ATTLEBORO, MA, Jan. 31, 2005 -- Texas Instruments Sensors & Controls (TI S&C) announces a rotating equipment monitoring system (Pump SystemAlertTM) for non-critical equipment, which will be available in spring 2005. This new technology utilizes both electrical and mechanical input parameters to provide real-time machine health status of pump systems and other motor driven equipment.
24/7 Continuous Monitoring
Ideally, reliability engineers would prefer all rotating equipment, such as pumps, motors, blowers, fans, compressors, etc, to be continuously monitored. Through 24/7 monitoring, characteristics can be pinpointed that predict either potential failure, or give a more accurate view of when maintenance is required. Until recently, vibration and electrical monitoring instrumentation was only available in expensive, portable equipment and monitoring was done intermittently.
"The traditional approach of employing sporadic condition monitoring with portable equipment is not only expensive but leaves large spans of time when equipment is not being monitored," said Jim McGuinness, program manager for TI S&C.
The concern with relying on intermittent electrical and mechanical monitoring is that it doesn't reveal some conditions, such as phase imbalance or motor load that can produce a failure or system shutdown just hours after an inspection.
Mechanical and Electrical Monitoring
The technology combines traditional vibration sensing with electrical sensing to create a new generation of rotating equipment monitoring solutions. This platform enables the user to channel process or system related parameters into the monitor for custom alarm settings and additional machine health status information.
A significant percentage of motor-driven equipment failures are detectable through electrical monitoring since they occur inside the motors. Monitoring electrical characteristics can help find problems, such as motor overload, phase imbalance or even improper wiring, and increase your chances of avoiding unplanned downtime.
This 24/7 approach of monitoring mechanical and electrical conditions not only identifies root problems of equipment used in a manufacturing or processing facility, but the data generated can also be integrated with distributed control systems (DCS) to provide critical process information throughout the entire facility, such as flow, pressure, temperature, etc.
The new pump alert system from TI allows existing or new sensors installed throughout a piece of rotating equipment, to continuously collect and record maintenance and process data in real-time. The data is compiled and stored in the control unit, allowing maintenance personnel to see equipment performance in real-time or over a given period of time. Multiple control units can be easily integrated to provide maintenance personnel and/or operators with critical process information for all their rotating equipment throughout a facility.
"Continuous, 24/7 data collection and analysis exposes potential problem conditions before they have a chance to develop into a costly breakdown," continued McGuinness. "Repairs can be scheduled when needed, so that the problem does not persist and potentially cause system upsets on other equipment in the process. This real-time response can dramatically improve the life and mean time between repair cycles of pumps, motors and other rotating equipment."
TI S&C's new Pump SystemAlert system will be available in June 2005. For additional information about this new product, call 1-508-236-2402 or e-mail [email protected]
About TI S&C
Texas Instruments Sensors & Controls (www.ti.com/snc) serves the industrial, aerospace, lighting, automotive, HVAC and appliance markets with advanced protection products such as motor protectors, arc fault circuit protection systems, pressure sensors, circuit breakers, light commercial gas ignition controls and heavy commercial HVAC/R system controls. With more than 60 years of experience in the motor industry, TI S&C enables customers to achieve the quality, reliability, and cost goals needed to succeed in today's global marketplace. Headquartered in Attleboro, Mass., TI S&C employs more than 6,000 people in ten countries.
About Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. (www.ti.com) is the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet age. The company's businesses also include sensors and controls, and educational and productivity solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
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