The smartblick operating principle

Smartblick records the activity of a machine in real time: Machine data is collected by sensors, transmittedto the smartbox and displayed in a dashboard.

With sensors connected, the current consumed by a machine is measured at the main connection and at the tools, for example the spindles. At all machines that consume electricity, smartblick can thus record data and then evaluate it - regardless of whether it is a CNC mill or a coffee machine.

The sensors are non-contact clamp-on transducers that work according to the Hall effect, named after U.S. physicist Edwin Hall. A Hall sensor uses the Hall effect to measure via magnetic fields: When a current-carrying conductor is in a stationary magnetic field, an electrical voltage occurs perpendicular to both.

How is the necessary data for the condition analysis of a machine obtained?

The first step is to attach sensor terminals to the various machine power cables. This is practical when installing them on leased machines: The sensor clamps can be removed again without leaving any residue and the insulation also remains undamaged.

First, a sensor is connected to one of the three phases coming off the main power switch. Then the sensor cable is connected to the corresponding socket of the smartbox. Next, the other two sensors are placed on the power supply of the mold, e.g. the main spindle. This completes the hardware assembly.

In the second step, the smartbox must be connected to the power supply - and it is imperative that this is done via a permanent power supply and a socket that is independent of the machine. From now on, the smartblick system is informed at all times whether the machine is switched on or off.

After the hardware installation, the third and final step is the digital integration of the machine. To do this, the smartbox must be connected to the Internet. Now the smartblick software can be called up. After logging in, each machine is manually registered in the system via an individual 12-digit character string of the associated smartbox. The machines can be named individually and a suitable photo, information about the location and other details can be entered. This makes it easier to keep track of a large fleet of machines.

As a web-based system, smartblick runs on any device without the need to install additional software. This means that you can overview a machine park at any time, regardless of location, on your PC, tablet or smartphone. The smartblick dashboard shows production efficiency, machine activity, downtime and free capacity in real time.

What happens to the data collected in this way?

Once the power flow data has been digitized, i.e. sampled, by the smartbox, the samples are processed on-site on the smartbox and then streamed in encrypted form to the cloud or to secure servers. There, they are securely stored in a database and analyzed using algorithms.

The algorithm provides a procedure for mathematical problem solving. Based on this solution plan, input data is converted into output data in individual steps. Thus, at smartblick, the data is validated with modern time series analysis methods, cleaned and serves as a basis for the extraction of machine KPIs.

For reliable and precise production analysis, all you have to do is attach the sensor terminals, connect the smartbox and start the machine.