Position: Many chip producers of the UK's favourite food are using Monitran's vibration sensors to monitor the vibration levels of their vibratory feeders and conveyors. These feeders perform the important task of conveying the food product around the manufacturing plant, starting as raw potatoes at one end and finishing as chips at the other.
Maintenance engineers have the responsibility of looking after the vibratory feeders to make sure they are operating as they should. By monitoring the vibration levels, they are aware of any changes and can react to these to ensure that corrective procedures or repairs are carried out at the most convenient time. This avoids having a vibratory feeder go down, resulting in lost production and heavy cost losses.
Forward thinking maintenance departments know the benefits of monitoring vibration levels and usually start their proactive programme with a simple handheld vibration measuring instrument. At first they take a vibration reading from points on each weigh feeder and use these as reference levels. They can then see any changes over time and react accordingly.
From these early beginnings with the one instrument, it then becomes clear that to safely monitor all of the vibratory feeders on a continuous basis would need a change to having individual vibration sensors at each monitoring point. This multipoint method means that continuous readings from all sensors are taken, giving more control of any faults that occur.
Monitran's large choice of vibration sensors allow use in tough conditions including sealing up to IP68 for submersion, high and low temperatures and a 4 to 20 mA output for direct PLC interface.
The TX 5633 from Trolex is suitable for condition monitoring on motors, pumps, gear boxes, compressors, generators, rotating machinery and vibrating structures, detection of low frequency structural oscillations or excessive vibration at shaft rotational frequencies and high frequencies, as generated by deteriorating bearings and by resonant structures. The sensor may also be used in the opposite mode whereby it detects the absence of vibration on a machine that should normally be vibrating, thus denoting the failure of a drive motor, a severed coupling or a power failure. Vibrating screens and material conveying ducts or processing machines are typical examples. It is, of course, possible to combine both modes of monitoring simultaneously by using the Trolex TX9042/4 Programmable Vibration Sensor Controller with frequency input conditioning modules.
The vibration sensor houses an accurate piezo accelerometer that measures the acceleration generated by vibrating components or structures on machinery to which it is fitted. Sensor specifications are as follows: 100 mV/g a.c. Frequency range 1 Hz to 10 kHz. Standard mounting of the weighing load cell is an M8 stud. Some units may be supplied with different mounting stud dimensions to specification. A 'Quickfit' mounting option is available for use where a single sensor is intended moved from point to point. Versions are available with either a five metre long screened connecting cable or alternatively, a standard weatherproof connector.
