igus, the motion plastics specialist, is offering a wide range of online tools, one of which is the ‘e-chain expert’, which enables interested parties to select and assemble a smart individual energy chain system in just 3 steps. Price, service life and delivery time are displayed. For the first time, users now have the option of configuring their e-chain with the intelligent i.Sense EC.W wear sensor directly. This gives customers a complex, ready-to-connect e-chain system that includes real-time condition monitoring in just a few clicks.The igus ‘e-chain expert’ online configurator finds the energy chain best suited for each customer’s application – in just three steps. Users only have to select the harnessed or unharnessed cables in the online tool or indicate the rough fill weight.
Then, they choose environmental and application parameters, such as travel and required speed. Finally, they can pick the right energy chain from a pre-selection and tailor it further. A new function is now available: for the first time, they can also equip their e-chain directly with igus smart plastics technology – intelligent sensors.
Richard Habering, Head of Business Unit smart plastics at igus said, “As soon as the customer receives a pre-selection of suitable chain series, the online tool immediately shows which products are compatible with smart plastics. The selected chain can then be equipped with a smart wear sensor with a simple click.”
The EC.W sensor can also be easily added to existing chain configurations. Users then assign interior e-chain separation as usual – automatically taking into account all interior separation rules. Those who want to skip these setup steps can also work directly with the demo chain configuration.
Real-time condition monitoring costs less than ever
As Industry 4.0 advances, more and more companies are relying on smart sensors to monitor the technical condition of their systems. igus i.Sense EC.W provides real-time condition monitoring. This not only makes maintenance over the entire service life simpler and easier to plan, but also reduces its costs. Integrated, potential-free contacts allow the wear sensor to be connected directly to the PLC machine control system. Users can also connect the sensor to a wide range of networks and IoT systems via an i.Cee module and thus integrate it into a predictive-maintenance concept. Habering added, “Smart plastics enable users to avoid unplanned system downtimes and unnecessary or premature chain replacement. This can extend energy chain service life and greatly increase system availability. The integration of smart plastics technology into our online configurator now makes this even easier. Customers save valuable time and receive their ready-to-connect e-chain system, including intelligent service life monitoring, with the least possible effort.”
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