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How to set up wireless vibration sensors

Prevent disruptions on pumps, fans, and motors

Asset condition monitoring is the rst step toward predictive maintenance. Condition
monitoring allows maintenance teams to obtain baseline data, trend data to detect
changes and investigate these changes when faults are found. Wireless vibration
sensors can be the eyes on the facility oor, even when personnel are attending to other
assets or off work. For top tier, process-critical machines, vibration monitoring is
essential. Traditional vibration monitoring often involves a vibration expert, which adds
expense, and is often only conducted a few times each year. Monitoring mid-tier and
bottom-tier assets has not been cost-effective, until now.

The wireless Fluke 3560 FC Vibration Sensor is small enough to t in hard-to-reach

places and affordable enough to place on multiple locations on equipment (for
example, four test points). Precise placement increases accuracy and reduces the time
it takes to screen an asset. The data generated from the sensors is wirelessly

transmitted and stored on the cloud-based Fluke Connect® Condition Monitoring

 g
software (available on nearly any mobile device), allowing maintenance teams to
remotely monitor asset health anytime and almost anywhere.

The software even generates automatic alerts when measurements travel outside set
parameters, notifying maintenance team members before issues become critical. The
sensor is designed for long-term use on assets, but can also be removed and installed
on different equipment as needed.

The 3502 Gateway receives data from multiple sensors and sends it to the cloud. The
gateway should be 65 meters or less away from the sensors in order to share data with
the Condition Monitoring Software. All together the 3560 FC helps end users:

Reduce unexpected downtime

Find and x failures at an earlier stage
Collect historical data to justify maintenance spend
Democratize vibration expertise for non-experts by providing easy-to-interpret data
Screen vibrations on hard-to-access machines
Collect and analyze cloud-based vibration data

Setup
Using the 3560 FC and Fluke Connect Mobile App allows maintenance teams to identify
early system issues and make better decisions about when to make repairs. How do
they work?

The triaxial sensors are placed on assets throughout the facility, perhaps initially
focusing on bad actors to determine the best way to improve their operation.
Application is simple. Clean the location on which the sensor will be placed, and mount
the sensor on the asset.

How to install a wireless vibration sensor

All rotating machines can experience vibration. Pumps, fans and motors have different
faults that vibration screening can identify. The trick to obtaining the most accurate
data is placing the sensors on the correct locations for each asset and selecting the
correct sensor for the vibration frequency.

Where to place vibration sensors

Pumps
Two of the most common root cause faults, misalignment, and imbalance can be found
using the 3560 FC Vibration Sensor's frequency range. Without early intervention,
misalignment and imbalance can result in worn or failed bearings, and other wear and
damage. In worst-case scenarios, misalignment and imbalance left unchecked can lead
to cracked or broken shafts, which can be personnel safety hazards.

If a pump's impeller is imbalanced, vibration will occur, and the pump's performance
and e ciency will be adversely affected, with poor production and excess costs. With
time, the imbalance will cause pump failure.

Shaft misalignment will also cause vibration. This can be indicated by baseplate
problems, including soft foot; loose bolts; cracks in a frame; or improper t between
components, including impeller clearances. If not identi ed and corrected, looseness
will shorten the pump's and other components' lives, ultimately causing pump failure.

To monitor pump vibration, a sensor should be placed:

On the pump bearing housing (one or two sensors on the bearings)

On the motor bearing housing (one or two on the bearings)

Fans
Fans and blowers experience vibration problems for many reasons, including the
following:

Fan blade rubs

Shaft and casing misalignment
Shaft and fan blade imbalance
Product build-up or erosion of fan blades

Without early detection and correction, other faults may result including a permanently
deformed shaft, bending of the shaft and clearances, among other problems. If left
unchecked, these may all cause e ciency losses and, ultimately, a shortened fan or
blower life cycle.

To observe vibration in fans, the sensors should be placed much the same as on a
pump (one or two sensors on the fan and one or two on the motor).

Motors
Vibration sources for motors are similar to pumps and fans. Misalignment and
imbalance are among the main root causes. A misaligned shaft will transmit damaging
cyclical forces along the shaft and into the motor, leading to excess wear on the motor
and increasing the apparent mechanical load.

If the baseplate or foundation is uneven or if one of the motor's feet is uneven, soft foot
can occur, causing excess vibration. A soft foot condition must be discovered and
remedied before proper shaft alignment can be achieved. If the problem is not
corrected, shaft misalignment, ine ciency and excessive stresses may occur that may
result in premature failure and downtime.

Vibration sensors should be placed on each motor bearing housing and compared to
the vibration measured from the pump or fan bearings.
More on the Fluke 3560 FC Vibration Sensor
The Fluke 3560 FC Vibration Sensor is the simplest way to detect problems earlier,
boost uptime and save money. It gathers nonstop data, provides historical records, and
sends alarms to your mobile phone through the Connect App. Visit the product page to
learn more about the sensor.

Learn more

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