Manufacturer invests in wireless monitoring of rolling mills

One of the Latin American manufacturers of electrical cables and aluminum rebar now has wireless sensor technology focused on predictive maintenance in its equipment at the Barcarena unit, in Pará. 

At the unit, 4 rolling mills presented recurrent problems and breaks, mainly in the equipment heads. Therefore, DynaLogger HF sensors were installed in the mill’s rolling mill heads, for online monitoring, increasing machine reliability with safety and assertiveness, by collecting continuous data on equipment vibration and temperature. 

In the operation, the rolling mills are responsible for transforming primary aluminum into rebar and beams, making the materials.

The wear and tear of components of this equipment directly affects the machine’s operation and consequently the plant’s production. This type of failure results in unscheduled shutdowns, corrective actions and, therefore, financial losses. 

In the case of these rolling mills, the heads presented anomalies related to the life of the part, jeopardizing the compression and traction of the metals. With the application of sensors in heads and motors, deviation events were identified, a factor that helped the maintenance team in anticipating failures.

Strengths of using DynaLoggers in rolling mills 

Investing more and more in technologies that increase the productivity and service life of its assets, the predictive technical team observed several positive points after the application of wireless sensors for remote monitoring in its rolling mills. 

Among them, the resistance of the sensor in harsh environments, considering that the rolling mills operate at high temperatures, stand out. All Dynamox sensors have Inmetro certification to operate in environments with dust and other components with IP66 and IP68 protection degree up to zones classified as 0 (explosive) or 20 (dust).

In addition, the speed and ease of access to the data collected from the machines stood out in the performance and centralization for further analysis and the realization of failure prognostics. This process allows a more detailed and assertive evaluation, given the veracity of the information for decision making. 

Not to mention the Dashboards, management panels of the Web Platform, where it is possible to view interactive and customized graphics according to the monitored machine. In the case of rolling mills, the temperature, speed, and RMS triaxial acceleration measurements are presented on the graph, capturing changes in the machine’s operation pattern, signaling the emergence or evolution of failures. 

All this integrated process, ensured the safety of the technicians who had direct contact with the machine from analysis, collection and repairs, giving dynamism between data collected and timely decision making. In addition, the main benefit is the beginning of the journey to increase the life of the rolling mills, thus restoring the productivity of the equipment. 

According to Marcelo Nascimento, Mechanical Engineer of the company, “it is surprising the performance of the Dynamox sensors at high temperatures, being the only one that stood up to the shock of our rolling mills”. He also pointed out that “the exchange rate of parts decreased significantly, which reduced the need for high inventory and reinforcing the possibility of spreading the use to other equipment in the company,” he highlights. 

For the Mechanical Engineering intern, Yan Lima, who actively participated in the project, “the use of vibration sensors with automatic data collection, via gateways, with web interface made it possible to analyze data online to perform diagnostics and increase the availability of the rolling mill lines, minimizing unscheduled stops. 

Dynamox knows that it is extremely important to have positive feedbacks like this, because they reinforce our commitment to best serve each and every type of client, from the most varied industrial sectors, through innovation, safety and assertiveness. 

Check out other successful cases in our blog and contact us.  

Read also the article about the investments in innovation and modernization made by the plant, available on the Rede Pará website. 

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