Development of Load Optimization and Anomaly Detection Platform Based on Air Cylinder Consumption Patterns

Abstract

In order to drive the pneumatic actuators used in the manufacturing field, a compressed air supply system consisting of an air compressor, a pressure-reducing regulator, a solenoid valve, and an air cylinder is required, and the generated compressed air is consumed in the air cylinder after decompression according to the load rate required by the equipment through the pressure-reducing regulator. The pressure reducing regulator supplies compressed air from the inlet side to the outlet side at the moment when the compressed air is consumed in the actuator and the outlet pressure drops. Overshooting occurs in the process where the pneumatic pressure on the outlet side converges to the pneumatic pressure value set by the organic operation of the diaphragm, pressure regulating spring, and main valve. As a result of checking a large number of equipment used in manufacturing sites, the frequency of occurrence of overshooting pneumatic pressure appears to be dependent on the size of the set pneumatic pressure. If used for a long time in this environment, it can cause wear and damage to the internal sealing ring and packing of the air cylinder. This paper aims to improve the driving reliability and durability of the air cylinder and reduce unnecessary pneumatic consumption by designing a platform that can optimize the strength of compressed air on the outlet side of the pressure regulator to the required load rate. Therefore, by designing a platform to analyze the non-linear characteristics due to the compressibility of air and the friction of air cylinders and the consumption pattern of compressed air consumed by linking multiple facilities, process margins that do not affect productivity and quality can be confirmed. This makes it possible to optimize the outlet air pressure downward.