Improve quality of calibration process

Efficient refilling process

The initial situation: Visual inspection of the water level

In the past, ifm prover gmbh would determine the level of the water tanks daily by means of visual inspection by the employees. There was no visualization of the current water quantity or any limit value monitoring with alarm function. As a result, the calibration process repeatedly came to a standstill in case of insufficient water quantities, which would lead to downtimes and, thus, increased costs. Due to the lack of data recording, there was no transparency regarding the refilling processes. Neither was it possible to determine the maintenance requirements and plan them in good time.

The implementation: Level monitoring with moneo RTM

Thanks to the existing IT structure, moneo was installed on a central server of ifm prover gmbh to activate the moneo RTM module. The level sensors for tank monitoring are connected to an IO-Link master that in turn is connected to the server via a VLAN.

The result: Uninterrupted calibration process

Level monitoring with moneo RTM has led to a more reliable and uninterrupted calibration process. Thanks to the automated notification function when the limit value is not reached, the water demand can be automatically met, thus reducing the cost factor of calibration. Another result of automated level monitoring is the stable assurance of high product quality based on consistently ideal process conditions.

Bottom line: Value added services in level monitoring

• Calculated values: Sensor values can be converted to process-relevant information with the help of data modelling
• Cockpit functions: comprehensive and individual visualization of all sensors in the process
• Detailed information about levels by capturing sensor values
• Integrated alarm management: Fast reaction to changing process parameters
• Analysis: increase of levels according to the requirements by means of targeted evaluation of historical data
• Identification of limit values that are exceeded or not reached

System structure

1. IO-Link master
2. Continuous level sensor (guided wave radar)

Dashboard

The moneo dashboard provides a clear overview
The dashboard provides the user with an overview of the relevant process values for the calibration plant.

1. Current tank level in mm
2. Current tank level in liters
3. Lacking water quantity in liters
4. Traffic light display for the warning and alarm values of the level

Analysis

Via the analysis function, the user can analyze the tank level in detail. The level values are permanently recorded and can even be checked after days, weeks or months. This allows, for example, to draw conclusions about leaks.

Tasks & tickets: managing limit values

For the two level sensors, values for the lower and upper alarm limits are defined on the basis of maintenance experience.

Calculated values

The following values are calculated additionally based on the level.

Current tank level in liters

Since the floor space of the tank is known to be 0.24 m², the fill quantity can be easily determined by using the formula "floor space * level."

1. Current tank level in mm
2. Floor space of the tank
3. Multiplication of floor space and level
4. Volume in liters as result of the calculation

Lacking water quantity in litres
Since the maximum volume of the tank is known to be 72 litres and the current fill quantity has already been calculated, the missing quantity can easily be determined via "maximum volume - fill quantity."

1. Current tank level in mm
2. Floor space of the tank
3. Subtraction of floor space and level
4. Volume in liters as result of the calculation