Here You Go.

This blog post continues an 8-part series on vibration analysis written by Dr. Sara McCaslin & Nolan Crowley, Business Development Manager at HECO.

Dr. Sara McCaslin: Sara has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Sara has also taught materials science, manufacturing, and mechanical system design at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Nolan Crowley: Nolan has BS from Miami University along with extensive field experience with powertrains, electric motors, & vibration issues since 2007.

• Week 1: Vibration Analysis Training: Who’s Doing Your Analysis?
• Week 2: Vibration Analysis Equipment: Sensors and Hardware
• Week 3: Balancing Rotating Equipment: Static vs Dynamic
• Week 4: The Importance of Route-Based Data Acquisition
• Week 5: The Basics of Modal Analysis for Electric Motors and Powertrains
• Week 6: How to Setup Remote Monitoring Vibration Monitoring
• Week 7: The Place of Motion Amplification in Modern Vibration Analysis
• Week 8: Bidding/Specifying Your Vibration Analysis Program

Motion amplification is a type of video vibration analysis that can reveal the presence of hidden vibration. Often used as part of predictive maintenance (PdM) services, motion amplification can help optimize the reliability of your rotating equipment, including electric motors, fans, pumps, and drivetrains. But what part would it play in modern vibration analysis?

Read on to learn more!

This blog post continues an 8-part series on vibration analysis written by Dr. Sara McCaslin & Nolan Crowley, Business Development Manager at HECO.

Dr. Sara McCaslin: Sara has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Sara has also taught materials science, manufacturing, and mechanical system design at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Nolan Crowley: Nolan has BS from Miami University along with extensive field experience with powertrains, electric motors, & vibration issues since 2007.

• Week 1: Vibration Analysis Training: Who’s Doing Your Analysis?
• Week 2: Vibration Analysis Equipment: Sensors and Hardware
• Week 3: Balancing Rotating Equipment: Static vs Dynamic
• Week 4: The Importance of Route-Based Data Acquisition
• Week 5: The Basics of Modal Analysis for Electric Motors and Powertrains
• Week 6: How to Setup Remote Monitoring Vibration Monitoring
• Week 7: The Place of Motion Amplification in Modern Vibration Analysis
• Week 8: Bidding/Specifying Your Vibration Analysis Program

Remote vibration monitoring is a great tool for continuously monitoring key equipment in your facility, detecting major issues before they happen, and determining when something needs to be replaced/refurbished. But what’s really involved in it? And is it worth the investment?

What is Remote Condition Monitoring?

This blog post continues an 8-part series on vibration analysis written by Dr. Sara McCaslin & Nolan Crowley, Business Development Manager at HECO.

Dr. Sara McCaslin: Sara has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Sara has also taught materials science, manufacturing, and mechanical system design at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Nolan Crowley: Nolan has BS from Miami University along with extensive field experience with powertrains, electric motors, & vibration issues since 2007.

• Week 1: Vibration Analysis Training: Who’s Doing Your Analysis?
• Week 2: Vibration Analysis Equipment: Sensors and Hardware
• Week 3: Balancing Rotating Equipment: Static vs Dynamic
• Week 4: The Importance of Route-Based Data Acquisition
• Week 5: The Basics of Modal Analysis for Electric Motors and Powertrains
• Week 6: How to Setup Remote Monitoring Vibration Monitoring
• Week 7: The Place of Motion Amplification in Modern Vibration Analysis
• Week 8: Bidding/Specifying Your Vibration Analysis Program

Have you ever heard of the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse? Many vibration experts agree that the twisting and ultimate failure was caused by resonant conditions. When the wind eddies matched the natural frequency (or frequencies) of the bridge, the swaying and “galloping” motion of the bridge increased dramatically. 

Video of the Tacoma Narrows bridge twisting apart

This blog post continues an 8-part series on vibration analysis written by Dr. Sara McCaslin & Nolan Crowley, Business Development Manager at HECO.

Dr. Sara McCaslin: Sara has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Sara has also taught materials science, manufacturing, and mechanical system design at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Nolan Crowley: Nolan has BS from Miami University along with extensive field experience with powertrains, electric motors, & vibration issues since 2007.

• Week 1: Vibration Analysis Training: Who’s Doing Your Analysis?
• Week 2: Vibration Analysis Equipment: Sensors and Hardware
• Week 3: Balancing Rotating Equipment: Static vs Dynamic
• Week 4: The Importance of Route-Based Data Acquisition
• Week 5: The Basics of Modal Analysis for Electric Motors and Powertrains
• Week 6: How to Setup Remote Monitoring Vibration Monitoring
• Week 7: The Place of Motion Amplification in Modern Vibration Analysis
• Week 8: Bidding/Specifying Your Vibration Analysis Program

This blog post continues an 8-part series on vibration analysis written by Dr. Sara McCaslin & Nolan Crowley, Business Development Manager at HECO.

Dr. Sara McCaslin: Sara has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Sara has also taught materials science, manufacturing, and mechanical system design at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Nolan Crowley: Nolan is a Business Development Specialist for HECO. Nolan has BS from Miami University along with extensive field experience with powertrains, electric motors, & vibration issues since 2007.

