Peering into the Crystal Ball on Condition Monitoring Technology

The future of smart components for motion control systems looks bright

The John Crane Sense open platform is designed to allow third parties, component OEMs, and end users to digitize their physical devices with application development support from John Crane.

Smart components are designed to improve the overall performance of motion control systems by providing advanced features like condition monitoring, real-time data tracking, self-diagnosis, and fault detection, to name a few. These features are designed to significantly reduce downtime and enhance the safety and reliability of the system and play an important role in improving the performance and functionality of motion control systems, making them an increasingly popular choice for industrial automation applications.

There is an increasing trend toward integrating evermore compact smart components into larger, more complex motion control systems, and advances in AI, ML, and IIoT are helping with the speed and quality of their adoption. The future looks bright for this sector—as demonstrated by the current offerings showcased here from Liebherr, Nord, and John Crane—with many exciting advancements and improvements expected in the coming years.

Digital Clearance Monitoring for Slewing Bearings from Liebherr

With the condition monitoring system for slewing bearings, Liebherr has created a digital monitoring system. The integrated wear measurement system, bearing clearance monitoring (BCM), ensures optimum monitoring of the slewing bearings in various applications, such as mining and material handling equipment or maritime applications. The BCM system can be used to measure bearing wear in axial and radial directions as well as tilting clearance. Such diagnostics ensure flexibility in measurement, as well as reduced downtime, lower costs in maintenance, and above all, higher personal protection.