Digiqub was founded in 2022 by a team that has managed mechanical, electrical and construction projects for many years, with the aim of supporting the digital transformation activities of industrial facilities and providing products and services.
Bearing Inspection
Recognize Bearing Damage Early and Optimize Bearing Lubrication with Ultrasonic Testing Devices
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Bearing Inspection
Recognize Bearing Damage Early and Optimize Bearing Lubrication with Ultrasonic Testing Devices
Ultrasonic testing devices allow the earliest possible detection of damage to roller and ball bearings. Regular inspections of bearings in industrial plants are essential in preventive maintenance.
The failure of individual bearings can interrupt and cause unplanned downtime of entire processes. This leads to production losses and generates immense costs.
One of the main reasons for bearing damage is insufficient lubrication, which leads to increased friction in the bearing. As a result, the acoustic emission increases. Under-lubrication, as well as potential over-lubrication, can be quickly detected with our ultrasonic inspection devices. Additionally, improper use, intrusion of foreign materials, and excessive heat generation are other reasons for damage to roller and ball bearings. These changes in condition can also be detected with ultrasound. Ultrasound helps to ensure that your bearings achieve their intended service life through proper monitoring and maintenance.
Ultrasound is the most suitable technology for this purpose
Ultrasound will enable you to detect damages at the earliest possible stage compared to other technologies. This is due to the fact that the acoustics in bearings are the first parameter which will change. Vibrations, noises that can be noticed by humans, and heat development only occur in advanced stages of damage. At this point, the bearing is already showing signs of damage and may need to be replaced quickly to avoid downtime.
Ultrasound offers a great advantage in that it can be used throughout all bearing rotational speeds. Even with extremely slow-running bearings, ultrasound has been able to help customers inspect their bearings and find faults in the earliest of stages.
Our solution: A combination of broadband ultrasonic measuring device and asset tree management software
The combination of our powerful broadband ultrasonic device, intuitive apps, broadband sensor, and maintenance management software will help you achieve maximum efficiency in your ultrasonic condition monitoring program.
Customers are satisfied all over the world with our solution and we are firmly convinced that we can support you and your maintenance team in improving machine reliability in your plant.
With our ultrasonic testing devices developed and manufactured in Germany and the associated user-friendly software solutions, it is now possible optimize lubrication and to detect damage to bearings at an early stage.
FAQ-G.1: What do the level values displayed by the SONAPHONE mean?
Signal processing in the SONAPHONE outputs different sound levels, which are significant depending on the application.
As a basis, raw level values are obtained from the filtered raw data with a sample rate of 1 ms. The derived level values are calculated and stored in much larger time intervals. The sample rate can be varied in the menu “Measurement settings” between 4 ms and 128 ms. It should be noted that the set sample rate has an influence on the representation of data in the spectrogram.
Level values are:
L(t) – Instantaneous Level
The instantaneous level is derived directly from the raw level values and averaged according to the sample rate setting (between 4 ms and 128 ms). For better readability on the display of the SONAPHONE, the largest value out of 8 consecutive values is represented.
LF(t) – Instantaneous Level with Time Weighting
The standardized Instantaneous Level with Time Weighting (also Fast Level) is exponentially averaged with a time constant of 125 ms. The Fast Level follows the physical measurement effect relatively slowly. In history, it has been used on pointer instruments and fast changing measurements to increase the readability of the values.
Lmin - / Lmax - Minimum / Maximum Value of Instantaneous Level
This level is the minimum or maximum value of the Instantaneous Level L(t) (sample rate between 4 ms and 128 ms).
Lpk - Peak Level
The Peak Level is based on the highest measured value in the raw data (sample frequency 256 kHz / sampling time 4µs). It should not be mistaken for the more averaged Maximum Value of Instantaneous Level (Lmax) - the Peak Level can be a few decibels above Lmax.
Leq – Equivalent Continuous Sound Level
The Equivalent Continuous Sound Level is a standardized averaging level and is used to describe time-varying level values. It averages the sound energy over the measurement period according to specific rules.
It should be noted that due to averaging important information regarding frequency distribution or changing values over time are lost. Therefore, the Equivalent Continuous Sound Level is particularly meaningful when acoustic situations with similar characteristics are compared.
The level values Lmin, Lmax, Lpk, Leq are calculated from the data from the beginning of each measurement and shown on the display. Pressing the "Reset" button in the Levelmeter App will start a new measurement with newly calculated level values. During data recording, the values apply to the recording period.
FAQ-G.2: How does the conversion of ultrasound signals to audible sound work with the heterodyne and phase vocoder methods?
Through signal processing, ultrasound can be converted into a secondary “downmixed” signal in the audible range.
In the heterodyne method, a narrow frequency in the ultrasonic range is selected (e.g. carrier frequency of 40 kHz +/- 2 kHz) and transformed into the audible range via difference frequencies. The method is used in the traditional analogue test equipment, which work in the narrow band around 40 kHz. The broadband digital SONPAHONE® integrates this approach. By means of a shift of the carrier frequency (movable line in the spectrogram in the broadband 20 … 100 kHz), the corresponding narrow-band audio signal is made available.
In many cases a qualitative evaluation is already possible with the heterodyne method via the audible impression, for example in leak detection and in the basic evaluation of bearing condition.
In most cases, the ultrasound signals are distributed over a broad frequency range. This means that the information in the acoustic signal cannot be completely detected in a narrow frequency range. In the case of the SONAPHONE, which operates in broadband, it is possible to convert the signals using the phase vocoder method. Doing this, the entire frequency range of 20 … 100 kHz is compressed by a factor of 32. Despite little loss of information, the original acoustic situation in the broadband can be reproduced, the audible impression is available for the entire ultrasound range.
Both methods “sound” differently. The user can listen to the signal via built-in speakers or headphones. The sampling rates of the audio signals are 8 kHz. The volume of the signal changes in the same way as the intensity of the original high-frequency signals. In addition, the variation of the original signal over time is preserved so that the dynamics of events in the audible signal are reflected.
In addition, the SONAPHONE records the audible signals. They are available in WAV format and are thus also available for further data processing.