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Innovation
Today, technology improvements lead to an increase of machine reliability and increase workers safety
in several industries. Moreover, it guarantees an increase of the production without altering quality
products by sustaining machines lifespan.

In surface conditioning, furnaces are the key point of the production process. To sustain or improve
the production, we must constantly monitor the conditions of the furnaces. As human inspection is
unreliable and unprofitable, industries are moving to the use of robots.

CiBot TM (Fig. 6. 20), a furnace coil inspection robot allows non-destructive inspection on coils in
furnaces. This robot provides analyses and reports of the state of each pipe. This robot has the capacity
to prevent coil from bulging, bowing, or carburizing. The amount of carbon present in the coil pipes
can weaken pipes or cause a leakage in the furnace. Thus, this robot can contribute to reduce energy
consumption as well as the impacts on the environment. It can also be useful to guarantee human
safety by reducing the risks.

To detect an excess of carburization, CiBot TM is equipped with two Hall-effect sensors. These sensors
measure the magnetic field of the pipes. Indeed, carburization process generates a magnetic field due
to phase change. The greater the carburization process, the higher the magnetic field produced. Then,
data collected by the sensors are converted into carburization depths in the pipes. The results provided
by the robot can be displayed in images facilitating the work of technicians.

Fig. 6. 20 Picture of CiBotTM

TM
According to the company developing this product, CiBot can detect bulging as small as 0.05 mm and
bowing as small as 1 cm. Its inspection speed is approximately 4 meters per second, and it is seven
times faster than a human.

Sensors
To improve the transition to digitalization, sensors must be used in industries. They provide a
significant amount of data relating to each parameter of the machine used. Consequently, sensors can
significantly increase the reliability and sustainability of machines.

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