Multiple faults diagnosed at early stage thanks to OPTIME Ecosystem

Customer Success Story

Intelligent condition monitoring of machine and lubrication

Knauf's maintenance department was looking for monitoring solutions for the multitude of its standard units, such as pumps, fans, and electric motors, as well as core production equipment like the rotary kiln. Knauf was impressed with Schaeffler's professional consultation, the simplicity of the solutions, and the possibility of having an overview of all machine types on one user interface. They decided to monitor the product cooling ovens and the motor of the Roto-Packer, among other things, with OPTIME Condition Monitoring (CM).

With success: Only a few months after installation, OPTIME CM reported faults both on a product cooling oven and on the Roto-Packer. Based on this success, Knauf decided to expand the OPTIME CM solution with another element from the OPTIME Ecosystems - the OPTIME C1. This is a smart lubricator that monitors the status of the lubrication points in the Ecosystem.

“With the OPTIME condition monitoring solution, we were able to diagnose the first faults shortly after installation and avoid unplanned downtimes. Adding the intelligent OPTIME C1 relubrication solution opens up completely new possibilities for us. With lubrication and condition monitoring, we can simplify two very important tasks and thus avoid unplanned downtimes. I simply look at my cell phone and have an overview of my machines on just one platform.
It´s all very easy – with the OPTIME Ecosystem!“
Oliver Burggraf, TPM Coordinator, Knauf Gips KG

Benefits
Challenge
Solution & What's Special
Technical Information
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Benefits

Customer Benefits

Cost-efficient solution to monitor machines wirelessly
Easy reading of the data and alarm via app on smart phone
Easy and quick installation and initiation of the OPTIME components
No more manual checking of difficult-to-access machines as the app and the web-based dashboard provide transparency on the machine condition
Less unplanned downtime of monitored machines

Challenge

As it is the case in many manufacturing companies, a lot of machines and components at the Iphofen gypsum plant are subject to heavy wear due to the ambient conditions and the production processes. Among other things, maintenance classifies the product cooling ovens (heat exchangers and fresh air blowers), the packing machine and the rotary kiln to be particularly critical equipment.

In the past, these units have shut down unexpectedly. The cause: Dust and dirt are generated during the manufacture of products for drywall construction, floors, plaster and facades. There is a great danger of dust and dirt accumulating on the blower blades, for example. In the worst case, this can lead to unplanned breakdowns of the machines.

Many machines are located in dangerous, difficult-to-access areas and thus pose a challenge to occupational safety. The new solution package should take this into account as well.

Oliver Burggraf, TPM coordinator, and Matthias Niedner, deputy plant manager and head of maintenance at the Iphofen II plant, summarize their biggest pain point:

Oliver Burggraf:

“It is important for me that we move away from mere reactive maintenance to planned maintenance.“

Matthias Niedner:

“Our customers want to order our products „just in time“, which is why our machines have to run 24/7. Therefore, reliable condition monitoring of our machines and lubrication points is important.“

Solution

For the different applications, the Schaeffler experts recommended Knauf to use different monitoring solutions. The extra benefit: Maintenance has an overview of all machines with just one user interface.

Product cooling ovens and roto-packer
Condition monitoring with OPTIME CM was used for these applications. The scalable solution consists of wireless sensors, a gateway and a digital service that includes automatic data analysis in the cloud and the provision of key information in an app and a web-based dashboard.
Shortly after commissioning, alerts (push messages) were displayed on the OPTIME dashboard for product cooling ovens and Roto-Packers.
Low-frequency vibrations were increasing in the product cooling ovens, which indicated that the fans were unbalanced. It turned out that the blades had caked due to heavy contamination. After cleaning they worked again without any problems.
Maintenance also received a warning message via push message on the Roto-Packers. Iso value, envelope curve and temperature were rising, indicating that bearing damage was imminent. In the end, the motor had to be replaced.
Rotary kiln
For monitoring the rotary kiln, Maintenance prefers to use the multi-channel ProLink CMS system.
Its high performance makes it possible to reliably monitor the rotary kiln - despite its variable operating conditions and surface temperatures.
An LTE router is used to connect the rotary kiln's measurement data to the OPTIME Cloud. Integration into the company's own network is not necessary.
Knauf uses the modular ProLink CMS with 11 vibration sensors attached to various bearing housings, gearboxes and motors. The vibration signals are correlated with the number of rotations additionally measured.

What's Special

The OPTIME CM monitoring solution is so simple that the maintenance team in Iphofen installed and commissioned it themselves after a brief introduction.

This is another reason why Knauf has installed the OPTIME CM monitoring solution in other plants. In the Satteldorf plant, Knauf also uses the additional advantages of the OPTIME Ecosystem, which result from the combination of Condition Monitoring and Smart Lubrication.

Technical Information

OPTIME Ecosystem
The OPTIME Ecosystem consists of many elements that work together to reduce downtime.
The intuitive mobile app, dashboard and expert viewer mean you always have easy access to the right information at the right time, no matter where you are.
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OPTIME CM
Recognizes faults and anomalies.
Maintenance is always informed about the condition of the machine via a mobile device.
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ProLink CMS
The system reliably monitors the rotary kiln at the Iphofen plant.
The modular ProLink CMS with 11 vibration sensors is attached to various bearing housings, gear units and motors.
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Lubrication system OPTIME C1
The OPTIME Ecosystem user interface lets you keep an eye on all your lubrication points at all times.
No walk-through checks anymore.
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OPTIME CM, OPTIME C1 and ProLink CMS are part of the Schaeffler Lifetime Solutions portfolio, which offers a comprehensive range of products, services and solutions for industrial maintenance. It is designed to support maintenance professionals over the entire life cycle of a machine.

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