Minimize maintenance by extending the life of your automation components

Maintenance is challenging: it is an indirect cost that directly impacts your company's profitability. However, many manufacturing companies view maintenance as a necessary "evil. To minimize these costs, they usually apply preventive or predictive maintenance. While these approaches save costs in various ways, there is another strategy that is more profitable: no maintenance. By simply choosing quality products proven to provide long-term reliability in the environment and work situation at hand, you can significantly reduce maintenance requirements and costs.

By striving to extend the life of your automation components and thus your machines and systems, you not only reduce the cost of MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Operations), but also encourage higher productivity (OEE: Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and machine availability. Unproductive machines due to poorly specified products have a very negative effect on profitability. But energy efficiency also suffers because damaged or degraded components, such as filters and actuators, increase energy consumption.

To avoid this and help lower your maintenance costs, there is a clear path with three steps: (1) choose high-quality products, (2) choose based on the application and operating environment, and (3) choose condition-optimized components.

Choose high-quality products

One of the most important ways to reduce your maintenance costs is to carefully select components. Choosing automation components of high quality and durability sounds like an obvious choice, but the sums stack up. Despite the slightly higher initial investment, the listed benefits far outweigh the additional purchase price, leading to a significantly lower TCO (total cost of ownership).

Choose based on application and work environment

If you're not sure which components to choose, ask our experts. We offer customers technical support and identify the optimal automation components to maximize service life, including standard components such as hoses, couplings, valves and clamping/mounting systems. Whether it is a spring-free pulse valve with ten million cycles (ten times longer than a standard component), a metal seal valve with 200 million cycles (four times longer) or a highly durable actuator (four times longer), the cost-saving opportunities are clear.

In addition to quality, it is also necessary to select components based on the working environment. Factors such as temperature, humidity and airborne dust can compromise the life of your components.

Actuators, for example, are available with a range of options that provide environmental protection. Here, the use of a scraper that fine dust contaminates the greasy layer that forms on the surface of the piston rod. Other actuator solutions, such as a reinforced scraper, perform better in environments exposed to dirt or sand, while a metal scraper serves to remove frost, ice, welding spatter or cutting chips that adhere to the rod. Seals are thereby protected. A protective cap/bellow is beneficial in particularly difficult environments.

Another important aspect in the selection process is the ability of the components to withstand wear and metal fatigue. For example, if you use a wireless control system instead of conventional cables, there is less chance of the wiring becoming loose, trapped, abraded or damaged in any way. When choosing hoses and couplings, consider UV radiation, abrasion or cleaning chemicals if you want to make sure they last the entire life of the machine.

Opt for 'condition-optimized' components

The operating condition of your system also deserves attention. Pressure, for example, can put heavy strain on components such as seals. If you reduce the system pressure from 6 or 7 bar to 5 or even 4 bar, you significantly reduce maintenance and the risk of malfunctions. In addition, you contribute significantly to energy efficiency. Although most applications still function normally at reduced pressure, you should always seek professional advice before taking this action.

Another consideration is the use of standby valves. Reducing pressure during machine downtime extends the life due to metal fatigue of seals, increasing the useful life of your components. Another option is to use soft-start valves that protect pneumatic components and reduce pressure spikes during startup and pressurization.

Compressed air quality also requires your attention because it is necessary to control humidity, temperature and particles in compressed air to prolong the life of system components. Condensation is a particular risk because it damages seals and lubricants.

Substantial ROI

The improvements in automation solutions in brownfield machines today are ideally suited for specification in new (greenfield) machines. The ROI (return on investment) of these durable components speaks for itself: you save on replacement costs, maintenance time and machine downtime, while making gains in OEE and energy efficiency. Moreover, safety increases, as the risk of unexpected failures decreases. Sustainability also gets a boost, as long-life components mean less industrial waste and fewer replacements.

Whether you are an OEM operating under warranty or a service contract or an end user with your own maintenance team, component selection is vital if you want to reduce maintenance costs. If you're unsure about selecting the right components, talk to our expert team. Based on our expertise in system analysis, we can assess your situation and then make the best recommendations for your application.