Extract from the article "Success Story" E-SAVING ULTRASONICS in the Yearbook 2020 of the DLR Project Management Agency (National Contact Point Digital and Industrial Technologies)
Not only for ecological, but also for economic reasons, manufacturing companies are striving to use energy efficiently to reduce production costs. However, companies are facing a challenge for two reasons: Firstly, industrial production is becoming increasingly automated and thus automatically increases energy requirements. Secondly, prices for industrial electricity have risen by an average of 3.5% per year in the EU over the last ten years.
"EU funding has enabled SONOTEC to take advantage of market opportunities. In addition to the technical side, project implementation has also brought about many new aspects of market observation and development strategy."
Hans-Joachim Münch, SONOTEC GmbH
Improving energy efficiency through the use of industrial maintenance is one of the most effective ways of reducing production costs and increasing competitiveness. Two factors offer considerable potential in this regard: worn machine parts and leaks in compressed air systems. These compressed air systems (CAS) are responsible for 10% of industrial electricity consumption. However, one third of it is released unused through leaks. Until now, there have been no adequate solutions to identify and prevent precisely these leaks.
SONOTEC has developed a device and launched it on the market as part of the SME Instrument (now: EIC Accelerators), which is based on ultrasonic technology and can detect both leaks in CAS and worn machine parts. This first digital testing device, named SONAPHONE, can be operated like an app and thus displays the results of the ultrasonic sensor and the "hidden" algorithms in a clear and easy to understand way with visualisations on the touch screen.
The development of further models is now planned on the basis of IP registrations. Thus, in addition to a stationary model variant, there will also be portable device versions with several sensors and higher computing power. In addition, the principle is also to be applied to machine diagnosis in addition to leak detection.
We are pleased that SONOTEC has been able to benefit from EU funding and has successfully brought its promising technology to the market. Keep up the good work!
EurA AG
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73479 Ellwangen
info@eura-ag.com