Industrial coatings processor Transcontinental Advanced Coatings has successfully piloted ABB Ability Condition Monitoring on critical equipment at its UK facility.
The manufacturer used the pilot project to enhance its existing predictive maintenance regime on a critical oxidiser process that cleans the air before it is released to the atmosphere.
ABB Ability Smart Sensors, fitted to the motors and mounted bearings that operate on the oxidisers two fans, collect and analyse data to monitor performance.
The system alarms if predefined limits for parameters such as temperatures and vibrations are exceeded, which enables preventative maintenance to be carried out before problems occur.
Transcontinental Advanced Coatings, which is based in Wrexham and North Carolina, makes precision coated papers, films, and speciality substrates for digital imaging, electronics, medical, and optical technologies.
Dr Keith Vidamour, Engineering Manager for the Transcontinental Advanced Coatings North Wales Plant, said: “Our overall goal is zero downtime. ABB Ability Condition Monitoring ensures we can identify equipment issues early on, before they happen, and take action to prevent breakdowns from occurring.”
“Conducting maintenance as needed rather than on a fixed schedule will help us improve reliability and process control. We are keen to move to a more objective, more data-based condition monitoring regime.”
“We are now monitoring additional parameters and have access to far more objective information that ever.”
Derek Robinson, Key Account Manager for High- and Low- Voltage Motors at ABB, said: “Transcontinental Advanced Coatings wanted to prove that the condition of critical machinery could be remotely monitored.”
“The successful trial proved they could significantly improve overall maintenance efficiency. The company’s decision to continue to add additional ABB Ability Smart Sensor technology will give it a real competitive edge.”