• Week 1: Vibration Analysis Training: Who’s Doing Your Analysis?
• Week 2: Vibration Analysis Equipment: Sensors and Hardware
• Week 3: Balancing Rotating Equipment: Static vs Dynamic
• Week 4: The Importance of Route-Based Data Acquisition
• Week 5: The Basics of Modal Analysis for Electric Motors and Powertrains
• Week 6: How to Setup Remote Monitoring Vibration Monitoring
• Week 7: The Place of Motion Amplification in Modern Vibration Analysis
• Week 8: Bidding/Specifying Your Vibration Analysis Program

This blog post continues an 8-part series on vibration analysis written by Dr. Sara McCaslin & Nolan Crowley, Business Development Manager at HECO.

Dr. Sara McCaslin: Sara has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Sara has also taught materials science, manufacturing, and mechanical system design at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Nolan Crowley: Nolan is a Business Development Specialist for HECO. Nolan has BS from Miami University along with extensive field experience with powertrains, electric motors, & vibration issues since 2007.

• Week 1: Vibration Analysis Training: Who’s Doing Your Analysis?
• Week 2: Vibration Analysis Equipment: Sensors and Hardware
• Week 3: Balancing Rotating Equipment: Static vs Dynamic
• Week 4: The Importance of Route-Based Data Acquisition
• Week 5: The Basics of Modal Analysis for Electric Motors and Powertrains
• Week 6: How to Setup Remote Monitoring Vibration Monitoring
• Week 7: The Place of Motion Amplification in Modern Vibration Analysis
• Week 8: Bidding/Specifying Your Vibration Analysis Program

Subscribe to HECO's blog, Here You Go to learn from this valuable 8-part series on vibration analysis.

You’ve heard that vibration analysis can potentially increase uptime and reduce M&O costs. But what does it really take to set up a vibration analysis system? What kind of equipment do you need, and how is it organized? Read on for a quick introduction to vibration analysis equipment!

Vibration Analysis Components

Here’s one way to break down the components found in a basic system for vibration monitoring:

• Vibration sensors to obtain the data
• Data transmission and storage
• Vibration monitoring systems and visualization tools

Let’s start with vibration sensors.

This blog post begins an 8-part series on vibration analysis written by Dr. Sara McCaslin & Nolan Crowley, Business Development at HECO.

Dr. Sara McCaslin: Sara has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Sara has also taught materials science, manufacturing, and mechanical system design at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Nolan Crowley: Nolan is a Business Development Specialist for HECO. Nolan has BS from Miami University along with extensive field experience with powertrains, electric motors, & vibration issues since 2007.

• Week 1: Vibration Analysis Training: Who’s Doing Your Analysis?
• Week 2: Vibration Analysis Equipment: Sensors and Hardware
• Week 3: Balancing Rotating Equipment: Static vs Dynamic
• Week 4: The Importance of Route-Based Data Acquisition
• Week 5: The Basics of Modal Analysis for Electric Motors and Powertrains
• Week 6: How to Setup Continuous Monitoring Vibration Monitoring
• Week 7: The Place of Motion Amplification in Modern Vibration Analysis
• Week 8: Bidding/Specifying Your Vibration Analysis Program

Subscribe to HECO's blog, Here You Go to learn from this valuable 8-part series on vibration analysis.

Now...let's get started

What's the average lead time on electric motor repairs?

That question comes up often and can be difficult to answer. The lead time for a motor repair depends on several factors. If you want a repair that increases the reliability of your motor, it’s almost impossible to provide an accurate lead time estimate before knowing what actually is wrong with it!

Short Lead Times. Don't be Fool!

Short lead times for motor repair are attractive at first glance. You are losing money for every minute you don’t have a motor running. Even if you have a spare it still takes time to pull it, prep it, and install it. Getting a motor back in a couple of weeks as opposed to a month seems like a great idea.

A short average repair time isn’t always the best option. 

A short lead-time should throw up a red flag if you’re interested in long-term reliability and performance. That estimate is likely based on what failed instead of why it failed -- and that can make a tremendous difference for the reliability of your motor.

Root Cause of Failure

Performing a quick repair that addresses the symptoms is different from troubleshooting until you find the root cause. 

For example, suppose an anti-friction bearing has failed prematurely. But what caused that bearing to fail? There are quite a few reasons why bearings fail, such as lubrication problems, misalignment, corrosion, or overloading.

It has always amazed me how unprepared some businesses are in the event of a breakdown of critical equipment. These unplanned plant shutdowns can have a tremendous financial impact costing companies hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour. Almost every time that we help one of our clients through one of these breakdown situations, we find that if they had they been prepared, the cost of the unplanned outage would have been minimal and the cost to put an equipment asset management system into place would have been a fraction of the cost of the downtime.

During failure investigations we often see misalignment on vertical motors as the failure mode and when we ask for alignment readings at time of installation, we often hear that the “motor and the base have a register fit and alignment isn’t required”. This is far from the truth.