OMRON launches K7TM condition monitoring device for predictive maintenance of heaters

28 April 2022

OMRON's new K7TM condition monitor for heater equipment in automotive and FMCG industries contributes to the realization of a carbon-free society.

OMRON has launched the new K7TM condition monitor for heater equipment used especially in automotive and FMCG industries. The K7TM visualizes deterioration tendencies to enable predictive maintenance and contributes to the realization of a carbon-free society.

At manufacturing sites, sudden equipment failure leads to unplanned downtime and has a major impact on the productivity of the entire plant. Condition monitoring devices from OMRON combine powerful sensing technology with algorithms to detect abnormal conditions. These devices can be easily attached to existing equipment.

The new K7TM from OMRON enables automatic measurement of the appropriate resistance value*¹ of the heater while in operation and visualizes the deterioration tendency of the heater. By accumulating rate-of-change data of resistance values for each heater, maintenance activities can be timed in advance according to the heater status. This minimizes production downtime associated with regular heater maintenance. Reducing the thermal energy needed during a restart also helps minimize the energy loss from the heaters.

As the new K7TM can constantly measure the electric power consumed by each heater, combined with temperature data, it helps detect event the slightest signs of abnormal conditions in the facility. This contributes to maintaining the optimum conditions for ensuring product quality. Sudden heater failures can be eliminated, while reducing energy consumption in production, contributing to CO2 reduction.

Main features and benefits of the K7TM series:

• Easy to retrofit onto existing equipment
• Automatic measurement of the resistance of the heater during equipment operation to determine the deterioration tendency of the heater
• Reduce dependency on experienced maintenance staff
• Possibility to collect measurement data remotely using network connections
• Contributing to quality maintenance and energy reduction

^{*¹ Resistance value: If the heater is used for a long time, oxidation will advance and the heater wire will become thinner, resulting in disconnection of the heater. As a result, the resistance of the heater increases. Disconnection of the heater has a great impact on the productivity of the equipment.}

For more information, please visit: K7TM-A2