For those engaged in maintenance practices, it is necessary to ensure the decision to replace or repair comes much before a complete system failure of key components. Vibration analysis is the easiest way to mitigate this risk.
With vibration analysis, it is possible to detect early signs of machine deterioration or failure. This allows in-time replacement or repair of machinery before any catastrophe or systemically functional failure can occur.
According to Physical laws, all rotating machinery vibrates. As components begin to deteriorate or reach the end of their serviceable life, they begin to vibrate differently, and some may even begin to vibrate more strongly.
This makes analyzing vibration so important while monitoring equipment. Using vibration analysis, it is possible to identify many known modes of failure that are indicators of wear and tear. It is also possible to assess the extent of future damage before it becomes irretrievable and impacts the business or its finances.
Therefore, vibration monitoring and analysis can detect machine problems like process flow issues, electrical issues, loose fasteners, loose mounts, loose bolts, component or machine balances, bent shafts, gear defects, impeller operational issues, bearing health, misalignment, and many more.
In the industry, vibration analysis helps in avoiding serious equipment failure. Modern vibration analysis offers a comprehensive snapshot of the health of a specific machinery. Modern vibration analyzers can display the complete frequency spectrum of the vibration with respect to time for the three axes simultaneously.
However, for interpreting this information properly, the person analyzing the information must understand the basics of the analysis, the failure modes of the machine, and their application.
For this, it is necessary to ensure the gathering of complete information. It is essential to gather a full vibration signature from all three axes, the axial, vertical, and horizontal axes, not only for the driven equipment but also for both ends of the driver motor. It is also necessary to ensure the capability to resolve all indications of failure from the dataset.
Furthermore, it is possible that busy personnel take a read on only one axis. However, this may be problematic, as the problem may be existing in any one of the three axes. Unless testing all three axes, there is a good chance of missing the issue. Comprehensive and careful analysis of the time waveform can predict several concerns.
This also makes it possible and easier to predict issues and carry out beneficial predictive maintenance successfully. In the industry, the importance of reactive maintenance is immense. The industry calls this the run till failure approach. In most cases, they fix the concern after it happens.
To make reactive maintenance as effective as possible in the long run, monitoring, and vibration analysis are essential. The approach helps to ensure the detection of problems at the beginning of failure. That makes fixing the issue cheaper, easier, and faster.
On the other hand, there is a completely opposite approach, that of predictive maintenance. This involves monitoring the machinery while it is operating. The purpose is to predict the parts likely to fail. Vibration analysis is a clear winner here as well.
