Konecranes Machine Tool Service (MTS), the leading machine tool service provider in the Finnish industry, is extending its services with IPercept’s Fitness Tracker for Industrial Machines. Launched in May this year, the new solution, ‘Smart Monitoring,’ is transforming how production and maintenance teams operate.

Here are four real-world use cases showing how it’s making a difference:

Proactive Action on Spindle Bearing Failure

Application: 5-Axis milling machine used in steel parts machining in the Mining industry

Smart Monitoring was able to identify the sudden bearing condition degradation as the result of a collision event. The further degradation over time was monitored, until the bearing reached a state of accelerated degradation when the bearing was changed. In this case, with Smart Monitoring a most certainly critical bearing failure was avoided, and the replacement could be planned with minimal impact on production.

Loop Test for Abnormality Identification

Application: 5-axis milling machine used in engine parts machining in the Automotive industry.

The Smart Monitoring Loop Test-cycle was performed and a localized defect was identified on one of the axis. A double ballbar-test verified the abnormality to a dent in the ball-screw grooves. The abnormality could now be tracked over time using Smart Monitoring, and a repair planned well ahead of any severe impact on the machine.

Ballscrew Replacement

Application: 5-axis milling machine used in powertrain parts machining in the Automotive industry

Smart Monitoring identified critical degradation in the axial mounting of the ball-screw drive. As the machine was further operational, Smart Monitoring could identify how the degradation propagated to other parts of the assembly, starting to damage other components as well. After the replacement of the ball-screw and coupling, some observable degradations remained in the drivetrain system, but the overall health of the machine was stable. With Smart Monitoring it was possible to verify the effects of single component replacements on the overall health of the machine offering key insights into the effectiveness of taken actions.

Prioritization and Optimization

Application: A factory with many old and identical multi-ops used in high precision component manufacturing.

Smart Monitoring was brought in to evaluate the health status of an entire machine park. The result was a targeted and prioritized renovation program that has extended their expected lifetime by 3+ years and allowed for the decommissioning of one machine without any loss of overall productivity.

Curious to learn more? Check out the full details on the Smart Monitoring website: Konecranes Smart Monitoring | Konecranes Suomi