Mechanical looseness is a common diagnosis in vibration analysis. You will certainly run into it when you are monitoring your machines if you haven’t already. However, did you know that there are three different types of mechanical looseness? Knowing which type of mechanical looseness you are dealing with is essential to providing the correct solution…
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Implementing a reliability program in your facility can have numerous benefits. Just a few of these include: Greater efficiency Reduced costs Better organization Increased understanding of machine trends Less frustration in the workplace Streamlined process The list could go on. Few of us are likely to disagree that a reliability program for your machines and…
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Vibration analysis is a useful way to monitor machine health. Many plants have implemented regular vibration analysis plans to ensure the condition of their machines is being checked at regular intervals and so, if an issue comes to light after spectral analysis, a solution can be pursued. When analyzing vibration, it is important to…
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What is the difference between looseness and unbalance? They have very similar spectrums with different influencers. One can even impact the other in some situations. That similarity can impact your ability to balance a machine expeditiously in the field. For clarity of this discussion we will limit it to Type A and B mechanical…
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Fluting can be an issue on bearings if you don’t know how to look for the signs. In this post we will cover what fluting is and how to fix it when it occurs. First, what is fluting? Fluting is damage caused to a bearing due to an electrical current induced on the shaft…
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Bearings are essential to all rotating machinery. They are small but mighty–if bearings aren’t healthy, a machine will not function at optimum levels. In this post we provide you with some information and best practices for bearing installation and maintenance. Let’s start with the very basics–what are bearings? A bearing is a machine component that:…
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How do you calculate the RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) of a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD)? This is what we will go over in this post. A Variable Frequency Drive, which is most often abbreviated as VFD, is a type of mechanical drive system used to control AC motor speed and torque by varying motor input…
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Proper lubrication of bearings is essential if you want to maintain your machines at optimum levels. Did you know it is estimated that 40-50 percent of bearing failures are the result of improper greasing/lubrication? That’s a significantly high percentage! So what can you do to ensure you are properly lubricating your bearings? Two things…
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Do you know how to calculate F-MAX or even what F-MAX is? Knowing how to calculate F-MAX is an important part of vibration analysis because many different types of faults can be shown at multiples of the running speed, which is otherwise known as 1x. But first, what is F-MAX? F-MAX means “Frequency Max.” This…
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One of the features of our SMC (Smart Machine Checker) and also of the Falcon is their ability to generate a report of the diagnosis directly from the unit with no PC needed. This can be accomplished by pressing the Diagnosis button on the right side of the screen after collecting all pertinent vibration…
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As anyone who works with rotating machinery knows, bearings are essential to machine functions. One of the first things to know about bearings is that there are two main types. We will go over these two main types and more in this installment of our Condition Monitoring Basics series of blog posts. The two main…
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Unbalance and misalignment are problems that need to be addressed as soon as possible, but before you can begin to fix them, first you need to know how to find them on a spectrum. We will go over this below. For example, with a fan, unbalance appears on the spectrum as a higher than…
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A key purpose of vibration analysis is to detect bearing problems before bearings fail and damage is done. This, of course, means that bearings will need to be replaced. Proper bearing extraction and installation is important to extending the life of bearings as well. First, it is important to know when you need to replace…
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Before you can implement a condition monitoring program, it is important to document certain information on your machines. This post will hopefully help you organize your routes and efficiently implement a predictive maintenance plan. Even better, you can download our free Machine Data Sheet which will give you fields to fill in all the important…
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One key bit of data required when collecting data or analyzing it is accurately pinpointing the RPM. When we set up schematics in the Machine Set Up module we tell the software what the RPM is here. When setting up a machine in the Nest you can choose either fixed speed, variable speed with keyboard,…
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