Predictive Maintenance
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Vibration analysis is the ability to collect vibration data from machinery, interpret the data to establish the "health" or working condition of that piece of equipment.
What is gained by the externally taken readings, is the ability to determine location, and type of  problems inside a piece of equipment, without removing it from service or disassembly.
Some problems that can be detected by this method include:
  • Unbalance or Misalignment.

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  • Eccentricity / Bent shaft.

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  • Weak structures.

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  • Mechanical Looseness.

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  • Bad or Worn Drive Belts and Drive.

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  • Gear Problems.

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  • Faulty  Bearings.

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  • Electrical Faults.

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  • Rubbing.

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  • Aerodynamic, and Hydraulic Forces.

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  • Resonance.
Data collection on turbo fan.
With the use of database software, the deterioration of a piece of equipment can be trended to determine when the unit must be removed from service, before it reaches catastrophic failure.
Click to enlarge
The money that is saved by planning maintenance to correspond with production scheduling and avoiding excess equipment damage and repair costs after a severe failure is significant.
Many production and process industries that implement preventative maintenance programs, have seen budgetary savings in the ten's of thousands of dollars or more per year!
Not only can we find and predict bearing failures, we can also determine where the problem is within the bearing. In this case the most wear is on the outer race as indicated by the BPFO harmonics.
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