Energy-efficient fan monitoring based on current consumption
Current consumption as an indicator of fan condition and performance
Goal of the project
Whether in the automotive industry, in food production or in electronics manufacturing, fans are the invisible heroes of industrial processes. They ensure proper extraction and exhaust of dust, vapours and waste heat generated during production. In doing so, they help protect both people and machinery from potential hazards. In addition to fan vibration monitoring, measuring the electrical current is another important parameter for monitoring the condition of a fan. The recorded current values provide valuable indications of possible short circuits in the motor windings, increased friction in rotating components and faults in the frequency converter. For example, if a motor winding is damaged due to incorrect current consumption, the fan may fail, resulting in impaired exhaust performance and potential consequences for both people and machinery.
By using an ifm current converter and the IIoT platform moneo, the current consumption of machines can be monitored and controlled. This allows potential fault currents to be detected early and possible damage to be prevented.
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Optimal exhaust solutions for
energy-efficient production processes
Monitoring the current consumption of a fan provides numerous advantages. The recorded and processed current values deliver important information about the condition of the system. They provide insights into the motor windings, the behaviour of rotating components and potential faults in the frequency converter. Thanks to comprehensive data recording, imminent faults can be detected at an early stage. Maintenance work can thus be scheduled and carried out as needed. In addition, moneo helps analyse and optimise energy consumption by providing precise measurements of electrical current. By monitoring overcurrents, current converters can help prevent damage to electrical equipment and protect the system. Overall, maintenance activities can be planned in a targeted manner and process reliability is improved. At the same time, good air quality for personnel and consistent process quality are ensured.
Value proposition
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Process qualityEarly fault detection and demand-based maintenance
Efficient exhaust air management is essential in many production processes. It ensures the reliable extraction of various vapours and thus supports machine availability, good air quality and the stability of the entire manufacturing process. But how does it work?
To optimise the maintenance and monitoring of your fans, sensors detect the current values of all three phases between the frequency converter and the fan. Measuring the phase difference provides additional information about the condition of the fan motor. A current transducer together with moneo monitors the current consumption and detects possible sluggishness of rotating components. A frequency converter records all three phases of the current values. It is also analysed whether the fan is operating in partial-load or full-load mode and how the current consumption behaves in the individual phases.
All process values are visualised in moneo, providing a quick overview of the system’s condition. In moneo, maintenance activities can be documented in a ticketing system, and historical data can be stored and analysed. The simple handling, installation and customer-specific configuration of the current transducers do not require any machine downtime or disconnection of cables, as the sensor can be opened and closed and placed around the conductor. Overall, the entire process is optimised by enabling condition-based maintenance instead of time-based maintenance.
Automated data transmission of fan current consumption
ifm offers integrated hardware and software solutions that enable easy and efficient process automation. For processing and transmitting sensor data, ifm provides numerous interfaces. Using various protocols such as MQTT or OPC UA, the data processed in moneo can be transferred either to an external ERP system or directly to AWS, Azure or the moneo Cloud via a specific connection. With ifm’s proprietary SFI interface, maintenance orders can even be created automatically in SAP, enabling an early response when spare parts need to be ordered.
In moneo, the machine status is calculated every second. The utilisation and the operating hours counter are also updated every 60 seconds on the EdgeGateway in the cloud.
System structure
Step by step: How to monitor your fan’s current consumption
ifm provides a wide range of automation components. To ensure smooth operation, moneo collects the data, analyses it, and monitors the quality of the phase currents on a fan of an extraction system, thereby enabling demand-based planning of maintenance interventions. This requires the installation of moneo. The IO-Link masters are connected to the server via an internal VLAN. Three ZJF056 current transducers and the AL2605 IO-Link input/output module are chosen for this application. The current transducers are used for all supply lines of the three AC phases U/V/W between the frequency converter and the connection terminals on the fan. The measured values of the current transducers are available as 4...20 mA analogue signals on the signal outputs. These values are converted from 4...20 mA to IO-Link signals via the AL2605. The data is made available to moneo via an IO-Link master of the AL1352 series. The values of the current consumption of the three supply lines U/V/W are to be measured with the help of three current transducers.
To obtain useful process values, the measured value of the current transducer must be converted into the actual current value of the transducer (4 mA ≙ 0 A, 20 mA ≙ 50 A*). This is done in moneo using the function “Calculated values”. This makes it possible to detect electrical and mechanical fault patterns such as short circuits in the motor windings, increased friction in rotating components and faults in the frequency converter. Based on the measured current values, the difference between the three phases and the average current of all three phases are calculated so that the values can be compared.
* Factory setting of ZJF056 = 100 A. To increase the measuring accuracy, the measuring range was adjusted to 50 A via the DIP switch on the transducer.