Most machines have rotating parts and those rotating parts vibrate. Measuring how and how much those parts vibrate can tell you a lot about the health of a machine. Whether it’s the rumble of worn bearings or the shaking, shimmying, or thumping of loose, misaligned, or unbalanced parts, machines have a tale to tell those who are willing and able to listen.

A sophisticated signal processing technique can help to pinpoint bearing failure at an early stage. Chris Hansford, Managing Director at Hansford Sensors, explains. Experienced operators can often tell if a machine is not working properly, on the basis that is does not ‘sound right’. The same principle can be applied – using modern electronics – to identify the exact cause of the problem.

Ever walk into a room, look around and conclude that all is well. But then, someone picks up papers, a briefcase, or some other object from the floor, right where you were about to walk. You hadn’t seen it. Your vision is fine, so how could you have missed it? It makes you wonder how many other little things you missed in other places, too.

The next step that we talked about was, “How did the component fail…the grid coupling?” This is something that a lot of times, once we start doing this, for a grid coupling, if we set up a PM for this you can probably step straight to what kind of inspections would you do and you guys could tell me in three minutes and they’re probably pretty much right on. But I’m using something simple because I didn’t know who’s going to be in the class and what kind of technical skills you guys have. But using something simple and showing you the steps of how we break this down.  I think if we say how would you inspect a coupling that’s going on the run or doing what kind inspections do we need to do and shut down. I think you guys can tell me that. I’ll show you steps anyways so you can see the thinking process using something fairly simple.

In the June/July 2016 Uptime article, “Condition Monitoring and MEMS Accelerometers: What You Need to Know,” several attributes of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometers were presented that make the technology compelling for condition monitoring applications. This article reviews data demonstrating the state of MEMS technology development and performance levels by comparing it to a commercially available piezoelectric (PZT) condition monitoring accelerometer.

Vibration analysis, properly done, allows the user to evaluate the condition of equipment and avoid failures. Maintenance personnel can minimize unplanned downtime by scheduling needed repairs during normal maintenance shutdowns. How can you interpret — at a glance — the comprehensive spectrum information available? In layman’s terms, here is how to interpret the vibration signature of rotating equipment. You can learn to recognize misalignment, a defective bearing, bent or loose parts — and tell them apart.