Festo Corporation

introduced Festo Energy Saving Services. Pneumatic installations frequently do not include any monitoring facilities. More and more industrial companies are using precise compressed air consumption data as the main criterion for the choice of new equipment. With a detailed compressed air consumption analysis, they can make savings of up to 50 percent more than with conventional methods. Even before commissioning, a compressed air consumption analysis can determine the precise compressed air consumption of an installation – both during normal operation and with machines at a standstill. It thus guarantees optimum dimensioning of the compressed air supply system and prevents unnecessary costs, which might be caused by an overdimensioned compressed air distribution system.

When an installation is optimized with Energy Saving Services, the aim is to avoid damage and breakdowns in advance. Festo offers various condition monitoring and diagnostic measures for this purpose. Through the continuous monitoring of critical components, it is possible to detect wear, pressure, and flow changes at an early stage and avoid the danger of machine downtime. If a breakdown nonetheless occurs, the diagnostic systems ensure that the cause of the trouble is quickly located.

Energy Monitoring GFDM is a complete system for the continuous monitoring of compressed air consumption and volumetric flow. Alternatively, installation operators can select a customer-specific condition monitoring system. Diagnostic systems are compiled from function modules in accordance with individual customers’ requirements. The available functions include not only consumption monitoring, but also time monitoring of actuators and valves, monitoring of vacuum applications, and detailed monitoring of actuators (e.g. force monitoring and fault detection). www.festo.com

February 2012