n TECHNOLOGY 16 September 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com OLIS ROBOTICS, THE US DEVELOPER of diagnostics systems for industrial cells, has extended its capabilities to include PLC monitoring, creating what it describes as “the world’s most comprehensive remote diagnostics solution for industrial automation cells”. The development will allow remote monitoring, diagnostics and debugging of complete industrial cells. It will allow integrators to debug their systems before shipping, and to monitor their systems once they have been deployed. Olis’ video and telemetry-based technology can diagnose the root causes of downtime, such as robot failures. The data allows robot cells to be debugged quickly and remotely, cutting downtime. “PLCs often contain important diagnostic data required to understand the causes of unplanned downtime,” explains Olis’ CEO, Fredrik Ryden. The new capabilities “enable real-time access to that data, effectively closing the loop on video-based diagnostics for industrial automation systems.” The new capabilities cover entire cells from PLCs to robot grippers, including conveyors and other hardware. Users can monitor and set alerts for predefined runtime parameters via a PLC, including I/Os, registers and the custom tags that PLCs use to measure OEE (overall equipment effectiveness), monitor cycle times and detect faults. For end-users, this will reduce downtime costs for entire cells, according to Olis. The new functions can also help to maintain and improve production throughput. For example, in an application where a robot inserts bolts into a part, the system could tell operators to refill the feeder with bolts when it is running low. At present, Olis’ capabilities are limited to Allen Bradley PLCs from Rockwell Automation, and to robot arms from Universal Robots, Kawasaki and Fanuc. Olis says that other makes of PLC and robot will be supported “in the near future”. “Sometimes, when a failure occurs, the robots may not even know that there's a problem,” points out Olis sales engineer, Bill Ordakowski. He reports that early testers of the new PLC functions have said they will be “unstoppable” with the new technology. “It’s not just the radically reduced downtime that they appreciate, but the extra breadth and control PLC access brings to remote monitoring and diagnostics.” Olis Robotics was founded in 2013 as a spinout from the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Lab. Its technologies are based on more than a decade of telerobotics R&D conducted in collaboration with Nasa and the US Navy. It has offices and laboratories in Seattle. https://olisrobotics.com SIEMENS CLAIMS TO BE producing the world’s first “green” control cabinets, made from scrap metal using renewable energy. The Sivacon 8MF1 cabinets, from Siemen’s Alpha Verteilertechnik subsidiary, are said result in 70% lower CO2 emissions than those made from conventional steel produced in a blast furnace using iron ore and coal. The green steel is produced in an electric arc furnace, powered by wind energy. It has been sourced from suppliers in Europe. The 70% reduction translates into savings of 308kg of CO2 per enclosure. Currently, steel production is responsible for 8% of global emissions. Siemens says that as demand for steel rises, it is essential to decarbonise its production. The new cabinets have the same technical specifications as those produced from conventional steel. They will help industrial businesses to cut their CO2 emissions and to reach their sustainability goals. The development of the cabinets also supports Siemens’ own sustainability goals, outlined in its Degree framework, which sets a 1.5°C decarbonisation target. https://drivesncontrols.news/3p5n2b2b Control cabinets are the first to be made from ‘green’ steel Extending diagnostics to PLCs will cut automation cell downtime Extending monitoring and diagnostics capabilities to PLCs will allow problems in complete industrial cells to be debugged quickly and remotely, cutting downtime. Photo: Business Wire The new control cabinets are made from 100% scrap metal produced using wind power.
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