Vibration measurement system helps monitor motor status

Available as wireless or wired units, the system measures vibrations and temperatures and detects when a pre-determined baseline is exceeded and a signal is sent in the form of a tower light, email or text message. The data can also be sent to a DXM100 Wireless Logic Controller or PLC for collection and analysis.

Using the data makes predictive maintenance more simple and effective to manage, as it can identify minor performance changes that can otherwise be hard to detect. Condition monitoring plays a key role in predictive maintenance, says Banner, of which an important part is vibration monitoring, as machine vibration is often caused by imbalanced, misaligned, loose or worn parts. By monitoring motors, pumps, compressors, fans, blowers and gearboxes for increases in vibration, problems can be detected before they become severe and require unplanned downtime.

The sensors are defaulted to measure RMS velocity, says Banner, which provides the most uniform measurement of vibration over a wide range of machine frequencies. The sensors can be mounted using a standard bracket, a magnetic bracket, or a two-sided thermal transfer mounting tape.