Application Note

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Application Note

Temperature and

vibration send

maintenance signals

From the Fluke Digital Library @ www.fluke.com/library

Two of the most useful indicators to detect when machines are in

trouble are temperature and vibration. Most mechanical components

emit a certain amount of heat and vibration in the normal course

of operation. But excessive heat, cold or vibration can tip you off to

underlying problems, so you can fix them before they lead to break-

down and bring production to a halt.

The Fluke Ti400 Infrared camera and Fluke 810 Vibration

Tester—are available to help measure heat and vibration and even

interpret the data. They tell you what the underlying problem may

be and guide you in making repairs.

Trouble heats up

An abnormally hot or cold spot,

or an unusual thermal pattern,

on process equipment often

indicates an emerging problem.

That makes handheld infrared

cameras, which capture infra-

red images of the apparent

surface temperatures of objects,

useful tools for regular predic-

tive maintenance of pumps and

other equipment. With thermal

imaging you can discover and

diagnose various issues, includ-

ing high-resistance electrical

connections, cooling problems

and impeded airflow, bearing

issues on motors, tank levels, and

many mechanical problems.

In a major Florida brewery,

scanning with a Fluke infra-

red camera revealed that the

gearbox of a bottle labeling

machine was running hotter

than normal—nearly boiling hot.

If a tree falls in the forest . . . it makes a noise,

whether anybody’s there to hear it or not.

Just like that fabled tree, machines in trouble provide

telltale evidence you can read to diagnose their prob-

lems—if you know how to look and listen.

A physical inspection showed

that the box was filled with

water, not lubricant. A damaged

seal had allowed the water in.

A breakdown could have shut

down the bottling line.

One way to prioritize infra-

red scanning is to begin with

critical assets whose failure

would threaten people, prop-

erty or product. Then determine

what conditions add stress,

and monitor those assets more

frequently. For example, the

sludge and particulates found

in many processes put extra

stress on motors—affecting

bearings, windings and insula-

tion. That stress can show up as

heat, detectable by a infrared

camera. Critical motors should be

inspected more frequently than

others.

While vibration can be normal in

machine operation, it can also

be both a sign and a source

of trouble. The handheld Fluke

810 Vibration Tester is designed

and programmed to diagnose

the most common mechanical

problems of imbalance, looseness,

misalignment, and bearing faults.

Summary of content (3 pages)

PAGE 1
Temperature and vibration send maintenance signals Application Note If a tree falls in the forest . . . it makes a noise, whether anybody’s there to hear it or not. Just like that fabled tree, machines in trouble provide telltale evidence you can read to diagnose their problems—if you know how to look and listen. Two of the most useful indicators to detect when machines are in trouble are temperature and vibration.
PAGE 2
Rising heat becomes visible with a Fluke Ti400 Infrared camera, which captures infrared images of the apparent surface temperatures of all types of equipment. What to look for Use your handheld infrared camera to look for hot spots, cool spots and other anomalies. Be especially aware of similar kinds of equipment operating under similar conditions but at different apparent temperatures. Such deviations might signal problems. A good approach is to create inspection routes that include all critical assets.
PAGE 3
Effects of machine faults a plain-text diagnosis with a recommended solution. The The effects of faults identidiagnostic technology in the fied by vibration can be severe. Fluke 810 analyzes machine Unchecked machine faults can operation and identifies faults by accelerate rates of wear (i.e. comparing vibration data to an reduce bearing life), damage extensive set of rules developed equipment, create noise, cause over years of field experience.