The device is said to enable production and maintenance teams to monitor compressed air continuously so they can reduce leaks, improve operating efficiency, and cut costs.
Using data from strategically-positioned Sick FTMg flow meters, the cloud-based Sick FTMg Monitoring App visualises a wealth of both real-time and historic data about compressed air usage. It enables continuous energy management, condition monitoring and predictive maintenance of compressed air systems from any internet-enabled device.
The scalable system that can target the compressed air energy use of individual machine cells through to entire production or logistics halls. With no programming needed, it can quickly start visualising continuous compressed air data in a way that is easy to use and interpret. As well as enabling more sustainable use of resources, the data insights support better operational efficiency and help achieve reduced carbon targets, contribute towards ISO 50001 Energy Management certification or compliance with the UK government’s Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).
The Sick FTMg is a multifunctional flow sensor that enables the measurement of live values for compressed air energy in kWh. Data from the FTMg flow meter is presented via the SICK FTMg Monitoring App, which has been developed from SICK’s Industry 4.0 Monitoring Box condition monitoring platform. As well as values for pressure, temperature, flow velocity, mass flow rate and volumetric flow rate in real time, it provides totals for energy use, volume and mass over a pre-defined period.
A dashboard is said to make it easy to interpret data to detect leaks or overconsumption and to look for changes and trends. Email alerts can be set up for maintenance reminders or to give pre-defined warnings with job recommendations, for example when data strays beyond pre-defined limits. Users can drill down to identify costs, for example for individual production centres or by shift.
Up to eight FTMG flow meters can be configured via each Sick Smart Services Gateway, which collects data, aggregates and encrypts it before sending it securely via the customer’s own IT infrastructure through a firewall to the Sick cloud. Alternatively, it is possible to bypass the IT infrastructure by using mobile communications over 3G or 4G. Individuals then have access through a personal Sick ID from any device with a web browser.
The Sick FTMg, which stands for Flow Thermal Meter for inert gases, uses the dynamic calorimetric principle for precision measurement.