Control the lack and excess of lubrication with airborne ultrasound.
Did you know that 40-70% of bearing failures in industries are due to bad lubrication procedures? Does your company have a good method to control lubrication for your bearings? The UL101 instrument together with the InCTRL platform offers you a solution.
The Lubrication Dilemma
Every year great investments of money and effort are made to determine what lubricants give the best performance to the different appliances we have in the industry. Storage rooms are built for lubricants and procedures are implemented worldwide to make sure that during the buying, reception, storage, and loading procedures the risks of the lubrication being contaminated is minimized, but when lubrication frequencies are being established, when and how much lubrication to apply, there is a void of information that may severely affect our bearings.
Like in many other everyday aspects in the industrial world, we understand there are many different lubrication methods exist. From greasing to pumping grease from one side to the other, or mathematically calculating the lubrication frequencies based on the size of the bearings and operative conditions, there is always a better option. The precision lubrication is based on asking, with an ultrasound detector, the bearing if it needs to be lubricated and how much lubricant it needs to be a reliable asset.
Airborne Ultrasound
Airborne & Structure-borne Ultrasound (AB&S) is a technology that allows the user to detect frequencies over the human audition threshold. The friction caused by the bearings, regardless of the type, size, speed, or weight, generate detectable high frequency acoustic energy. This acoustic energy can be represented with a mathematical value known as Root Mean Square (RMS). RMS is a measure of the magnitude of a varying quantity of delivered power in the acoustic emission generated by friction. In other words, it is possible to represent the friction index of each bearing in a precise and trustworthy manner by using a tendency based on a RMS linear scale, differentiating from a decibel tendency (dB uses the logarithmic scale), the RMS linear scale achieves to be a better representative of both the base line and the friction deviation index of the bearing.
The UL101 Ultrasound Detector and the InCTRL Platform
The ultrasound detector UL101, because of its sturdiness, weight, and ease of use, is the ideal option to compliment the InCTRL platform. Through a simple interconnection arrangement, this device will be able to transmit the bearing ultrasound signal in a very clear manner guaranteeing that the collected information is trustworthy and can be considered in making decisions.
The InCTRL platform is composed of two parts. The first one is based on a program that is in a set of servers that you can access through the internet (cloud), in the program we create inspection routes, mediation points, we store the information that is collected in the field and we analyze spectrally each collected fact.
The second part is an app for mobile phones with an Android operative system that allows you to connect the UL101 to record sounds, take notes, take pictures, and see linear references. This information is transmitted in real time by Wi-Fi or 4G network to InCTRL.
Avoiding Under-Lubrication
”When and how much lubricant should I apply?” To answer the question, you should establish a routine inspection using the airborne ultrasound of the bearing elements where you wish to implement the lubrication of precision based on condition. After establishing the base line, the InCTRL platform differentiates through a pink color zone, the limit of established alarm, giving us the opportunity to see graphically the precise moment in which the bearing indicates us that it requires lubrication.
Afterward, we should decide how much lubricant to apply. It should be lubricated enough so that the friction index is as close as possible to the base line. When applying the lubricant you should do it slowly to give time so that the grease distributes in a uniform manner and the instrument can be able to register the new friction index. Once the adequate level isreached you should continue to monitor according to the established routines.
Avoiding Over-Lubrication
To avoid excess lubrication (that causes more problems than the lack of lubrication), the InCTRL platform registers the base line value information that will be transmitted to the mobile that is being used to collect the facts, and therefore the user will have the possibility of comparing that permanent fact.
The technician should only lubricate with the necessary quantity so that the bearing’s RMS value gets as close as possible to the established base line.