OnCare.Health UJS: The smart solution for better system efficiency
With OnCare.Health, Voith is ensuring smarter operation of high-performance universal joint shafts. Thanks to the continuous measurement of torques with simultaneous analysis and display, this digital system provides operators with valuable parameters that allow them to significantly improve the efficiency and productivity of their equipment. Downtimes can also be minimized due to predictive maintenance.
The banks of the famous Great Lakes between the USA and Canada have always been home to numerous companies in the metalworking and heavy industry segments. This is also where aluminum specialists Novelis have their oldest facility. Or to be more precise, on Lake Ontario in the little town of Oswego in the state of New York. The plant of the leading manufacturer of flat-rolled aluminum products and the world’s largest aluminum recycler is the company’s biggest facility in North America. Every year, more than 435,000 tons of high-quality aluminum sheet leave the production halls for downstream processing, primarily in the automobile, beverage can and construction industries.
Every year, the Novelis Oswego aluminum rolling mill produces
aluminum sheet for various industries
Producing these kinds of sheets calls for drivetrains that can readily and reliably cope with high forces and high torques. Sometimes for 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Because every shutdown costs a lot of money. Unscheduled downtimes almost always cause disruptions to the entire plant. And as a result, economic losses.
Universal joint shafts are among the most important components that ensure the operation of such facilities. Their main job is the angular transmission of torque from the engine to the rolling mill. High-performance universal joint shafts of the kind used in the Novelis Oswego aluminum rolling mill are exposed almost permanently to high torques. In addition, they need to offer optimum torsional and bending strength, because naturally, rolling this kind of sheet metal involves large forces.
Life cycle costs are reduced and efficiency improves
For many years, companies in the heavy industry segment around the world have therefore been relying on Voith’s high-performance universal joint shafts.
Advantages:
Thanks to their advantages they reduce life cycle costs and improve efficiency. But they impress above all with their excellent reliability even under permanently high loads. This is best evidenced by the minimal downtimes and maximum productivity that results
In recent years, Voith has been working hard on tweaking these factors even more. The key to this is the company’s digital expertise. The outcome of these developments is the latest addition to Voith’s range of condition monitoring systems: OnCare.Health UJS – a smart, modular torque measuring system that enables the condition monitoring of universal joint shafts and complete drivetrains and predicts maintenance requirements. In addition, the data provide many opportunities to improve processes.
Overview of the four modules of On.Care Health UJS:
Torque Meter
Even more precise analyses for even better processes
The evaluation of the data and optimization measures can be carried out in close collaboration with Voith. And naturally, OnCare.Health UJS archives all important data about the universal joint shaft, like the installation history of joints and bearings. Incidents in which maximum torque occurred are also stored permanently. Finally, the system continuously records the real system loads and dynamic torque peaks.
The data allow experts to conduct an even more precise analysis of the condition of the shaft. Moreover, OnCare.Health UJS displays at a glance all measuring results, data and analyses in a clearly structured and readily understandable format.
The Novelis Oswego aluminum rolling mill has also been using OnCare.Health UJS since July 2022 and incidentally, was one of the first customers to do so. The system installed includes nine torque meters. Because thanks to the modular structure of the smart digital tool, the components can be connected to one another and the results displayed on a central user interface.
The plant operator’s goal was to use OnCare.Health UJS to monitor the residual life of rough milling machines and also improve the processes of vertical edge cutters, shears, finish milling machines and tension reels. This goal has been achieved. Moreover, the processes involved have been improved substantially thanks to the even more precise data analysis.
