Artesis machine condition monitoring (MCM)

Artesis MCM is a new approach to motor and machine condition monitoring, providing all the benefits without the high complication and cost of traditional systems

The Artesis MCM monitors the condition of equipment driven by an electric motor, effectively using the motor itself as a sophisticated transducer.

It requires only a connection into the motor electrical supply, avoiding the need for specialised machine mounted sensors.

Because Artesis MCM is permanently installed, it provides continuous fault monitoring and does not depend on expensive manual data collection.

Artesis MCM uses advanced, NASA developed technology to provide a self-learning capability in a compact, affordable, panel-mounted instrument.

On installation, it automatically teaches itself about the normal operational environment of your equipment so that it can accurately identify and diagnose changes and faults long before they become a threat.

This greatly reduces the specialist diagnostics skills required of the user, making the benefits of condition monitoring available to many groups who have considered it too difficult in the past.

The maintenance team at a European Renault plant has an excellent reputation for excellence in predictive maintenance.

Their use of MCM allows them to monitor more equipment without increasing their manpower.

They use MCM especially for difficult to reach places and for equipment used in processes which are expensive to interrupt.

The team uses MCM for monitoring and detection of developing faults and then combines the diagnostic features of MCM with visual inspection, thermography and vibration analysis to determine the cause of faults.

MCM has already given the team warnings of developing faults in five different types of equipment.

All these warnings and diagnostics were later verified by the team as correct, and no faults were missed.

MCM detected an imbalance problem with a tower fan, a developing isolation fault of the stator winding in a pump motor, a valve problem with another motor and two cases of dirty filters with two compressors.

Two of these cases can be further described.

PUMP MOTOR.

An MCM installed on a motor-driven pump indicated an alarm.

MCMScada, the diagnostic graphical user interface of MCM, indicated that the developing fault was due to an internal electrical fault.

An examination of current imbalance showed that its value was changing over time, indicating a problem with the insulation of the stator windings.

The team took a thermal camera picture of the motor and verified the detection and diagnostics provided by the MCM.

The maintenance crew then replaced the motor with a spare one to prevent unexpected downtime.

TOWER FAN.

The second case concerned the monitoring of a tower fan.

In this case MCM gave early warning of a developing fault, indicating a continuous and sustained increase in the parameters associated with loose mounting and imbalance.

Two months after the early warning and on a regular maintenance stop, the maintenance team examined the fan.

They observed one loose bolt in the set of four securing the fan in the centre of the duct and were able to correct the problem without interrupting operation of the fan, and with minimal additional risk.

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