In many plants, there is no adopted maintenance strategy. The mentality is run the equipment until it fails. This leads to maintenance staff having to put out one fire after another. This model is costly both from the actual cost of maintenance and the loss of production is high. There are some companies who have realized the fault in that strategy and moved to a preventative style of maintenance. It is known as condition-based maintenance. This is done through various techniques. One such technique is known as vibration monitoring. This does not require tearing down a machine to determine its condition but rather listening to it while it is running.
Machine Health
By using vibration analysis, technicians are able to listen to the health of the machinery and determine if repairs are needed. There are many benefits to vibration monitoring services. Some of the most common benefits are listed below:
- Predictability
- Safety
- Increased Revenue
- Increased Maintenance Intervals
- Reliability
- Peace of Mind
By using preventative based monitoring, it allows maintenance staff the ability to schedule repairs and the time necessary to order parts. Safety is always important and with vibration monitoring, faulty equipment can be taken offline before any accident can occur. Also, with fewer unexpected failures, production is not stopped as often. Maintenance can help to extend the life of equipment and improve productivity. By having maintenance schedules, businesses can budget for repairs and know where their equipment stands.
What Are the Mechanics of Vibration Testing
Vibration monitoring companies have various equipment to pick up vibration signals. A traducer is one piece of equipment which can be used in ground vibration monitoring and vibration tracking. Any rotating equipment generates a unique vibration signature. This signature is captured in amplitude which is displayed on the y-axis and shown over time x-axis. This is known as a time waveform.
Vibrations can come from:
- Rotating Components
- Rotating Shaft
- Adjacent Machines
- Foundation
- Structural Resonances
- Noise
- Flow Turbulences
Because of the various sources of vibration, it is important to isolate each one in order to better address the vibration.
Vibration Analysis Simplified
The actual analysis can be complicated with overlapping sounds from various pieces of equipment in the vicinity. While this may be true, it can still be completed in a timely manner. It can be simplified into a three-step process.
- Identify vibration peaks as they relate to the source machine
- Look for patterns in the data and apply the vibration analysis rules
- Measure the amplitude of the vibration to determine the severity of potential harm to the machine
Once the vibration severity is determined then a recommended repair can be made in a timely manner with the minimal interruption to the production line.
In Conclusion
When machinery is well taken care of, it will last for decades. Vibration monitoring is a vital part of any maintenance plan. When noise and vibration monitoring is a part of regular maintenance, then outages can be minimized and production can continue uninterrupted.