MechChem Africa April 2018

⎪ Power transmission, bearings, bushes and seals ⎪

Now anyone can monitor machine health

Simplified inspection, process and machine health data collection and analysis are now within everyone’s reach with SKF Enlight QuickCollect.

S KF has made it possible for anyone to monitor machine health without the need for extensive training or diagnostic expertise. Combining an easy-to-use sensor with mobile apps, us- ers can quickly and easily identify machine condition and share inspection, process and machine healthdata company-wide. Custom- ers can also tap directly into SKF’s remote diagnostic centres for expert analysis and advice. It’s easy to get started andwith entry- level setup costs, there’s no need tomake the case for capital expenditure. Handheld sensors and mobile apps make it easy to capture, share and store inspection, process and machine health data. In the past, collectingmachine andprocess data required expensiveequipment and reliedonhigh levels of in-house expertise to understand the data and diagnose machine problems effectively. SKF Enlight QuickCollect is designed to make it easy to collect and interpret this valu- ablemachine data, helping customers to opti- mise their rotating equipment performance. Simple and robust, the SKF QuickCollect handheld sensormonitors for awide range of issues relating to vibration and temperature. The sensor transmits datawirelessly toanapp on amobile device, providing instantmachine diagnostics and the ability to store and share data for further analysis. TheSKFQuickCollect appoffers entry lev-

el, on-the-spot analysis capability. Upgrading totheSKFDataCollectappprovidesextended diagnostic capabilities, customised forms for collecting all types of inspection and process data, aswell as the ability to connectwithSKF expert remote services. In addition, by con- necting directlywith SKF expertise, access to SKF’s industry-leading diagnostic personnel and resources can be obtained. Few organisations today possess a large body of in-house expertise on preventative maintenance, rotating equipment perfor- mance optimisation and root cause analysis. SKFEnlightQuickCollect can solve this prob- lem,providingbuilt-inexpertisethroughauto- mateddiagnostics.Andwhenusersneedmore advanced support, they can conveniently connect directly with SKF remote diagnostic services, giving themaccess toworld-leading machine and bearing performance analysts. SKF Enlight QuickCollect puts industry- leading expertise and benchmark data at the customers’ fingertips. Requiring limited training and no spe- cialist skills, SKF QuickCollect empowers the workforce to monitor plant machinery. Using the SKF QuickCollect Sensor and the SKF QuickCollect app, users can easily start checking the ‘on the spot’ condition of their rotating machinery. And upgrading to the SKFDataCollect app providesmore detailed, colour-coded machine condition feedback

When users need more

enhanced internal memory of the IMx-8 (4 GB as opposed to the 8 MB of previous models) enables stand-alone monitoring and logging of large amounts of data, which is particularly beneficial for remote ap- plications where routine site maintenance visits are infrequent. Moreover, following a critical event, data can be easily accessed for analysis. Freddy Hernandez, SKF product line manager, surveillance systems, comments: “Customer feedback confirms many ap- plications require less than the 16 chan- nels offered by our existing Multilog IMx solutions. The IMx-8 now offers a more compact, versatile means of monitoring rotating machinery and this cost-effective, reduced channel online system fills a large gap in the market, offering new features, functionality and flexibility not available anywhere else.” q based on ISO standards, guided measure- ment support, and the option to connect to SKF expert diagnostic support when needed. The SKF DataCollect app also provides customised forms to collect a wide range of useful data from around the customer’s facility. In addition to machine monitoring, operations staff can perform visual inspec- tions guided by instructions, and record information such as pressures, lows, lubrica- tion levels, etc. Instructions can be provided for operators to clean and inspect equipment, and to tell them when and how to seek help when needed. This kind of inspection data can be invalu- able to complement customers’ maintenance programmes, and can also be used to au- tomate support for activities such as plant safetyandEHSaudits,environmental/quality/ air leak inspections, equipment checks, and lubrication rounds. q advanced support, they can connect directly with SKF remote diagnostic services using SKF Enlight QuickCollect.

Affordable machine health monitoring with SKF Multilog IMx-8 The compact Multilog IMx-8 from SKF of- fers sophisticated yet highly cost-effective, fit-for-purpose condition monitoring for a multitude of industrial applications. for mechanical and fluid power train appli- cations while the combination of an ‘Event Capture’ featurewill appeal tomachine tool users who require a cost-effective crash- detection capability.

This latest 8-chan- nel unit forms part of SKF’s highly popu- lar IMx-16 and -32 channel machine health-monitoring platforms. Initially targeted

Taking up less cabinet space compared to the 16 and 32 channel variants, the com- pact DIN-rail mounting 8-channel IMx-8 is easily installed into instrument cabinet enclosures, often alongside existing instru- ments. Suitably housed, it also serves space- restricted applications such as small-size marine thruster pods or direct-drive wind turbines where instruments often need to be located as close as possible to the moni- tored machinery. Ethernet power and communications and the app-based configuration interface make installation of the IMx-8 extremely easy; most users can set up the systemwith little or no previous experience. The greatly

at the offshore wind and marine sectors, the versatile and easy-to-use IMx-8 brings affordablema- chinehealthmonitor- ing to a much wider industrial user base. The system is ideally suited

12 ¦ MechChem Africa • April 2018