Festo Adds Pneumatic Health Monitoring and Safer Servo Drive Technology

Festo has unveiled two new developments aimed at reducing downtime and simplifying machine safety. The AX Motion Insights Pneumatic app applies AI-based health scoring and anomaly detection to pneumatic cylinders, helping maintenance teams identify wear before failure and integrate data through existing PLC platforms. Meanwhile, the new CMMT-AS servo drive line incorporates safety functions directly into the drive, cutting wiring complexity while supporting STO, SBC, SS1, and advanced safety options for higher-level protection.

AX Motion Insights Pneumatic

Festo has leveraged AI in the fight against premature wear and unplanned maintenance in pneumatic systems. AX Motion Insights Pneumatic is a pneumatic cylinder monitoring system that can help detect early signs of wear before catastrophic failure, major leaks, and unplanned downtime.

AX Motion Insights Pneumatic joins AX Motion Insights Electric for a more comprehensive health monitoring system. Image used courtesy of Festo

The app detects anomalies in behavior and assigns each pneumatic cylinder a “health score” and a “risk of failure indicator” that can help maintenance personnel determine when preventative maintenance is required. It is designed to be interfaced with Festo’s Smartenance maintenance platform and acts as a plug-and-play component in this system.

Connectivity through a PLC function block brings data into the app. It is compatible with Rockwell Automation, Siemens, and Beckhoff controllers. The AX platform is an open system and can be connected to Festo or third-party components as well, making it easy to integrate with existing hardware.

The app is available through Festo World, where the maintenance engineer simply specifies the number of cylinders that require monitoring, and the license is administered based on the number of cylinders.

CMMT-AS Servo Drivers

Festo’s new line of servo drivers, the CMMT-AS, offers simplified wiring and enhanced safety by including some of the necessary hardware and connections internal to the driver. External safety mechanisms can either be hardwired to the digital I/O ports or over a PROFIsafe network for easy integration with Siemens safety PLCs.

There are two styles available: Basic (S1) and Advanced (S3). Both styles have built-in Safe Torque Off (STO), Safe Brake Control (SBC), Safe Stop 1 (SS1), as well as onboard diagnostics. SS1 is a way to perform a controlled stop before removing power, which requires an external timer. The S3 models feature the external timer, as well as another Safe Stop 2 (SS2) option, Safe Operating Stop (SOS), and speed control limiters.

A collection of CMMT-AS drives, ranging in size from 350 W to 12 kW. Image used courtesy of Festo

Both lines of drives can be configured in Festo’s Safety Configurator, which is part of the Festo Automation Suite. They will also be compatible with the upcoming Validation Wizard (expected Winter 2025) that will automate documentation and guide engineers through the configuration process.

Together, these releases show Festo pushing condition monitoring and machine safety further into everyday automation workflows. Adding pneumatic cylinders to AX Motion Insights gives plants a clearer picture of wear before it turns into downtime, while the CMMT-AS servo drives reduce the complexity and cost of meeting safety requirements by integrating protections directly into the hardware. For engineers balancing uptime, compliance, and integration effort, both products point to a more streamlined approach to maintaining motion systems.