Industrial Automation Magazine India

Intelligent Cables for Robots & Drag Chains

Published on : Tuesday 30-11--0001

Nuremberg – Leoni, a global provider of energy and data management solutions in the automotive sector and other industries, presented intelligent solutions for robot dresspacks and drag chains for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair from 27 to 29 November in Hall 2, Booth 230. They make it possible to avoid unplanned plant downtime and thereby to reduce maintenance costs, thus making the production more efficient.

Dresspack systems and drag chains supply robots and production plant with power and provide the connection between the control system and the sensors. Under everyday production conditions, they are exposed to very high stresses and can lead to costly, unplanned production stoppages when, for example, data and power cables on robots and in drag chains fail due to wear and tear.  Leoni therefore develops intelligent cable systems that actively monitor their condition, analyse and report it. The clear objective is to avoid production stoppages and to raise production equipment uptime.

Leoni for the first time showcased robot dresspack systems at the fair that are equipped with its key technology LEONiQ, which was developed in house. It checks a given conductor in the cable with a signal at certain intervals. Based on changes in this signal, such parameters as temperature, fluid penetration and mechanical stress can be monitored along the entire cable, enabling critical spots to be precisely localised and marked. This information is analysed by means of cloud services and sent to dashboards. Production equipment operators can thereby not only identify at an early stage which dresspack is reaching its wear limit, but also detect the affected cable and the respective location. It furthermore enables required maintenance work to be planned in good time.

LEONI Cable Solutions (India) Pvt Ltd, Pune. Tel: 02135-391600. Email: [email protected]