Weidmüller brings intelligence into production

Weidmüller brings intelligence into production

24 jan. 2019

For the first time, the electrical engineering enterprise presents a demonstrator for an intelligent plug-in connector at the Hannover Messe Preview, which enables the transmission, measurement and analysis of energy.

Hannover / Detmold, 24 January 2019. Although there are still ten weeks to go before the world's biggest industrial trade fair Hannover Messe opens its doors, visitors were already able to receive a foretaste of the most important trends and tendencies from the 72nd edition of the fair at the official Preview. Under the motto "Integrated Industry – Industrial Intelligence", in Hanover the electrical engineering specialist Weidmüller from Detmold presents a demonstrator for an intelligent plug-in connector, which enables the transmission, measurement and analysis of energy. "Plug-in connectors are the interface between machines, controller and data processing systems and thus form the basis for the functionality, the easy handling and the reliability of the automation technology", explains Weidmüller Press Officer Carsten Nagel. "With the intelligent plug-in connector we adopt the motto of the fair and bring intelligence into production".

The demonstrator presents the practical advantages of contactless transmission of measurement and production data. This includes, among other things, the measurement of conductivity via a plug-in connector, such that further components can be eliminated. The Smart Connector ensures that the electronics, sensors and actuators, as well as the communication interfaces, can be combined in the smallest of spaces. Moreover, integrated monitoring provides an overview of the current functionality level. Faults and failures can therefore be significantly reduced. All this optimises the process on many levels, saves costs and accelerates production. "Integrating sensor and diagnostic functions opens up completely new application fields in industry and makes additional sensors partly superfluous", explains Marc Neu, Product Developer at the Weidmüller Smart Connectivity Competence Center. "With an intelligent plug-in connector, it is possible to detect undesirable behaviour or damage early on and to perform predictive maintenance. This means there is reduced machine downtime and increased efficiency. The plug-in connector also allows seamless transition from the real to the virtual world – without any detours".

The main focus of this year's Hannover Messe is again on products and solutions for Industry 4.0 and therefore for digitalisation. Strategically, Weidmüller is positioned as both a provider and a user in these areas. The hot preparation phase for the coming Hannover Messe starts today with the Preview. "Industrial Intelligence" is the general theme of the fair and is set to advance from a concept to industrial reality over the years to come. "Artificial intelligence and machine learning will gradually find its way into production. In Hanover we will also present other innovations from the field of Machine Learning", explains Nagel.

Weidmüller brings intelligence into production
Product developer Marc Neu (right) explains the functionality of the intelligent connector in detail at the Hannover Messe Preview.

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