According to the Electric Power Research Institute, 4-7% percent of disruptions are caused by poor power quality. Improving power quality can have a substantial economic impact in the automotive industry. Scalable cloudbased Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions connect the automation and information domains for even more savings. Most companies do not measure and monitor power quality in real-time, missing an opportunity to substantially impact the bottom line.
Poor power quality can result in scrap, rework, damage to machinery and tooling, quality concerns, bottlenecks, and production delays - all with substantial cost. Limited plant resources are often scrambling to repair a host of very complex problems. Without power quality monitoring, maintenance personnel may not know the root cause of failures or how to quickly fix them.
Key applications and processes used in the automotive industry such as CNC machining, presses, electronics, welding, ovens, painting, and robotics all require a reliable, consistent, and low-cost energy source to maintain operational stability. Poor power quality can have severe operational and financial impact. What are some examples of poor power quality in the automotive industry? Let's focus on one area - voltage sags. Voltage sags create havoc in many automotive processes. For example, tool breakage in the machining process might take 4-6 hours to repair.
Servo based equipment loses position during voltage sags, requiring manual homing, taking up to several hours to fix. Ovens impacted by voltage sags during paint curing must reheat and stabilize, taking two to four hours, plus hours of manual repainting. If drives fail in the paint process, downtime to repair failed drives might also include repair of the ventilation system. Pneumatic equipment loses pressure due to voltage sags, possibly causing torque issues and requiring 1-2 hours to fix. Manufacturing is faced with reductions in technical staff and a shortage of people able to solve complex problems. Often planned maintenance schedules are delayed to accommodate production disruptions. It is imperative for all parties - manufacturers, vendors, and innovative technology partner companies - to work together. Denison Technologies' solution suite delivers cloud-based, real-time services managed by deeply tenured and technical teams provide a fast and low cost solution.
