Is Vibration Analysis Still an Effective Predictive Maintenance Solution?

 Maintenance is a must. That’s true whether you’re a car owner or a business manager who is dependent on the continual and efficient functioning of the critical manufacturing or production assets in your production facility.

If you’re the latter, you may be aware that predictive maintenance is an important aspect of production. Predictive maintenance can save you time and money when compared to other maintenance strategies. Machine condition monitoring is a cornerstone of predictive maintenance that traditionally relies upon vibration analysis equipment. Given the enduring nature of vibration analysis, it’s worthwhile to consider whether it remains a relevant and worthwhile predictive maintenance solution.

Vibration Analysis Equipment

What Vibration Analysis Can Do

Why is vibration analysis equipment such an important feature of machine condition monitoring? A problematic vibration may arise when a machine is malfunctioning, and this vibration may be undetectable to the human eye. Vibration analysis can confirm that a problem exists and can help identify the nature of the problem. The old axiom comes to mind: A problem well-defined is a problem half-solved.

Why Are There Drawbacks to Traditional Vibration Analysis?

Unfortunately, traditional vibration analysis technology is accompanied by some drawbacks.

For example, traditional vibration analysis often requires the physical installation of contact sensors to the asset being tested. This installation can result in production downtime that can be costly for an organization. Additionally, the resulting data was complex and potentially unreadable to anyone but reliability engineers or other technical team members. Even when translated into easier forms like charts and graphs, this dense collection of data could prove challenging to communicate to non-technical team members.

How Motion Amplification® Technology Changes That

More recent technological advances have addressed these drawbacks. RDI Technologies revolutionized the field with the introduction of the Iris M™, a technology platform driven by Motion Amplification. Instead of relying on contact sensors that relayed complex data, Motion Amplification® effectively uses a camera’s pixels as displacement and vibration visualization sensors. The result is non-contact vibration analysis that communicates complex data in real time. Motion Amplification® also allows for the visualization of the entire asset, providing users with a full field-of-view vibration analysis of the asset’s components. And it performs these tasks clearly enough to be interpreted by technical and non-technical staff alike.

Why Vibration Analysis Equipment Remains Valuable

Vibration analysis remains a vital feature of machine condition monitoring and the predictive-maintenance space. Modern technology is addressing the drawbacks that accompanied traditional vibration analysis equipment, resulting in a reduction in unwieldy technology and costly production downtime. Make the most of innovations in vibration monitoring and analysis by employing smart vibration analysis technology powered by Motion Amplification®.

About RDI Technologies
 

RDI Technologies has made its mark in the predictive maintenance space with the introduction of its Iris M™ system, a machine condition monitoring technology driven by Motion Amplification®. Iris M™ is a precise, cutting-edge predictive-maintenance platform that effectively turns every pixel in a camera into a displacement and vibration visualization sensor.

This patented Motion Amplification technology amplifies motion to make otherwise-invisible motion visible, providing Iris M™ users with critical asset data in real time. Iris M™ vibration monitoring technology also delivers a full field-of-view vibration analysis of assets that can offer swift root-cause problem-solving without needing downtime for setup. Iris M™ clearly and effectively communicates critical data to technical and non-technical team members alike by converting complex data into informative visualizations. Experience these innovations from RDI Technologies to find out why Seeing is Believing™.

Learn how RDI Technologies can benefit predictive maintenance at https://rditechnologies.com/