The benefits of Industry 4.0 - the interconnectedness of all things industrial - are many and varied. Arguably among the more notable are process optimization, greater energy efficiency and enhanced plant reliability. The latter is an important area, and the art of ensuring it is called predictive maintenance - a term that brings to mind the work done by all kinds of ingenious algorithms as they calculate and compute and generally look into the future to prevent breakdowns before they happen. But even the best algorithms can't compute and predict everything. Often there's simply no substitute for taking a close look - or even better, a close listen. Listening is SONOTEC's forté. Committed to the Maintenance 4.0 part of the Industry 4.0 paradigm, the company has developed SONAPHONE, a solution that it will be débuting at HANNOVER MESSE 2018.

The SONOPHONE is a mobile touchscreen device that can perform numerous tasks across the entire testing workflow, from planning, measurement and analysis to repair. Test values, spectrographs, graphs, photos, voice memos and text comments can be captured and stored quickly and easily right on site at the test location and converted into test reports with just a few clicks. The SONAPHONE uses ultrasound to find and analyze leaks in compressed-air, gas and vacuum systems; identify leaks in windows, doors, vehicles and components; detect partial electrical discharges; check the proper functioning of steam traps and valves; and prevent energy and water losses and damage in steam and condensate systems. And, of course, it can monitor the condition of machines to determine the optimal maintenance time - core preventive maintenance stuff. Depending on requirements and applications, users can also expand SONAPHONE’s functionality by adding intuitive maintenance software, innovative ultrasound sensors and various other accessories.