M A I N T E N A N C E
PREDICTIVE
MAINTENANCE
INTELLIGENT HEALTH CARE FOR INDUSTRIAL GEAR UNITS
Industrial gear units are known as
the drive technology heavyweights
to handle large torques. Due to
the large forces involved, small
defects which are not detected in
time can quickly result in complete
breakdowns. While this can prove
not only to be expensive but
disastrous too in terms of a loss
of productivity and profit, Nord
DriveSystems has answered to
the call thanks to its condition
monitoring and predictive
maintenance solutions.
Predictive maintenance is a hot
topic in today’s manufacturing
sector. Here, maintenance can
be planned in advance to avoid
unplanned downtime and to ensure
reduced costs and a longer service
life. This is particularly ideal for
industrial gear units which are often
used in highly complex plants, where
downtime would have particularly
serious consequences.
DATA ANALYSIS OVER
DATA READING
Data analysis requires intelligent
frequency inverters with integrated
PLCs to make autonomous
decisions and evaluate the motor
and gear unit status data from
virtual and physical sensors. With
the help of virtual sensors based
on mathematical algorithms
and the PLC which is integrated
into the Nord frequency inverter,
combined with the known
physical characteristics of gear
oil, the lifespan of the oil can be
determined. This further allows for
an assessment of the degree of
use and the predicted date for an oil
change.
VIBRATION
FREQUENCIES PROVIDE
CLARITY
For industrial gear units, physical
temperature and vibration sensors
are both economical and advisable.
Vibration sensors in particular, offer
a range of advantages. Detailed
manufacturers' databases exist for
all the bearings installed in industrial
gear units, these databases
contain the characteristic vibration
frequencies for all components of
each bearing type. The individual
frequencies can therefore be clearly
identified and attributed to particular
components. The frequency
spectrum can be analysed based
on the time signal or an FFT analysis
(Fast Fourier-Transform), to not
only enable the ideal or necessary
maintenance time to be calculated,
but to also indicate the location of
the fault and which replacement
parts are required.
CLOUD CONNECTION
FOR NETWORK
SERVICE
The autonomous drive
communicates its status data to a
secure cloud. This data is available
for analysis with filter and analysis
tools. Monitoring of the drive units
can be carried out from anywhere in
the world and data is transparently
presented in a browser-based web
interface.