Preventive maintenance management and retrofitting of industrial robots
Maximum availability – maximum security of investment
Industrial robots perform key tasks at different points of automated production. Stoppages for technical reasons can be reliably prevented – even when the manipulators and controllers have been in operation over many years, or even decades. The prerequisites for this are tailor-made maintenance strategies.
DIN 31051, also applicable to industrial robots, suggests various solutions and describes the main types of maintenance as corrective, preventive and predictive. Corrective maintenance replaces worn parts and repairs defective system components in the event of a breakdown. This kind of unplanned stoppage is extremely costly for companies. Experience also shows that selective corrective maintenance can result in accelerated wear of the machine.
Preventive maintenance management
According to DIN EN 13306, 7.1 the purpose of preventive maintenance management is to reduce the likelihood of downtime or restricted functionality. In systems with industrial robots the likelihood of failure is directly related to the lifecycle of the robot. This can be substantially improved by preventive maintenance management. From a long-term perspective, preventive maintenance management preserves the value of capital goods and provides input for long-term budgeting. An annual audit by the robot manufacturer documents the condition of the system and can serve as a basis for audits and maintenance planning.
Preventive maintenance management also yields tangible economic benefits. Assuming a 0.25% annual increase in efficiency and 4,000 operating hours per year, the downtime for a better maintained machine will be reduced by 10 hours. At an assumed hourly rate of 2,500 euros per machine, this amounts to annual savings of 25,000 euros.
In addition, long-term studies by customers have shown that a significant improvement in system availability results in substantially reduced inventory costs, as many critical replacement part components no longer need to be kept in stock. This also has a positive effect on risk assessment.