Cable with Integrated Current Monitoring Prevents Unwanted Shutdown of Conveying System

The M12Plus cables with integrated condition monitoring detect increases in current consumption by motors and report this to the PLC via Bluetooth

In the body assembly plants of the automotive industry, conveying systems transport body parts to automated production lines where they are further processed by robots. These parts, however, are often fed manually. Stoppers are provided along the conveying line to prevent the material feed from obstructing the robots when they grip the parts. The safety technology ensures that the currents of the actuators in the conveyor system do not exceed specified threshold values.

Your Benefits

Improved plant availability by preventing unnecessary safety stops
Improved plant transparency
Data basis for predictive maintenance
Improved sustainability through the energy monitoring of reactive power

Since the assembly lines are often manually loaded they require safety technology
The motor that activates the stopper can draw increased currents due to wear
The M12Plus cables monitor the strength of the current flowing through them

Wear in motors draw higher currents

It can sometimes be the case that the motors on the stoppers wear down. This may be due to different reasons such as dust or other types contamination caused by the nearby welding system, a lack of lubrication or constant mechanical stress. This results in a motor requiring higher currents in order to move.

Unnecessary plant downtime due to safety-related shut down

The safety technology triggers the safe shutdown of the conveyor system if the current exceeds the threshold value. The fault then has to be found, rectified and the plant for this production section restarted. Additional work and reduced productivity are the result that production managers wish to avoid.

M12Plus cable measures current and signals to the PLC via Bluetooth

Turck's M12Plus cable series offers integrated current and voltage monitoring. The cables feature an integrated sensor in the connector and are thus able to check their own health condition. The measured values are sent to the PLC via Bluetooth. This enables the PLC to detect increased current before the safety technology is forced to intervene and shut down the conveyor line.

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