Bearing Monitor Keeps Track of Four Locations

Bearing Monitor Keeps Track of Four Locations A cost-effective predictive maintenance vibration monitor detects rolling element bearing failures and shaft imbalance conditions in four locations simultaneously. The efector octavis bearing condition monitor from IFM electronic is now available as a master unit which can monitor up to four separate locations. These new versions make predictive maintenance even more cost-effective.The octavis central unit can also now be programmed via Ethernet.The vibration pickups, which can be up to 30m from the central diagnostic, are made in stainless steel with a IP69K rating for arduous environments.Rolling element bearings are probably the most common element to be found on the shop floor. As both a load-bearing and moving component, their condition determines the efficiency of the machines, yet until now it was very costly to monitor their condition continuously. Affordable sensors for condition monitoring mean monitoring is no longer restricted to the most critical bearings, and users won't need extensive training in vibration frequency analysis.efector octavis continuously monitors the machine operating condition. IFM electronic's vibration monitor detects rolling element bearing failures and shaft imbalance conditions on critical plant equipment such as pumps, motors, mixers, compressors, fans and spindles.The system is permanently mounted on plant equipment to continuously monitor a machine's operating condition through vibration analysis. It has the processing capability to analyse a vibration signature and to predict failures in advance by sending an alarm output signal to a PLC or relay.This can optimise machine availability and plant up-time. The efector octavis monitor incorporates an accelerometer, analogue-to-digital (A/D) convertor, digital signal processor (DSP) and diagnostic electronics in a compact 40 x 40mm package. These electronic components enable the monitor to gather, process and interpret vibration data.Configuration software is used on setup to input application parameters such as bearing types, shaft speed and output conditions via an RS232 cable. These parameters allow octavis to monitor only critical damage frequencies in the vibration spectrum and ignore all external noise. One efector octavis monitor can detect up to five different rolling elements on a machine or 20 individual frequencies.An alarm display provides early warning and critical alarms.Pushbutton programming includes a teach button with an integrated alarm display.The alarm display provides two switching outputs that indicate an early warning alarm and a critical alarm.