The Internet of Things has growth potential of trillions of euros, and as the technology spreads around the globe, many countries will be asking how to move into this new arena. Many industrial companies are struggling to digitalise their processes. As a new member of the Berlin-based IoT Use Case expert network, igus explains how to get started with IoT.
Monday morning in a bread factory: The packaging system suddenly breaks down. A minor component has failed, resulting in potentially extended downtime and high repair costs. The most annoying aspect of it is that a small investment in digitalisation and networking would have been sufficient to implement measures that warn the operator of the problem through the Internet of Things. Smart condition monitoring is a technology that, despite its economic benefits, few companies in Germany are currently implementing. This lethargy is confirmed in a survey by International Data Corporation (IDC), a US market research company. Of the 250 companies surveyed with over 100 employees, only 29 per cent are working on Internet of Things (IoT) projects. "To accelerate the pace of digitalisation, we joined the Berlin-based IoT Use Case network of experts in October 2022," says Richard Habering, head of the smart plastics business unit at igus. "By doing educational work with best practice examples, sharing expertise, and generating synergy effects, we hope to make it easier for companies to get into the Internet of Things and enhance their future competitiveness."
"Companies should set the right course for digitalisation at an early stage"
More than 80 industrial partners from more than 15 countries have now joined the community of technology and industry experts, including Microsoft, Siemens, and Schaeffler. "Only if we share best practices from our projects and talk specifically about the value IoT adds, we will be successful here – no fancy PowerPoint slides!" says IoT Use Case founder Madeleine Mickeleit. Experts share knowledge about the Internet of Things and discuss ways to enhance the quality, security, and dissemination of IoT technology. Interested companies can read over 350 use cases and projects from the network, follow expert podcasts, and easily exchange ideas with like-minded companies. The Internet of Things has enormous potential for the economy. According to McKinsey, the value potential in factory environments is expected to rise to $ 3.3 trillion by 2030. "So it is important for companies to set the right course for digitalisation now so they do not fall behind in international competition," says Habering.
igus will enrich the network, adding its smart plastics expertise
Innovative plastics are sensor systems that monitor the status of energy chains and cables, enabling technicians to plan maintenance work more effectively and react promptly to impending component failures. Among the users, which can be found as use cases on the network website, is GHD Georg Hartmann Maschinenbau. The company has equipped a bread packaging machine with igus i. Sense CF.Q. In real-time, the sensor system monitors the energy and data cables moving at high speed within the energy chains. Says Habering: "I.Sense CF.Q's advanced technology detects impending cable breaks before they occur. igus has developed products for the smart plastics sector – including i.Sense TR.B, an intelligent condition monitoring system for 3D energy chains on industrial robots; the low-cost i. Sense EC.W service life sensor; and its latest i.Sense CF.D prototype for monitoring heavily used data cables. Treotham Automation Equipment NZ is the exclusive distributor of igus products, leading the way for New Zealand companies to seamlessly update their systems or current production lines and move into the latest technology for the first time.
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