A New Solution for Pump Vibration Screening

Failure of water pumps in municipal and industrial facilities often means emergency repairs with downtime of whole systems and production stoppages. This is where condition-based maintenance with vibration sensors can be beneficial.

The idea behind condition-based maintenance (CBM) is to identify problems before assets fail — to assess the condition of machines without the need to tear them down. When a machine fault does arise, a repair can be scheduled when it is needed — not before and not too late.

“Even when the machine is off, you can see the cool down of the machine and see it change throughout the day even as the ambient room temperature goes up,” said a CMMS administrator for an aerospace parts manufacturer about the benefits of vibration sensors.

The Fluke 3561 FC monitors vibration and temperature with a single compact device.

Catching Common Pump Faults

Of the technologies that can be used to measure machine health, vibration monitoring is one of the most effective. Many vibration sensors on the market today, such as the Fluke 3561 FC, monitor vibration and temperature with a single compact device.

Remote vibration monitoring can identify conditional changes caused by the four most common machine faults:

• Misalignment: This may be caused by improper shaft installation, baseplate or foundation issues, improper coupling between the pump and motor, unbalanced load, coupling damage, and seal or bearing wear.

• Imbalance: This may result from eroded impeller blades, problems with motor rotors, improper bearing installation and bent shafts.

• Looseness: This may occur with improper installation of the equipment, manufacturing defects, baseplate issues, improperly torqued fasteners and underlying vibration from other faults.

• Bearing wear: This may be caused by misalignment, contamination, improper lubrication, improper installation and electrical damage

Identifying these faults early helps teams make decisions about repairs before they become emergencies.

Remote vibration monitoring can identify conditional changes caused by the most common machine faults.

Fluke offers a scalable, remote vibration monitoring system that makes it simple to screen assets for faults and improve uptime, reduce costs, and ensure that you aren’t wasting efforts on unnecessary time-based maintenance. Installing Fluke 3561 FC Vibration Sensors on equipment allows you to spend less time taking manual readings and more time addressing problems. Start monitoring assets immediately and view data remotely within minutes using Fluke Connect™ Condition Monitoring (FCCM) software — all without any specialized training.

The 3561 FC Vibration Sensor Starter Kit includes four sensors to collect data, one gateway to send data from the sensors to the cloud via Wi-Fi connection, and a 1-year or 3-year license for condition-monitoring software so you can access the data and receive alarms. WW

From industrial electronic installation, maintenance and service to precision measurement and quality control, Fluke tools help keep business and industry around the globe up and running. To learn more, visit www.fluke.com.

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