I am a machine tool service tech. and I do not have any experience in the field of vibration analysis.However, I feel that it would be of a great help to me in the field. I am asked to service machine tool spindles, gear boxes, coolant systems, hydraulic systems, ball screws,etc. In the past all of the equipment has been too expensive to justify. I do at times see a HP35665A listed on ebay. Would this be a good instrument? Talk to me like a 6 year old guys, I need help.
Richard Lynch

Dear Richard
My name is Aldo Gonzalez, from Semapi S.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina.
We develop electronics devices for vibrations and predictive maintenance measurement.We have officce in Miami, (www.suscorp.com ).
Please, contact to Mr. Rodolfo Cantero, he can help you.
Thanks,

Aldo Gonzalez
ahgonzalez@semapi.com.ar

Hi Richard,

The cost of the equiptment can most likely be justified simply from the avoidance of downtime due to mechanical failures. If you are considering the purchase of vibration analysis equiptment, I would encourage you to take a look at MAX The MAchine eXpert.

Also, if you would like to gain a better understanding of vibrational analysis, we offer seminars which would help you in your journey.

For more information visit www.vibcons.com.

http://www.dliengineering.com/section.asp?nID=6

The very last article on this page is a case study of applying DLI's automated diagnostic system to machine tool analysis. The graphics are from a very old version of our software, the brains of which have improved as much as in the interface. I hope this helps.

Full Disclosure: I'm a vendor.

Machine tools have very straightforward vibration problems, for the most part. You're going to see imbalance conditions from the tool, bad bearings, and spindle runout and/or damage (typically caused by user error or programming glitches). Any analzyer with diagnostic capability should be able to not only detect high vibration levels but also identify these specifc conditions.

Not all diagnostic analyzers are created equal. FFT-based solutions work well, but require experienced users to be most effective. Our algorithm, Spintelligence, lets machine operators, plant mechanics, electricians and millwrights look for degraded condition as frequently as at start-of-shift or tool change, finding problems before they result in equipment damage or flawed machined parts. By eliminating vibration in the tool, we can improve finished parts quality, reduce raw materials wastage and help manufacture parts to tighter tolerances.

A signal analyzer like the HP model you mention will produce excellent FFTs, but is substantially more complex to use than a well-designed data collector, and does not come with diagnostic assistance, so a fair amount of vibration learning would be required to make full use of it. I think your money would be better spent elsewhere.

Eric Thompson
Spintelligent Labs, Inc.
www.SpintellientLabs.com

Vendor
Take a look at modern technology made easy to use
at a unbeatable price. We have resellers cross US, Canada and Mexico ask us for reseller closest to you.
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Olov

This message has been edited. Last edited by: OLI,

I hate to see this Posting Board turn into free adds for venders. Venders can be a big help and are needed. But we need to know when we are talking to someone who wants to sale us something. And thanks to you Venders who do ID your self. But keep it SHORT not a full page add.

But sometimes you just want to talk to someone who has nothing to gain by talking to you. And wants to help you out not sale you something.

More members less Guest, less Venders.

Hi Richard. I know a guy who does machine tool monitoring for a living. He's located in London Ontario Canada. Would you like me to hook you up with him?

Richard,
I'm shocked that this query hasn't open up a huge can of worms. What you need is largely dependant on how much you can spend. I guess I'm an old timer with a program that is 18 years old but I started with IRD and stayed there. That is if you call Entek part of IRD. Anyway, we are machine tool and I am currently using a dataPAC 1500 with Odyssey and it does everything I need. Yes, I'd like to have a two channel but times being what they are the 1500 is just fine. Odyssey does require some time to learn but is very powerful. The primary drawback to the 1500 is its balancing program. I still go back to my 246 to balance.

Ron - Long time is right it has been longer than I care to admit since I was coming to the Ind. meetings!!!!!

Like Ron I have been checking Machine Tools for a long time. My experience says you any collector will work but you need to learn to use g's and look for patterns. If you wait for IN/sec peaks to show up so you "know for sure" then productin is already having problems. Most of the time the bearings don't need changed because there is a danger of the machine locking up but the minor problems in a bearing are causing finish problems or causing the operator to change tooling too often. In machining maintenance cost are cheap compared to rework or tooling cost.