Müller Industrie-Elektronik manufactures measuring devices, sensors and digital displays for the main areas of temperature, force and pressure measurement technology at the company site in Neustadt am Rübenberge in the Hanover region. Transmitters and measuring amplifiers for signal processing, display devices and evaluation instruments round off the extensive range for industrial measurement and control technology. In cooperation with the ProKI research institute at the University of Hanover, Müller Industrie-Elektronik is now introducing AI into mechanical production and metal processing for the first time.

"The collaboration with ProKI-Hannover is the first step for us on our journey to integrate artificial intelligence into CNC production and make our machinery fit for Industry 4.0. This will enable us to utilize our machines to their limits in the future without risking defects," explains Matthias Müller, Managing Director of Müller Industrie-Elektronik GmbH

The declared aim is to continuously monitor production quality in the process and to be able to immediately detect and react to deviations, such as tool wear outside the norm. This predictive maintenance can not only optimize machine utilization to the limits, but also reduce production errors to a minimum.

The purely practical implementation is carried out by implementing strain gauge sensors in the tool head of the CNC system in order to determine the bending and shear loads that occur there. These values are then transmitted directly to ProKI for analysis via remote diagnostics using an intermediate PLC. In the next expansion stage, a so-called mobile demonstrator will also detect vibrations through the additional use of acceleration sensors and initiate the appropriate reactions if necessary. "We are delighted to be the first company to support this project in the transfer of knowledge 'from research to industry' and are very interested in the initial analyses," says Matthias Müller.

Video