I had posted one querry about the suitable equipment for monitoring teh condition of Gear Boxes in a coal processing plant- and had dexcellent help from members.
with the suggestions from various experts- I had sent enquiry and got offers from SKF - for-SKF CMVL 3850 ML ( Vibration analysis) and
SKF TMEH 1-- (oil check).
These two are well within my budget but will both be adequate enough to give me clear prediction/indication of the failure of gearboxes?
Will some one give me confidence enough to procure these hand held apparatus.

Hi RP,

I've used the single/dual channel SKF analyzers in the past with great success not only on gearboxes but, turbines, motors, compressors, etc.
Both the units you've indicated looks like are basic systems that gives you some idea of the machine condition; to get you started. You are asking if these would give you a clear indication/prediction of potential faults; my answer would be...I don't think so.
I've not used the units you mentioned above but, it looks like it has some nice capabilities; and limitations.
I foresee at the advent of a fault/failure, you'll need additional info such as Phase and physical properties and wear particles, which the units above does not provide.
But then, remember these are just tools that provide you with relevant info/data, deciphering these info and making a call on what the problem is, falls on the Operator of the tools.
The way I see it, you'll end up buying the dual channels at one stage or the other; if you invest on the above units now.
My two bits worth, hope it helps you make a better decision.

Cheers...Rajan

You can buy any gear you like but if the person using the gear does not understand fully what they are doing then you probably should not spend any money. In saying that when you ask a provider for any equipment I would be making sure the price of training up the key personel is part of the total package. Also check to see if there are any ongoing support and hidden costs like maintenance agreements etc. These are just a few things I would be thinking of before making up my mind.

I hope this is of some help.

Hooch

Hi, agree with Hooch - cheap deals usually mean they are trying to clear their shelves of old stock so they can bring in the new stuff.
Check after sales catches and upgradeability.

Mike.

How many gearboxes do you have to monitor? Don't you have other equipment to be monitored?

Another options are CSI for vibration & oil monitoring or other onsite oil test kits such as Kittiwake.

However, can also focus on your plant conditions eg lube oil cleanliness and contamination control.

For serious fun, can try coin test for vibration and crackle test for oil test etc.

Can you not install permanent monitoring devices on the gearboxes?

Thanks, buddy!
There are about 200-230 gearboxes of various equipments- like conveyors,crushers and allied equipment.
The motor drive is usally 1450 rpm and the reduction ratio varies from 10:1 to 70:1.
Our main job will be to predict thecondition for replacement/ repair of the gearboxes as we are the main gearbox supplier to that plant.
It is an extra service being provided to the customer which will give us an edge on other suppliers.
The customer is ready to pay for this service if it helps them in predicting failure.
the plant runs continuously for 20-25 days- 24 hrs, without any maintenance stopage.
Our investment wll basically not give any direct return immediately so we wouldike to have someeconomical efficient model.
Now you can understand why On- line monitoring is not advisible.

Hello

Thought I would give you some information about a condition monitoring system we have developed for slow and variable speed applications including gearboxes.

Our customer did not want to do regular vibration analysis on his gearboxes but wanted to see developing conditon trends.

To do this we use a standard vibration sensor with a higher sensitivity than normal (250 mv/g)conneceted to a specal transmitter we have built that gives a proportional 0 - 10 vDC output for RMS velocity and g enveloping. This is then trended and monitored via the machine PLC system. We have also built into the system a sensor check light and a raw acceleration output for detailed diagnostics when a negative trend is shown.

It is really an online system monitored by operators. More information is avaialbale on Ian.knight@enluse.com

Best Regards Ian Knight

Ian

Welcome to MaintenanceForums.com and since you are new - I will leave to the forum members to decide whether we move this post to "Things For Sale".

Vendors are welcome here but members seek more than "suggest that you buy this" replies.

Give us some meat on the bone if you care to join a discussion: Who is your client for the system pictured? How long have they had it installed? What are the specific results? Is there any wisdom or other things we can learn from - related to your system?

This is a place for learning. Teach us.

Terry O

Terry,

Perhaps a case history or two would be a better contribution than a photo of a rather common transmitter installation. Has the system detected any faults yet? If yes, then how was the specific fault identified and severity evaluated? A photo of a component fault would be far more interesting than essentially a catalog picture.

Walt