Intelligent Gearboxes How Smart Services Avoid Expensive Damage

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Packaging specialist Koch Pac-Systeme has been able to prevent a customer's production downtime costing millions of dollars by digitally monitoring drive trains. Gearboxes with Cynapse and Smart Services from Wittenstein Alpha form the technological basis for this condition monitoring.

In this specific case, it was a KBS-KF series system for packaging button cell batteries that was delivered at the end of 2023. "The system uses various gearboxes from Wittenstein Alpha with integrated Cynapse functionality, i.e. gearboxes with integrated sensors, logic and IO-Link data interface," explains Andreas Kolibius, Sales Engineer at Wittenstein Alpha GmbH in Igersheim.

One of the smart gearboxes is a planetary gearbox TP⁺ 050 with Cynapse from the Alpha Advanced Line, which is installed in the drive of a punching press. "With the digital condition monitoring of this axis by Cynapse and Smart Services from Wittenstein Alpha as the basis of our Predictive Pack, our customer was able to detect the impending failure of a punching press in good time and thus avoid a production standstill costing millions of euros," reports Dipl.-Ing. Simon Brehmer, Head of Technology and Digitalization at Koch Pac-Systeme. "If the damage had remained undetected and occurred suddenly, this would have resulted in a production loss of around 20 million packaged batteries due to the approximately two-week replacement time for the machine unit. The Predictive Pack saved the customer from this."

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Recognize Potential Damage Risks at An Early Stage

Koch Pac-Systeme is one of the leading providers of packaging solutions and, with its digital service products, the "K 4.0 smartpacks", is one of the pioneers of digitalization in mechanical engineering and the packaging industry. The company's Predictive Pack continues to attract particular attention from its customers. "It enables predictive maintenance for the entire packaging machine—especially for wearing parts such as gears, vacuum systems, motors and pneumatic components," explains Brehmer. "The integration of gearboxes with Cynapse in combination with the Smart Service Cynapse Monitor enables continuous monitoring of the drive train and associated components. This creates transparency about the condition of the system, thereby making a significant contribution to avoiding unplanned machine downtimes and also enables the early identification of process and quality-relevant optimization opportunities."

Integrated directly into the machine's control system, the Predictive Pack monitors and analyzes a range of different parameters during operation, including the power consumption of a drive train, changing speeds, temperature changes, noise developments and vibrations that occur. Together with the operating and status data of components at other machine points, such as flow sensors of vacuum generators, they are aggregated centrally in a machine IPC, processed and displayed via GUI—including specific instructions for the operating personnel, for example if threshold values are exceeded.

Threshold Value Monitoring Detects Bearing Damage

Nameplate information, operating hours, temperatures, vibrations, historical data: Gearboxes with Cynapse provide a wide range of data from their use in the drivetrain and their environment. "Smart Services from Wittenstein Alpha make it possible to continuously evaluate the information and then determine the status of a drivetrain and its associated components," explains Kolibius.

In the machine for packaging button cell batteries, the data from the TP⁺ 050 planetary gearbox with Cynapse installed in the punching press is evaluated using the "Threshold monitoring" function of the Smart Service Cynapse Monitor. For this purpose, after initial commissioning at the battery manufacturer, individual and precisely fitting threshold values were automatically determined using the teach-in function of the Cynapse Monitor, verified together after acceptance of the machine and then continuously monitored.

After the defined vibration threshold was exceeded for the first time during operation, a slight adjustment was initially made in consultation with the end customer. After the threshold was exceeded again around 300 operating hours later, the system was checked and grooves were identified in the plain bearing of the punching guide. "The incipient bearing damage on the vertical stroke of the punching press that caused this was rectified before an unplanned machine standstill occurred and, in addition to the five-figure costs for replacing the punching press, would have resulted in a loss of production worth millions," reports Simon Brehmer.

Long-Term Partnership That Creates Innovation

Koch Pac-Systeme and Wittenstein Alpha have enjoyed a partnership for decades, which has repeatedly resulted in innovative ideas and solutions. The increasing digitalization in mechanical engineering has further spurred the collaboration. "The gearboxes with integrated Cynapse functionality and the Smart Services developed by Wittenstein Alpha for this purpose are the ideal basis for our Predictive Pack," confirms Brehmer. "There are very few component manufacturers on the market, not to mention drive manufacturers, who have so much expertise in IIoT implementation. As a machine manufacturer, we are drawing on this existing expertise—especially as we are convinced that we are on the right technological path in this constellation."

And Kolibius adds: "Companies like Koch Pac-Systeme benefit from our knowledge as a component manufacturer, because our digital plug-and-play solutions are prepared for the integration that is standard in the industry and simplify commissioning."

Digital Solutions Revolutionize Classic Challenges

The application example in the packaging system for button cells gives an idea of the extent to which digital solutions are able to revolutionize classic challenges in the production field. With the integration of gearboxes with Cynapse in drive trains and the seamless integration of suitable smart services from Wittenstein Alpha into the machine infrastructure, manufacturers such as Koch Pac-Systeme are able to tap into new potential for innovative business and service models through digital process and machine monitoring. Intelligent sensor technology directly in the drive and Smart Services—both from a single source—enable new, holistic solutions to support future-proof digital business models for many industries beyond packaging technology.

Digital Added Value for Mechanical Engineering

For the digitalization of drivetrains, Wittenstein Alpha offers various Smart Services for gearboxes with Cynapse functionality in a range of services that build on each other:

• The Cynapse Connect smart service forms the basis for the integration and routing of data. This includes the data provided by Cynapse, as well as speed and torque, which can be made available by a drive controller or PLC via OPC UA.
• Building on this, the Smart Service Cynapse Monitor enables the simple visualization and evaluation of data from the smart gearbox—including the setting of threshold values and the output of alarms if these are exceeded. It provides insights into the operating behavior of drive axles in order to detect critical operating states at an early stage.
• Cynapse Analyze is a constantly growing portfolio of smart analysis tools. This includes the "Health Index" presented in 2024 and its "Utilization Radar" functionality presented for the first time at SPS 2025. The analysis tools are based on the data from Cynapse Connect and make it possible to examine and improve the operating behavior of gearboxes and drive axes. As a result, even complex deviations in the machine process or component behavior can be detected at an early stage—even simultaneously at different points in a machine. Machine manufacturers integrate solutions based on Cynapse Analyze into their range of digital services for their systems—including Koch Pac systems in the Predictive Pack and other digital service products.

Daniel Müssig is Product Manager at Wittenstein Alpha GmbH

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