Developed in-house by Iwis, the CCM-S (Chain Condition Monitoring - Smart) system continuously measures the wear elongation of chains during operation and gives maintenance staff a timely warning that a chain needs to be replaced. Predictive maintenance is a key issue in the context of Industry 4.0 when it comes to getting the most out of machines and systems. This intelligent system prevents production downtimes resulting from unscheduled maintenance and repairs. It permanently monitors chain elongation and provides a timely warning so that appropriate action can be taken.

If chains stretch and wear as a result of temperature and load or if chains running in parallel have different lengths, even a deviation of one percent from the nominal chain pitch can lead to problems in a machine. To take an example from chocolate production, which places very high demands on chains and chain systems, this could cause the position of the chocolate molds to change.

This is because where chocolate bars, chocolates or biscuits are being made on a production line, the drive chains used are always subject to very strict length tolerances and tolerances across pairs of chains. The mold conveyor chains have to permanently run in parallel – exact positioning is an absolute must. Systems and machine components must therefore be monitored and checked regularly. However, by the time the system indicates a need for maintenance or adjustment it is often already too late.

With the chain elongation monitoring system CCM-S, users can permanently monitor the elongation of chain drives on the basis of sensors without having to compromise production by interruptions. 

The patented system measures the elongation of chains during live operation. It enables companies to take early measures by providing maintenance staff with timely information as to when certain measures need to be taken and whether a chain needs to be re-tensioned or replaced. The system's intelligent data analysis enables service staff to plan service activities and personnel requirements in advance.

“Continuous chain elongation measurement offers some decisive benefits for our customers,” says Florian Wimmer, value engineer at Iwis. “These include fewer downtimes and interruptions to production on machines and systems, which can jeopardize a company's ability to meet promised delivery dates. If maintenance can be planned, the maintenance staff can react in good time with the help of our system,” he explained. 

And the time needed for maintenance is also reduced because the CCM-S tells the engineer which drive chain needs to be replaced before the system is opened up. “These benefits allow our customers to get the most out of their equipment and increase machine utilization and productivity,” Wimmer added.