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Inspection Technique Greasing of bearings using ultrasound, often described as best practice, helps us understand how much grease needs to be applied. Ultrasound is a good measure of friction – too little or too much grease in a bearing produces elevated friction levels. Using ultrasound, the right quantity of grease is determined by assessing the […]

  Obviously, getting leakage repaired after the detection effort is done is extremely challenging and sometimes frustrating in today’s economy. But, where many plants fail, others do extremely well in managing their leakage levels. The latter plants are the ones using best practices. In conducting leak assessments four important steps come up when researching the […]

In the world of vibration analysis frequency is everything.  Frequencies are generated by many sources within a machine. The running speed of the machine is one example frequency; this is the velocity of the rotating element which in many cases is a drive shaft connected to an application (like a fan or a pump). Each frequency will […]

The current business operating culture is experiencing a sea change. Some are being brought on by local and global political shifts, but more is being brought about by a worldwide pandemic and the challenges of having properly trained people available to keep equipment running as expected. Lofty goals have been promulgated in boardrooms, investor meetings, […]

Unbalance occurs when a rotor’s center of rotation does not correspond with the center of the rotational mass. Simply stated, there is a “heavy spot” on the rotating element. Mass is seldom evenly distributed throughout a rotor. Equal distribution of mass is not required for the rotor to be “balanced.” However, the mass variations should […]

The following is a dialogue that Paul Klimuc with SDT Ultrasound Solutions had with his students during the fourth Live Online Level One Ultrasound Certification Course. Question: Should Compressed Air Leak Inspections be Performed During Planned Outages? I am often asked about compressed air leak inspections… how often should compressed air leak inspections be carried […]

We previously discussed in this series, Do we really need Oil Analysis if We’re Performing other CM Techniques? – Part 2. In this follow-up blog, we will discuss selecting the best CM technique for your equipment.   Part 3 – Selecting the best CM technique for your equipment We’ve made it to the final installment […]

John Garrison is a SDT Level One Trained Ultrasound Inspector working as a Melt Shop Mechanical Technician in Alabama. This is part of his reliability journey as told by him. As a mechanic in charge of a portion of the mill, safety and reliability are a must for myself, my company, and our customers. Giving […]

We are thrilled to announce LUDECA and Sensoteq join forces in the US and Caribbean! Sensoteq is a market leader in industrial wireless sensor technology for Condition Monitoring. Together, LUDECA and Sensoteq bring the new, industry-leading Kappa X wireless sensor to the condition monitoring market, together with its cloud-based Analytix software, giving you instant condition monitoring […]

Midlands Technical College students are learning on the cutting edge of industrial training thanks to a dedicated instructor and a leading maintenance solutions provider. Matthew Lester is a member of the Industrial Maintenance faculty in the School of Advanced Manufacturing and Skilled Trades at MTC in Columbia, S.C. In 2019, he worked with LUDECA to […]

  While it is now the norm to see technicians using laser tools to perform shaft alignment on rotating machinery at a plant or facility, it was not too long ago that sheaves and sprockets were still aligned with a string or straightedge. Although it is still common to see technicians break out the straightedge […]

We previously discussed in this series, Do we really need Oil Analysis if We’re Performing other CM Techniques? – Part 1. In this follow-up blog, we will discuss reading the oil analysis report.   Part 2 – Reading the oil analysis report An oil analysis report can seem like a lot of numbers and colors […]

The ability to perform inspections on sealed enclosures in order to identify areas that could leak under pressure or vacuum is easily accomplished by utilizing ultrasound. When a component’s tightness integrity deteriorates, one or two things can happen.  Internal process fluids or gasses can leak into the environment, or contaminants can get into the process […]

Shop Balancing may involve the use of a balancing stand to spin either component, component assemblies, or rotors, so that these may be balanced prior to the final assembly or actual on-site installation.  This type of balancing can also refer to the practice of balancing a completely assembled unit (fan, motor, pump, etc.) at the […]

In vertically oriented shaft alignment, the objective is to make sure that the rotating axes of both shafts are lined up at the coupling during operating conditions.  There are sometimes extra constraints such as plumb, which need to be taken into consideration.  In this application, we have a typical vertical water condenser pump in which […]

Part 1 – Understanding the consistency of oil Sampling Oil analysis has been one of the most widely used Condition Monitoring (CM) techniques to observe any changes occurring internally in the equipment. Typically, it is one of the most basic techniques utilized within the industry and is viewed as the first line of defense to […]

This is a comment we hear all the time when someone buys a new laser alignment system. The assumption is that the cost of the system should magically make any alignment perfect, with little to no additional input from the technician. Nothing could be further from the case. In reality, the laser shows how inaccurate […]

Some vibration software allows for the end user to build a database quickly and easily. For instance, preconfigured machine templates that cover ninety percent of the equipment found in a typical plant is a highly desirable feature. Below is an example of a motor and pump configuration. The ease and flow of the template allows […]

Using the SDT flexible airborne sensor, sweep the coupling area listening for clicking, crackling, and/or popping sounds.  The sound coming from a good coupling should be a low constant noise without any clicking or popping sounds. The data shown below was taken from a flexible style coupling in good condition. Notice the low amplitude scaling […]

Soft Foot has often been noted as the most inexact science part of the shaft alignment job. Historically, when people think of Soft Foot, they often want to neglect, ignore, or otherwise do everything possible to not deal with it. This is one of the traps that leads down the path of bad habits, bad […]