Hello All,
I am looking to set up a Pdm programme in my company. from my limited experience in the predictive maintenance field Vibration analysis seems to be quiet a complicated process. I have seen a demonstration on Ultrasound and it seems a lot less complicated and user friendly. It can also be used to find leaks ect. So my question is... which one should i consider??

Do you manufacture dog whistles? Seriously, what is your product and type of equipment. Generally vibe is the way to go. What is your plant size and available in-house expertise: then check http://www.vtab.se as they have several options for you and also check all vendors ALL - don't make a quick decision.

BTW; I gave the one site as a barometer. Doing spot-checking or small plant or 10,000 pts??? all factors.

Whichever you pick, invest some $$$ in the training of your people and you may have some success.
It is O.K to say we have the equipment, but if it sits in the back corner gathering dust because you didn,t give the blokes the time or training they needed you should just throw thousands of dollars out the window each month because it is easier.

Committment form the top and through the entire group is required to achieve good results with either of these technologies. As Sam has mentioned it really does depend on your equipment and the type of failures you are trying to predict.

Regards,

Hooch

Thanks for all the replies. Motors and compressors would make up the bulk of our equipment. we do have a vendor who comes on site once a month to do Vib analysis but m/c's are not always running at the time, so gaps appear in the history. i'm having trouble convincing the boss to inplement out own Pdm programme..but im not giving up yet!

What happen in between the vib survey? CAn you call the vib guy and come asap? IF not, ultrasound can be used in house for a quick check. Have you got oil onsite test kits?

Hello Callins,
Vibration and ultrasound overlap in certain areas - rolling element bearing condition and in partucular bearing lubrication is much easier to deal with using ultrasound. Ultrasound can also be used as a filter to answer the question is my machine OK yes/no.
If no, sometimes you need vibration to go further and sometimes you don't.
What is for sure is that implementing an effective programme based on ultrasound is both easier and cheaper than doing the same with vibration. As you mentioned, you also get the energy saving/cost benefits of leak detection thrown in.
I am frequently in Ireland, so drop me a line some time.
Best Regards,
Tom Murphy
tom@reliabilityteam.com

Ultrasound works great in conjuction with vibraton analysis.

When my vibration data suggest a bearing problem with a motor or pump I will verify with Ultrasound. I use an Ultraprobe 10000. I can download the sound file into a sprectalyzer and add bearing frequency markers to the spectrum.

I have used Ultrasound an vibration data several times to justify warranty repairs on large horsepower motors.