The new BS40 structure-borne sound sensor offers reliability and precision
Challenge
„What led to this condition? “ is one the most common questions asked by clients during the inspection of failed or damaged bearings. Although rolling bearings are among the most invaluable components in most of machines, it is pretty common the case that companies are lacking of effective bearing inspection practices. Monitoring for changes (trending) is conducted to reliably detect deterioration in critical assets condition. This must be done using robust characteristic values. If the alarm threshold is exceeded, an action must follow, which then requires a detailed analysis. In order to identify a fault or damage pattern and to reveal the causes, special evaluations of raw data are made. Simple characteristic values are not sufficient for this purpose. For machinery with rotating shafts, the focus lays in monitoring the rolling bearings. As interface between shaft and foundation of the machine, they have to absorb the resulting forces. This implies that faults and damage in design and operation have a particularly strong impact on rolling bearings. This is exactly what makes them suitable measuring points.
BS40: Innovative and reliable solution
The new BS40 structure-borne sound sensor was developed and manufactured by SONOTEC to help companies worldwide to take a better care of their bearings. This handy and robust sensor is ideally suited for condition monitoring of rotating machinery parts. It convinces with a laser-welded stainless-steel housing. The ¼”-28 UNF threaded bolt allows maximum flexibility in mounting. The BS40 can be used with magnets for flat or curved surfaces or can also be screwed to adhesive pads with an internal thread. Thus, a high reproducibility can be achieved. The optimized sensor characteristic in the range from 10 to 65 kHz ensures a nearly linear frequency response. A downward extension of the ultrasonic frequency range to < 1 kHz also provides more flexibility for machine diagnostics. The sensor contains a piezocomposite material developed by SONOTEC which helps to overcome the disadvantages of many market solutions. A more reliable assessment of bearings becomes possible.
SONAPHONE & LevelMeter App: Intuitive hardware and software
With the intuitive LevelMeter App, the digital ultrasonic testing device SONAPHONE® enables broadband measurements and characteristic value determination. Due to its high sampling rate of 256 kS/s, signals up to 128 kHz can be analyzed. Up to this limit, characteristic values can be calculated and audio signals can be generated based on the filter settings. The device offers two methods for transforming the ultrasonic signals into the audible frequency range. The heterodyne method is used when a narrow-band transformation (bandwidth 4 kHz) is realized, while the vocoder method is suitable for a broadband transformation. The live signal is shown as time wave form, level graph and spectrogram.
Excellence in condition monitoring program
A great and powerful combination of the SONAPHONE®, the intuitive LevelMeter App, the broadband BS40 sensor and the software for the management of predictive maintenance tasks DataSuite helps to achieve excellence in an ultrasound condition monitoring program. This holistic ultrasonic solution helps the maintenance team to ensure that manufacturing processes in the industrial facility are running smoothly. Lubrication decisions can be made based on the acoustic feedback of bearings. Furthermore, companies are able to act in advance when bearings replacements become imminent as an early intervention can help to omit significant issues. It is now easy to recognize bearing damage early and optimize their lubrication with ultrasonic testing devices developed and manufactured in Germany.
To learn how SONOTEC can help you, please visit www.sonotec.eu
