Nissan Europe contracted Owben to develop a press condition monitoring system for its plant in Sunderland. Nissan’s presses had suffered several major breakdowns, which was resulting in a significant amount of downtime.
A system that could monitor various aspects of the press to detect failures early in the cycle was therefore required.
TECHNOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES
Owben wanted to come up with a system that could monitor all aspects of the press and detect when a failure was likely to occur. We wanted to be able to devise a system that could be used on all presses within Nissan’s press shop.
The object was to design a bespoke system that could detect failures in the linear bearings or guides. The system would also monitor press flow and pressure, which can detect early failures of the pumps, motors or filters by using appropriate sensors.
TECHNOLOGICAL UNCERTAINTIES
While the technology required to build this bespoke system was available, bringing all the different processes and components required a bespoke solution.
We encountered technological uncertainty throughout this project. A major problem was how to integrate some of the two-wire devices onto the IO-Link system. We had to test and investigate each device and component and come up with a design to successfully integrate these components.
We also installed software into the system to record historical data and readings, which enabled trends and patterns to be identified. Again, they did not know how the software would work within such a bespoke system.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT
No other press machines have had this type of system installed before, so the control system development by Owben and the integration of the components into this system – as well as the software design – will provide a standard template for all other press lines in Nissan plants around the world.
Owben undertook the following work:
Design of control system.
Build of the main control panel.
Build of three off-sub panels positioned around the press.
Installation of data communication cables.
Installation of flow sensors and pressure sensors into the hydraulic systems. Installation of pressure sensors into the air systems.
Design and installation of adjustable brackets for the installation of the linear transducers on the press slide.
Design of the software.
Commissioning of the system.
The system has saved a significant amount of downtime by identifying possible faults early in the cycle.
If you’re interested in working with Owben, please contact us to discuss your project.