ifm produces sensors for Industry 4.0 with assembly solutions from FUJI
Automation and sensor technology specialist implements condition-based maintenance using shop-floor integration
Kelsterbach, March 25, 2022 – The sensor manufacturer ifm electronic gmbh relies on placement machines from FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION GmbH (www.fuji-euro.de) for the production of IO-Link sensors for Industry 4.0. The company is using 14 scalable pick-and-place platforms of the NXT III series for the production of the printed circuit board. They support the smallest parts used in mass production and offer extreme positioning accuracy. Furthermore, they are suitable for condition-based maintenance. For this, ifm uses the GIB shop-floor integration, which is based on real data and records the individual abrasion of tools.
Sensors with IO-Link interface are predestined for requirements in the networked factory. They enable transparency regarding machine data. The sensors feature digital and therefore interference-free transmission of the measured values. In addition, they provide further information to higher-level systems, enabling them to be used for predictive maintenance, for example. They can be used in a variety of ways in production plants and are easy to install.
ifm electronic gmbh offers such intelligent sensors. Founded in 1969, the company develops, produces and sells sensors, controll systems, software and systems for industrial automation worldwide. The group has around 8,100 employees all over the world and serves sectors such as the automotive, food and packaging industries. Machine tool manufacturers are also among its customer base.
Condition-based maintenance avoids over-maintenance
The most important element of an IO-Link sensor is a printed circuit board which enables the communication. Stefan Gessler, head of the maintenance department at ifm, explains: “For the production of the PCBs, we rely on SMD placement machines from FUJI. We are using 14 modules of the NXT III series in our production. They achieve extreme positioning accuracy. The placement heads can also be easily replaced without tools. This enables offline maintenance, i.e. without interrupting ongoing production.”
The FUJI machines represent the basis for the condition-based maintenance of the placement heads introduced at ifm. This was realized by the Shop-Floor-Integration of the software manufacturer GIB. The sensors in the machine measure the placement cycles of the respective head and automatically forward the data to the ERP system. When the maximum number of picks per placement head is reached, the system independently creates a maintenance order and initiates the spare parts provision. ifm can thus carry out more efficient and plannable maintenance and servicing. Downtimes and set-up times are minimized.
