Method and apparatus for predictive diagnosis of moving machine parts

A system for predicting failures in rotary and reciprocating machinery including bearings, gears, lubricants, and the like by communicating with a plurality of vibration, shock and friction sensing transducers attached to the machinery, said system comprising:

• a signal receiving means for electrically communicating with the plurality of transducers to receive a corresponding number of electrical signals produced by the sensors and corresponding to vibration, friction, and shock waves produced in the machinery during operation;
• an analog signal conditioner, in electrical communication with said signal receiving means, comprising means for filtering out signal components from the signals corresponding to vibration and passing only components of the signals corresponding to friction and shock waves and means for detecting envelopes of the signals in said frequency band;
• digital processor means, in electrical communication with said analog signal conditioner, for converting analog signals to digital, for computing stress wave energy corresponding to said envelopes and for providing control and display logic to select transducing sensors to be monitored;
• control and display means, in electrical communication with said digital processor means, for dictating which transducers to monitor via said control and display logic and for dictating information to be displayed;
• and
• means for creating a histogram of said stress wave energy measurements over a selected period of time.

A system for predicting failures in rotary and reciprocating machinery, including bearings, gears, lubricants, and the like, said system comprising:

• a plurality of stress wave sensor transducers for attachment to the machinery at selected points to produce a corresponding number of electrical signals corresponding to vibration, friction, and shock waves produced in the machinery during operation;
• multiplexing means, in electrical communication with said transducers, for receiving said electrical signals from said transducers and transmitting at least one selected signal corresponding to at least one preselected transducer;
• filtering means, in electrical communication with said multiplexing means, for filtering out frequencies corresponding to vibration and passing only friction and shock waves, said filtering means deriving a resultant signal for each said preselected signal, said resultant signal being in a predetermined frequency range corresponding to said transducers;
• digital processor means, in electrical communication with said filtering means, for converting analog signals to digital, for computing stress wave energy corresponding to said envelopes and for providing control and display logic to select transducers to be monitored;
• and
• control processing means, in electrical communication with said multiplexing means and said digital processing means for selecting said at least one selected signal, for communicating with said transducers and for displaying friction and shock wave energy measurements and envelope measurements.

A system for predicting failures in rotary and reciprocating machinery, including bearings, gears, lubricants, and the like, said system comprising:

• a plurality of stress wave sensor transducers for attachment to the machinery at selected points to produce a corresponding number of electrical signals corresponding to vibration, friction, and shock waves produced in the machinery during operation;
• multiplexing means, in electrical communication with said transducers, for receiving said electrical signals from said transducers and transmitting at least one selected signal corresponding to at least one preselected transducer;
• filtering means, in electrical communication with said multiplexing means, for filtering out frequencies corresponding to vibration and passing only friction and shock waves, said filtering means deriving a resultant signal for each said preselected signal, said resultant signal being in a predetermined frequency range corresponding to said transducers;
• digital processor means, in electrical communication with said filtering means, for converting analog signals to digital, for computing stress wave energy corresponding to said envelopes and for providing control and display logic to select transducers to be monitored;
• control processing means, in electrical communication with said multiplexing means and said digital processing means for selecting said at least one selected signal, for communicating with said transducers and for displaying friction and shock wave energy measurements and envelope measurements;
• and
• means for creating a histogram of said stress wave energy measurements over a selected period of time.

A system for predicting failures in rotary and reciprocating machinery by receiving and processing electrical signals produced by a plurality of motion sensing transducers and indicative of vibration, friction and shock waves, said signals corresponding to vibration, friction, and shock waves produced in the machinery during operation, said machinery, including bearings, gears, lubricants, and the like, said system comprising:

• multiplexing means, in electrical communication with said transducers, for receiving said electrical signals from said transducers and transmitting at least one selected signal corresponding to at least one preselected transducer;
• filtering means, in electrical communication with said multiplexing means, for filtering out frequencies corresponding to vibration and passing only frequencies corresponding to friction and shock waves, said filtering means deriving a resultant signal for each said preselected signal, said resultant signal being in a predetermined frequency range corresponding to said transducers;
• digital processor means, in electrical communication with said filtering means, for converting analog signals to digital, for computing stress wave energy corresponding to said envelopes and for providing control and display logic to select transducers to be monitored;
• and
• control processing means, in electrical communication with said multiplexing means and said digital processing means for selecting said at least one selected signal, for communicating with said transducers and for displaying friction and shock wave energy measurements and envelope measurements.

A system for predicting failures in rotary and reciprocating machinery by receiving and processing electrical signals produced by a plurality of motion sensing transducers and indicative of vibration, friction and shock waves, said signals corresponding to vibration, friction, and shock waves produced in the machinery during operation, said machinery, including bearings, gears, lubricants, and the like, said system comprising:

• multiplexing means, in electrical communication with said transducers, for receiving said electrical signals from said transducers and transmitting at least one selected signal corresponding to at least one preselected transducer;
• filtering means, in electrical communication with said multiplexing means, for filtering out frequencies corresponding to vibration and passing only frequencies corresponding to friction and shock waves, said filtering means deriving a resultant signal for each said preselected signal, said resultant signal being in a predetermined frequency range corresponding to said transducers;
• digital processor means, in electrical communication with said filtering means, for converting analog signals to digital, for computing stress wave energy corresponding to said envelopes and for providing control and display logic to select transducers to be monitored;
• control processing means, in electrical communication with said multiplexing means and said digital processing means for selecting said at least one selected signal, for communicating with said transducers and for displaying friction and shock wave energy measurements and envelope measurements;
• and
• means for creating a histogram of said stress wave energy measurements over a selected period of time.