THK Co., Ltd. has been working to promote and expand further the OMNIedge internet of things (IoT) service for the manufacturing industry. By September, the company will start new services under its OMNIedge platform, namely the zero manufacturing waiting ticket and the IOT risk compensation.

OMNIedge achieves status diagnosis and predictive failure detection of machine element components, to which sensors are attached, such as linear motion (LM) guides and ball screws, by quantifying and analyzing data collected by the company’s original algorithm via the safe communication network by using THK SENSING SYSTEM.

Increasing Installation

THK started the service in Jan. 2020 targeting LM guides and has gradually expanded the service to ball screws, actuators, and rotary components. THK launched global SIM compatibility, which enables the use of OMNIedge using overseas communication networks, in the United States, Thailand, Indonesia, and China. Then, the company has also expanded the service to countries where Japanese companies are operating their plants, including Mexico, and countries in Southeast Asia. 

In April, THK started to connect the service to FANUC CORPORATION’s FIELD System open platform. Furthermore, in July, THK also started full-scale service to companies in China.

Takashi Teramachi, Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer, THK Co., Ltd., says, “We have expanded OMNIedge into a package-type service that provides sensors, amplifiers, and communication device, including communication.  As it is simple and safe, requires no initial costs, and can be retrofitted to existing equipment, installation of the OMNIedge service has been increasing.”

“We have delivered OMNIedge to about 600 facilities of diverse business categories and installed it in about 700 units of machine components in our own plants. To accelerate condition-based maintenance (CBM) of machine element components at the manufacturing site, we have decided to introduce new services.” 

Japan’s manufacturing industry has seen the rise of automation with the inclusion of machines and robots in the manufacturing floors to make up for the decreasing manpower. On the other hand, there are still many cases where manufacturers rely on experiences of skilled workers for maintenance and inspections of manufacturing equipment. OMNIedge constantly adopts the status of components quantitatively without depending on manpower and enables execution of maintenance at an appropriate timing. Thus, it helps reduce risks such that machines suddenly fail. 

Guarantee on Malfunctions, Failures

THK will add two new services: Zero manufacturing waiting ticket and IoT risk compensation, which have been realized through collaboration with Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. THK has decided to add these two services to alleviate OMNIedge customers’ anxieties in obtaining necessary components to speedily repair and restore normal conditions in case machines malfunction in the manufacturing site and the cost burden for repair in case sensors do not work and other failure occurred. 

Zero manufacture waiting ticket enables customers to preferentially arrange the manufacture of replacement components to THK plant when the replacement of machine element components, such as LM guides and ball screws, to which sensors are attached, becomes necessary owing to their failure or abnormality with respect to customers’ machines and equipment installed with OMNIedge.  This ticket eliminates the concern about the delivery date of replacement components for equipment installed with OMNIedge. 

In the IoT risk compensation service, the costs of machine element components at the anomaly cause portion and the costs involving replacement work (up to ¥1 million or approximately US$9,000) are compensated by the insurance of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance only when machine element components attached with sensors, such as LM guides, ball screws, and actuators, are damaged because OMNIedge’s predictive failure detection function did not work. Special procedure is not necessary as the insurance is added automatically when concluding a contract on OMNIedge.