An Interesting Blog: Vibration Sensors and their Types

 

This is another blog about vibration sensors and motor vibration with a recommendation for my favorite company for such needs.

Lately, vibration sensors have been on the mind again.  It’s the mechanical oscillation around the equilibrium position of a machine that makes it shake so much.  I can’t stop thinking about it.

That shaking might not be normal, by the way.

When it comes to motor vibration, you need to have your team on that 24/7. If these machines, which produce your product, break down, you’re not making a profit. The company is just eating cost after cost until the problem is fixed.

To avoid this problem, think ahead. Invest in equipment that sends you a message as soon as the machines start to vibration in a wonky way. Shake! Shake! Shake! This one’s going to break down soon, get some help.

There are different types of vibration sensors out there today.

1.  The first is accelerometers. These devices measure vibration as well as the acceleration of motion within the given structure. They have a transducer that converts mechanical force, caused by vibration or a change in motion, into an electrical current using the piezoelectric effect.

2. Strain Gauge

Just like it sounds. A strain gauge measures the strain on a machine component. A strain gauge is a sensor whose resistance varies with applied force; it converts force, pressure, tension, weight, etc., into a change in electrical resistance, which can then be measured.

3. Eddy-Current

The last type of vibration sensor is an Eddy-Current or Capacitive Displacement sensor. Eddy-Current sensors are non-contact devices that measure the position and/or change of position of a conductive component. These sensors operate with magnetic fields. The sensor has a probe which creates an alternating current at the tip of the probe.

What’s my favorite company for these products? It’s STI: www.sti-web.com.

Vibration sensors, motor vibration devices, accelerometers, and Eddy-Currents aren’t everybody’s favorite watercooler conversation talk, but I bet the folks at STI think it’s interesting stuff!

Many Benefits in Measuring Machine Vibration

 

There are many people who want to know what the benefits of measuring machine vibration are. If you’re one of them, read this blog.

Your business relies on heavy machinery to produce a product. You then sell this product using a dedicated marketing and sales strategy. It’s a flawless system – but part of it relies on machine-based capital, not human labor.

Human labor has its problems, but replacing the employee is costly. To avoid it, to reduce turnover, and associated expenses, you have to make sure everybody is jiving, that there are good vibrations.  This much is obvious.

What about machine vibration? What about checking on that vibration measure?  The machines, like humans, can get sick, get into a funk, have vibes that are off, and become defunct and die.

How can you reduce that expenditure?

Lesson one: lessen the equipment costs.  Make replacing the part more important than replacing the whole.  If the employee just does one part of the job incorrectly, replace them. If it’s just one fan blade that’s out of whack, fix the problem early so you don’t have to replace the entire fan.

 

Lesson two: examine that bearing vibration.  The waves themselves can be telling.  Small amplitudes of vibration may fall into the high-frequency band, calling attention to the bearings. 

 

Similarly, with your co-workers and team, you can listen to the quality of their comments to see how they’re holding up.

 

Lesson three:  reduce labor costs. You don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for overtime in the midst of a pandemic.  To reduce emergency repair costs, use monitoring equipment to get problems solved without calling somebody in on a Saturday.

 

When you throw a wrench into things, you shake them up.  If your machine is shaking like it’s got a wrench lodged into its gears, that’s bad news.

 

You can save a lot of problems by not letting things get to this point.  Just trust your team with the vibration monitoring equipment.

 

It's as easy as 1-2-3.  Lesson completed.

 

Condition Monitoring and the Associated Costs

 

This blog gets down to business regarding the topic of condition marketing and associated costs.

Let’s get down to business.  Condition monitoring. What is it?  It’s the way that companies increase productivity, reduce breakdowns and repairs, and make more money all at the same time.

What? How?

The equipment alerts factory supervisors should a machine be vibrating excessively, under too much pressure, or sweating due to high temperatures.  When the supervisor is aware of problems, before they explode (perhaps literally), there is a better chance of quick repair.

A big problem could lead to a shut down.  That means calling in repair personnel and paying for new parts of replacing the machine altogether.  I’m seeing dollar signs.

Significant Decrease in Maintenance Costs

Every company wants to have a maximum return on investment (ROI).  Who hasn’t seen an episode of a business-themed television program where some hotshot wearing an expensive watch isn’t asking about the ROI?  It’s the lifeblood of the business world these days.

 

Making money enables the factory to reach more people, better achieving its mission.  When we solve problems, we help the planet.  If we can profit on the process, all the better.

 

The best way to profit is to reduce risk by addressing concern problems before they occur.  Running to breakdown is rarely the best business plan.  If your machines are vibrating all over the factory floor, giving out a terrible screeching or banging sound, you need to get on that.

 

Take condition monitoring by Allen Bradley, for example.  It helps measure vibration, even in difficult situations where high temperatures occur. That’s going to make for a more profitable machine.

 

In economics, people talk about maximum production output. Yes, let’s get the widgets out at the highest rate possible.  We have to meet demand!

 

If productivity is the name of the game in your business, and you have machines that vibrate, you need to keep track of how that machine is doing.  If the machine breaks down, there goes your product!

 

Most businesses can’t afford the downtime.