FAG Easy Check Online Proves Reliable Even in Test Installation

Early Failure Detection with New Low-Cost Vibration Monitor Prevents Costly Consequential Damage in Cement Factory SCHWEINFURT/HERZOGENRATH, 29. November 2004. FAG Industrial Services GmbH (F¡¯IS) has impressively proved the reliability of its low-cost Easy Check vibration monitoring systems also with its new online version. This triggered an alarm only a short week after the installation of an Easy Check system in a cooling fan at the Sötenich plant of Lafarge Zement GmbH, one of the leading cement manufacturers in Germany. A corresponding control measurement with a mobile measuring instrument showed a significant change in vibration, the detailed analysis of which pointed to an imbalance in the fan wheel. Balancing of the fan by the F¡¯IS service team was possible in continuous operation. This early failure detection and remedy prevented major consequential damage to the fan as well as unplanned downtime and thus avoided additional costs for the customer. Easy Check systems from FIS are deployed in the permanent monitoring of vibration and temperatures in continually operating machines, such as electric motors, pumps and ventilators. The online version now also enables the simple and cost-effective monitoring of machines that are difficult to access, as ¨C in contrast to the non-cable base model ¨C the control and operation can be carried via a cable connection at the central machine control station. The base values determined upon start up of the respective monitoring system represent reference values for relative monitoring. Alarm is triggered as soon as one of the parameters exceeds the reference level by an individually configurable value. Easy Check systems carry out measurements at regular, brief intervals and indicate the operating condition via LED displays. With its new low-cost vibration monitors, the Herzogenrath service company once again proves that the continuous monitoring of machines and plants is not necessarily complicated and unduly expensive. FAG Industrial Services GmbH (F¡¯IS) Since the beginning of 2001, FAG Kugelfischer AG & Co. oHG, a member of the Schaeffler Group, has been focusing its service business in FAG Industrial Services GmbH (F¡¯IS), headquartered at Herzogenrath near Aachen. As an independent company, F¡¯IS offers its maintenance services and service products on a manufacturer-neutral basis, so helping customers to save maintenance costs, optimize machine availability and avoid unexpected machine downtime.