UK coatings firm chooses ABB Ability
24/10/2019
Industrial coatings processor Transcontinental Advanced Coatings has successfully piloted ABB Ability Condition Monitoring on critical equipment at its UK facility.The manufacturer used the pilot project to enhance its existing predictive maintenance regime on a critical oxidiser process that cleans the air before it is released to the atmosphere.
ABB Ability Smart Sensors, fitted to the motors and mounted bearings that operate on the oxidiser’s two fans, collect and analyse data to monitor performance.
The system provides an alarm if predefined limits for parameters such as temperature and vibration are exceeded, which enables preventative maintenance to be carried out before problems occur.
Transcontinental Advanced Coatings, which is based in Wrexham, UK, and North Carolina, USA, makes precision coated papers, films and speciality substrates for digital imaging, electronics, medical and optical technologies.
Dr Keith Vidamour, Engineering Manager for the Transcontinental Advanced Coatings North Wales Plant, said: “Our overall goal is zero downtime. ABB Ability Condition Monitoring ensures we can identify equipment issues early on, before they happen, and take action to prevent breakdowns from occurring.”
Derek Robinson, Key Account Manager for High- and Low- Voltage Motors at ABB, said: “Transcontinental Advanced Coatings wanted to prove that the condition of critical machinery could be remotely monitored.
“The successful trial proved they could significantly improve overall maintenance efficiency. The company’s decision to continue to add additional ABB Ability Smart Sensor technology will give it a real competitive edge.”
