Atlas Machine and Supply Creates a Data-Driven Predictive Solution for Compressor Maintenance

Addressing the challenges of compressor maintenance 

Air compressors are crucial for a vast range of industrial processes, as essential components for anything from pneumatic tools to production lines. As a result, undiscovered issues or poor maintenance plans may lead to expensive downtime, significant energy loss, and equipment failure.

Based in Louisville, Kentucky, as an industrial equipment maintenance company and leading service provider in the air compressor industry, Atlas Machine and Supply set out to find a solution that could predict compressor faults in real time, provide actionable insights, and scale across different industrial environments. 

Discovering Arduino technology

The intuition came unexpectedly. Richie Gimmel, CEO of Atlas, discovered Arduino thanks to his son, who shared with him a video by influencer Mark Rober about an ingenious project made with the open-source platform. Although the specific video was for a glitter bomb against “porch pirates” and completely unrelated to the industrial context, it allowed Gimmel to see the potential of Arduino technology to revolutionize the monitoring of industrial compressors with a flexible, affordable solution that was compatible with different equipment. 

A scalable, data-driven solution

Atlas turned to a combination of Arduino Opta and Arduino Cloud, integrated with AWS, to design an edge-to-end solution capable of real-time monitoring and predictive fault detection. The system relies on a network of sensors that measure critical parameters like vibration, temperature, and pressure even across diverse fleets, anywhere in the world. This data is processed locally using edge computing and transmitted to the cloud for further analysis.

The custom solution allows the company’s personnel as well as clients to visualize equipment performance in real time, and sends out alerts whenever anomalies are detected – so action can be taken before minor issues escalate.

Benefits for efficiency and sustainability

All in all, by harnessing real-time data and edge computing, the company has set a new standard for efficiency and reliability in the industrial compressor market. The benefits for Atlas and its clients include: 

• Reduced downtime: Predictive analytics allow maintenance to be scheduled proactively, minimizing unexpected breakdowns.

• Extended equipment life: Early fault detection prevents wear and tear, prolonging the lifespan of critical components.

• Improved customer satisfaction: The solution enables more reliable operations, enhancing trust and loyalty.

Curious to find out more? Read the full case study on the Arduino website.