Good vibrations

Monitoring the condition of equipment is big business. Think of the consequences of unnecessary downtime in the oil industry where prices are so high it would not take many lost barrels to lose a significant amount of money.

There has been innovation in this field in recent years. One example that has received attention over the past year is the first energy-independent condition monitoring system with wireless data transmission.

Developed by

, together with its partners

and

, the system harnesses vibration energy to use as a power source for the vibration monitoring of fixed speed rotating machinery. The benefit is that power and cabling costs are minimised — leading to claimed savings of up to 50 per cent of costs in these areas.

Another innovative approach to machine condition monitoring has been developed from NASA technology by

in Ankara, Turkey. The Artesis MCM system uses a mathematical modelling technique to detect and diagnose faults in electric motors and connected equipment from the electrical behaviour of the motor itself.