SKF releases a new compact, easy-to-use model in its IMx range - offering sophisticated yet highly cost-effective, fit-for-purpose condition monitoring for a multitude of industrial applications.

SKF has launched a compact 8-channel version of its highly popular IMx machine health monitoring platform. Initially targeted at the Offshore Wind and Marine sectors, this versatile system brings affordable machine health monitoring to a much wider industrial user base.

The Multilog IMx-8 eight-channel unit provides an attractive option for users of mechanical and fluid power train applications, while the combination of an 'Event Capture' feature will appeal to Machine Tool users requiring a cost-effective crash detection capability.

Unlike its 16 and 32 channel variants, the compact DIN-rail mounting 8-channel IMx-8 takes up very little cabinet space, so it can be installed into instrument cabinet enclosures, often alongside existing instruments. Suitably housed, it also serves space-restricted applications such as small size marine thruster pods or direct drive wind turbines, where instruments often need to be located as close as possible to the monitored machinery.

Having power and communications over Ethernet makes installations much easier for the customer, and the app-based configuration interface means most users can set up the system with little or no previous experience. Of particular benefit for remote applications, where routine site maintenance visits are few and far between, the greatly enhanced internal memory of the IMx-8 (4GB as opposed to the 8MB of previous models) enables stand-alone monitoring and logging of large amounts of data, which are easily accessed for analysis following a critical event.

Freddy Hernandez, SKF ‎Product Line Manager, Surveillance Systems, comments: "Customer feedback confirms many applications require less than the 16 channels offered by our existing Multilog IMx solutions.

The IMx-8 now offers a more compact, versatile means of monitoring rotating machinery and this cost effective, reduced channel online system fills a large gap in the market, offering new features, functionality and flexibility not available anywhere else."