Upgrading pneumatics for smarter maintenance

Smart technologies are gaining ground in heavy industry, but much of today’s infrastructure still runs on conventional systems, with no connectivity or real-time data. While such setups may be the standard for pneumatic systems, upgrading to smart, connected alternatives is quickly becoming essential for effective industrial maintenance.

Many of the benefits of smart pneumatics stem from maintenance-related applications. Recognizing this potential starts with realizing how many repair issues conventional pneumatic systems can cause.

Unexpected breakdowns
The biggest maintenance problem with conventional pneumatics is the infrastructure’s tendency to break down unexpectedly. Many facilities inspect and care for equipment based on a schedule, but pneumatic components are not always noticeably degrading before they fail.

Wear and tear may arise outside of normal time frames and is often not evident until it’s too late. Consequently, a system without a means of monitoring real-time data to detect minor performance drops will likely lead to unexpected breakdowns. Such a situation, while common, produces significant downtime and related costs.

Preventable replacements
Because forgoing smart pneumatics leads to sudden failures, it also means more frequent part replacements. Failing to catch maintenance issues before they lead to total malfunctions means any degradation reaches a more severe point before technicians address it. As such, the equipment won’t last as long before it’s beyond the point of repair.

By contrast, preventive maintenance extends compressor life and reduces wear by resolving emerging problems while they’re still small. However, doing so effectively without smart functionality is difficult, thanks to inconsistent degradation patterns.

Wasted preventive care
Missing chances to address maintenance issues is only half of the problem. The best way to prevent breakdowns and extend a pneumatic system’s life without smart technology is with a regular preventive care strategy. However, this method wastes time and effort because machines don’t break down along a consistent schedule.

Since machines don’t follow predictable failure patterns, schedule-based maintenance can lead to unnecessary inspections and downtime. Technicians may take equipment offline for checks or part replacements that aren’t actually needed, causing avoidable disruption without delivering real value. Even the most proactive strategies can result in wasted time and money when they rely on guesswork instead of real-time data.

According to MaintainX co-founder Nick Haase, “IoT-connected pneumatic systems are giving operators a window into machine health that simply didn’t exist before.”

Haase states that real-time performance data enables teams to identify and anticipate potential problems before they snowball. They can optimize maintenance routines, “leading to safer, more reliable, and more efficient operations across the board.”

The IoT advantage
The Internet of Things (IoT) is necessary in light of these shortcomings. Monitoring pneumatic systems through smart sensors lets you take advantage of real-time data. Such insight is useful in many applications, especially predictive maintenance (PdM).

PdM predicts when equipment will need care based on past trends and current data. As a result, you can get immediate alerts when a pneumatic system requires attention, allowing you to fix it before breakdowns occur while avoiding unnecessary schedule-based care. According to a 2021 study published in the International Journal of Prognostics and Health Management, machinery using PdM experiences 18.5 per cent less downtime and produces 87.3 per cent fewer errors than those using preventive maintenance.

Gaining a better understanding of equipment performance is particularly important in pneumatics. Because these are enclosed systems, wear and tear is often not outwardly evident. IoT connectivity closes that gap by giving anyone with a connected device real-time, wireless access to maintenance-related data.

As TransLogic’s Director of Product Management and Transport Automation, Scott Fincher understands the importance of real-time monitoring capabilities. His company’s pneumatic tube systems leverage this technology to continuously provide critical metrics like hardware cycle counts and system status.

“This connectivity allows for targeted preventative maintenance rather than reactive repairs, significantly reducing downtime while extending equipment lifespan through early detection of potential failures,” Fincher says.

Smart pneumatics let you see things like gasket conditions, compressor cycles and valve wear at any time without taking apart a machine. Consequently, you can order replacement parts or schedule a system for repairs before issues grow large enough to disrupt operations. In addition to saving money through breakdown prevention, you avoid downtime from inspection and waiting for components to arrive.

An essential upgrade
Pneumatic systems are critical to many industrial processes but difficult to maintain with conventional approaches. Smart alternatives to old technologies provide a better way forward.

Implementing IoT for pneumatic systems may seem like an unnecessary expense, but it unlocks significant time and cost savings and allows equipment to achieve its full potential.