology is used?
EC.P for push/pull forces, EC.B for chain breaks, CF.P for measuring tensile force on cables, EC.M for movement data and EC.W for measuring abrasion and a predictive maintenance system.

Why is it used?
The customer now has full control, overview and safety.

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Industry: Automotive

Austrian automotive parts supplier uses smart plastics

Which smart plastics technology is used?
EC.B sensor for breakage monitoring + EC.W for measurement of the abrasion along the e-chain®.

Why is it used?
For the customer, it is important that subsequent damage to the equipment be prevented in the event of chain breakage.

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Industry: Transport

Predictive maintenance in train washing station

Which smart plastics technology is used?
EC.M motion sensor, EC.W abrasion sensor, EC.B breakage sensor, i.Cee:plus to evaluate data, i.Cee:net to transfer to dashboard.

Why is it used?
The built-in components ensure that, if damage occurs, the machine is shut down to provide an optimum maintenance plan.

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Bread wrapping machine with smart plastics

Industry: Packaging

"igus® CF.Q condition monitoring can prevent failure of machines with high output"

Which smart plastics technology is used?
E4.1L e-chains® and chainflex® cables pre-assembled as a readychain, CF.Q isense sensors, Module Connect connector.

Why is it used?
The isense sensors with CF.Q module detect core ruptures before they occur and save the user high downtime costs.

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Güdel measuring machine with smart plastics

Industry: Robotics

Predictive maintenance planning for linear robot

Which smart plastics technology is used?
EC.M sensor for motion data and EC.W sensor for the measurement of abrasion along the energy chain

Why is it used?
The two sensors transfer the measured values via the i.com module (now i.Cee module) directly to Güdel's condition monitoring system, which evaluates the data and makes maintenance predictable.

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Industry: Mining

Smart plastics in aluminum oxide production

Which smart plastics technology is used?
EC. P System as a cleaning or maintenance reminder.

Why is it used?
The heavy dust arising during the movement of bauxite is an enormous stress, especially for moving machine components.

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Industry: Wastewater and sewage treatment plants

Smart sensors in sewage treatment plant pipelines prevent failures before they occur.

Which smart plastics technology is used?
EC. P pull force monitoring system for the energy chain

Why is it used?
The EC. P module is used to shut down the plant in an emergency so that the damage can be rectified or total damage is avoided.

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Industry: Agriculture

Smart bearings in agricultural machinery

Which smart plastics technology is used?
i.Sense bushing

Why is it used?
The smart bearings reports the current condition of components and how worn they are.

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Smart e-chain® and cables

Use smart plastics to stay abreast of how your chain is doing.

Our intelligent e-chain® systems are already reliably in use in hundreds of thousands of applications worldwide - from beverage machines and CNC machines to steel mills.

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Smart bearing technology

Don't let a defective plain bearing ruin your day.

Smart plain bearings are great for sensitive or hard-to-reach spots on a machine, since they allow the bearing's condition to be assessed at any time.

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Smart Applications

Customer application examples with smart plastics

Whether a new project for Industry 4.0 or efficiency-driven retrofitting - our smart plastics solutions are available as universal modular systems and can be individually adapted to any system.

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