IoT function and predictive maintenance have been critical areas of focus and innovation for the bearing industry since 2019. With their help we can easily prevent and thus avoid the problems instead of solving them. How? Read on!
The widespread use of condition monitoring technologies such as vibration analysis has changed our thinking about maintenance. They allowed users to determine the status of a device without disrupting its operation. Moreover, they have saved companies significant maintenance costs and time.
Combined with declining sensor costs, IIoT (industrial internet of things) has further accelerated the diffusion of these technologies and enabled remote real-time data monitoring, automated analysis, and instant alerts. Predictive maintenance, which is a proactive strategy to plan or even avoid downtime, also relies on these technologies. It is based on the continuous analysis of data, so that the fatigue and failure of a bearing can be predicted from its current state.
Today, several business models have been built to exploit and further develop the widespread use of these technologies. One such company is Regal Beloit.
“One of the common challenges is that customers find these technologies unusable because they have not been properly applied to the device and, as a result, do not provide advance warning of errors or degradation. However, standardized solutions do not meet all end-user applications. In response, our Perceptive Technologies teams offer a more holistic approach, including on-site and remote condition monitoring services, diagnostics and other hands-on services, to improve facility performance, ”says Dan Phillips, Regal Beloit’s Chief Technology Officer for Technology Monitoring and Diagnostics.
Regal Beloit has also developed a mobile application (Regal PT Mobile App) for iOS that allows customers to register bearing products and schedule maintenance, as well as access maintenance instructions and guides to help them install bearings.
But SIMALUBE’s automatic lubrication system, for example, has been monitored for years using a mobile application.
By using condition monitoring technologies, maintenance times and costs can be minimized, as not only will the timing of maintenance be planned, but the exact cause of the failure will be known.
If you are interested, feel free to contact our expert colleagues!
Source: bearingtips.com
