Down-time in industrial robots could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to ‘intelligent’ diagnostic software from Coventry-based Fanuc UK Ltd (www.fanuc.eu/uk/en); the company’s Zero Down-time (ZDT) technology allows production managers to optimise, maintain and analyse the performance of their industrial robots — in real time.

ZDT works by collecting data on a robot’s mechanical, process, maintenance and system health.

This data is then analysed via a central server, which notifies the production manager of any issues and recommends corrective actions; this information is sent to their tablet or smartphone (regardless of their location). In addition to faults, ZDT identifies areas in which a robot can be optimised, such as cycle time or energy consumption.

Furthermore, the analytics provided by ZDT can — over time — help production managers to compile a detailed and accurate predictive-maintenance strategy for their robots.

Steve Capon, Fanuc UK’s technical manager, said: “Data is the key to Industry 4.0, but only if it is harnessed correctly.

“Analytical tools like ZDT help production managers to make sense of the information that they are given by formulating it into a comprehensible report of performance trends, problematic areas and recommendations.”

Depending on user requirements, ZDT can be used to monitor a variety of key performance indicators; it is also scalable to any industrial-robot configuration, whether that involves monitoring a single robot or collating the performance of every robot on the factory floor.

Mr Capon added: “At Fanuc, we want to demonstrate the same level of validity and scalability in our software as we do in our hardware.

"This means that, regardless of whether you own one robot for machine tending or use multiple automated cells, you will still enhance your productivity and efficiency by adopting ZDT.”