Predictive maintenance device

April 2005 Maintenance, Test & Measurement, Calibration

IFM Electronic's Efector Octavis vibration monitor is able to detect rolling element bearing failures and shaft unbalance conditions. It has the processing power to analyse a vibration signature and predict failures in advance by sending an alarm output signal to a PLC or relay. Housed in a compact 40 x 40 mm package, it has an integrated accelerator, signal processor and diagnostic electronics, allowing the monitor to gather, process and interpret data without human interaction.

Octavis is designed to be permanently mounted on a pump, spindle, compressor, or a fan, to monitor failure conditions of bearings or shafts. It is now possible to cost-effectively monitor hundreds of critical machines in a plant and develop a predictive maintenance program without a large upfront investment.

When the device has been mounted and parameterised, the condition of the bearings and shaft are indicated through a 'traffic light' bar graph display. The monitor incorporates a 16-bit A/D converter that transforms the analog signal from the MEMS sensor, a highly reliable sensor element that monitors the acceleration value via a change in capacitance signal, to a digital signal that can be used for processing.

The digital signal processor (DSP) inside Octavis can process 32 000 calculations per second. The processor is more powerful than a Pentium chip in a PC. The DSP performs mathematical calculations to convert the time domain vibration signal into a frequency domain signal. This conversion is known as a Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT).

In order to determine which critical frequencies need to be monitored in the vibration spectrum, the Octavis monitor requires inputs for application parameters. These inputs allow Octavis to monitor only critical frequencies and ignore all external noise. A pushbutton is used to 'teach' the monitor the normal operating conditions. An early warning alarm will trigger if there is a large change from the baseline. Its makers claim that by using Octavis, maintenance costs are reduced by 25-35%, breakdowns reduced by 70-75% and production increased by 20-25%.

For more information contact Chris Huxham, Shorrock Automation, 012 345 4449, [email protected], www.shorrock.co.za

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