Application Note

2 Fluke Corporation The benefits of vibration screening
Benefits of vibration
testing
Here are a few of the typical
benefits enjoyed by customers in
all industries:
Predictability: Studies have
shown that vibration testing
can provide early warnings of
impending machine failure, giv-
ing maintenance staff time to
schedule required repairs and
acquire needed parts.
Safety: Having information
about machine health enables
operators to take faulty equip-
ment offline before a hazardous
condition occurs.
Revenue: Well-maintained
machines have fewer unex-
pected and serious failures,
helping to prevent production
stoppages that cut into the bot-
tom line. Running machinery
until failure often results in more
expensive repairs, overtime, and
forced purchases. Twenty-five
years of documented savings
show a 20:1 benefit-to-cost ratio
for vibration testing programs.
Increased maintenance
intervals: When machine health
is being tracked, maintenance
can be scheduled by need, not
just by hours of operation.
Reliability: Monitored
machinery has fewer unexpected
or catastrophic failures. Problem
areas can be anticipated before
failure and repair actions can be
prioritized. Spare parts invento-
ries can be reduced and the life
of existing equipment can be
extended.
Peace of mind: A better
understanding of machine health
builds confidence in mainte-
nance schedules, budgeting, and
productivity estimates.
Types of vibration testing
For many years, there were two
ways of understanding machine
condition with vibration testing:
spectrum analysis and overall
vibration/bearing measurements.
Spectrum analysis
Experienced vibration special-
ists use vibration analyzers
for a sophisticated analysis of
machine condition. They ana-
lyze vibration spectra (vibration
amplitude versus frequency),
create a baseline for the tested
equipment, and trend the results
over time. This sophisticated
analysis not only provides
information about whether there
is a problem, it also helps users
understand the root cause and
time to failure.
However, this traditional type
of vibration testing requires a
significant amount of training
and a strong understanding of
the spectra and equipment’s
history.
Simple vibration
screening:
Overall vibration/bearing
measurements
Vibration screening devices
(such as vibration pens or bear-
ing checkers) provide quick
feedback of the equipment con-
dition by looking at the overall
levels of vibration or bearing
condition to understand whether
there is a problem, instead of
analyzing vibration in-depth
with a spectrum.
These devices look at the
entire vibration signal in low
frequency, or the bearing signal
in high frequency, and provide a
single number for overall vibra-
tion or bearing condition. If the
machine vibration or noise is
higher, this value will increase.
Maintenance teams use vibra-
tion screening tools to make
quick go or no-go decisions by
checking the value against a
pre-set alarm level, comparing it
to ISO Standards (ISO 10816) and
trending the results over time.
Fluke 805 Vibration Meter
redefines vibration screening
805 Vibration Meter is Fluke’s
multifunction vibration
screening tool that provides
quantifiable results of bearing
condition, overall vibration, and
IR temperature.
It assesses the severity on a
four-level scale and provides the
ability to upload the data to PC
for later trending.
Fluke 805 performs in the
low frequency range to mea-
sure overall vibration and in
the high frequency range to
identify bearing faults. In addi-
tion to providing a number, the
805 provides a four-level scale
for both overall vibration and
bearings.
For bearing assessment, it uses
the new and innovative Crest
Factor Plus algorithm.