The innovative product collects analysis data on the condition of the conductor rails and their components during operation. This is unique on the market in this form. Based on the values determined, the plug-and-play solution makes it possible to detect signs of wear or emerging faults at an early stage and reduce unplanned downtimes to a minimum. Flexible systems and high plant availability are the be-all and end-all for modern production processes. Precise knowledge of the condition of the systems is an important prerequisite for this, as breakdowns and faults cost a lot of time and therefore money. To ensure continuous monitoring and detect faults at an early stage, Vahle has developed what it claims is the first intelligent busbar monitoring system, the Smart Collector. The Smart Collector has a special sensor system that detects the movements of the individual current collectors. In combination with a positioning system, movement parameters and any track anomalies are assigned with positional accuracy and can therefore be rectified in a targeted manner. In addition to the alignment to the rail and the contact pressure, the Smart Collector uses the lifting and deflection movements to calculate a wear forecast for the individual collector brushes. The Smart Collector can be integrated into both new and existing systems and can of course be combined with existing technology. The data is processed and analyzed by the control unit and transmitted to an ISO 27001-certified data center. This also enables the use of a remote helpdesk. Anomalies can be detected at an early stage, the optimum maintenance time can be determined and routine inspections can be avoided. This not only increases the service life of the systems, but also reduces costs in the long term. Required spare parts can then be ordered just in time via the Vahle Customer Hub and no longer need to be kept in large quantities.

The Smart Collector System essentially consists of the components motion detector, read head for positioning, main unit and router. The motion detector consists of a 4-pole current collector set and the adapted, contactless sensor system. By implementing the sensor without interfering cabling, the current collector is not restricted in its degrees of freedom. Any movements in the overall system that affect the current collector are detected. These unwanted movements are detected by the main unit with positional accuracy and sent to the certified data center. Data is only transferred to the data center if an anomaly is detected. The Smart Collector is a plug-and-play solution that takes less than 90 minutes to install. In addition, the Smart Collector works independently of the customer's system, meaning that this system cannot cause any disruptions to production.

This article appeared in issue 6/23

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