An Embedded Online Hydraulic Fluid CM and RUL-System for Industry 4.0 Manufacturing Machines

Production machines and devices, especially those that operate continuously in multi-shift operation or are critical for the production process, must be equipped with an intelligent condition monitoring system for critical machine components. This is the only way to ensure high availability and prevent downtimes in critical phases of the production processes, affecting customer delivery times. This has become especially important in the context of the strategy Industry 4.0, wherein information technology, telecommunications, and manufacturing are united when the means of production are becoming more independent. This also applies to hydraulic fluid, an important component of most heavy machinery. The chapter presents the design and advantages to be achieved by the implementation of a comprehensive online condition monitoring (OCM) and remaining useful lifetime (RUL) system of built-in hydraulic fluid. The presented OCM-RUL system is designed conceptually for Industry 4.0 and focuses on the remote monitoring and self-diagnosis function of health condition for the fluid.