Mr. Hornung, condition monitoring is one of the industry's hot topics. What's new from Balluff?

Stefan Hornung: Condition monitoring is much more than just a single sensor. That is why we have been driving this topic, which is also very viral on the market, forward since the beginning of 2020 as part of internal incubation programs. Internal Balluff teams focus on individual topics and operate according to so-called 'lean start-up' principles: The focus here is on fast and flexible collaboration without rigid role descriptions or processes - but with agile structures and a close exchange with customers. One of these teams is working intensively on solutions in the area of condition monitoring: prototypes are first created on the basis of value propositions and then improved iteratively based on customer feedback. This results in a saleable series product in a relatively short time. The first result is the 'Condition Monitoring Toolkit', or CMTK for short.

What is so special about it?

In a nutshell: The holistic approach to simple and effective monitoring of machines and systems. Plug and play commissioning with almost all available IO-Link sensors enables use in almost any industrial application. This is because the data required to prevent system downtimes and production losses is available in no time at all.

How is the installation carried out?

As the CMTK system is completely independent of the control system and the
infrastructure of the plant in which it is installed, it is naturally suitable for new
new systems, but it is also particularly suitable for retrofitting existing systems. Upgrading existing systems in particular brings great benefits, as these have often been operated without any condition-monitoring sensors and therefore no data on their condition is automatically recorded and evaluated. Without monitoring, existing systems therefore have a much greater risk of unplanned downtime.

How do you ensure the security of the recorded data?

For reasons of user data security, the CMTK is designed to work without a connection to the cloud or the Internet. The recorded data can be stored on the device or transferred to an on-premise database via an internal company network. A user management system with various access authorizations also ensures that only authorized persons have access to settings and data.

Is the system manufacturer-independent?

Any IO-Link sensor available on the market can be connected. It is important that the identification file - IODD - belonging to the sensor is stored on the CMTK system. The IODDs of all currently available IO-Link sensors from Balluff are already available in the CMTK. For additional sensors from other manufacturers, the information can be uploaded at any time - independently of Internet access.

Which applications or industries are you targeting?

There are currently over 6000 IO-Link sensors on the market for all possible physical variables and states, all of which can be used together with the 'CMTK'. So it makes almost no difference which machine, system or process is to be monitored - the possible applications are wide-ranging.

When is the system likely to be launched on the market?

By using lean start-up principles, it was possible to significantly reduce the development time for the 'CMTK', so we expect it to be launched by the end of the first quarter of 2021. Prototypes are already available for testing in individual pilot applications.