Machine solutions provider Motornostix’s Identification (ID) Canary and online Machine Health Surveillance systems are suitable for monitoring any rotating machine or equipment that emits energy in the form of vibration, temperature or acoustic emissions, says Motornostix director Johan Grobler.

The company states that it is continuously improving its products and services to incorporate new developments. The newest addition is the ID Canary vibration logger.

Motornostix held ID Canary trials towards the end of 2011 and officially launched its first installation during March.

The ID Canary’s software integration and the company’s existing analysis software application for online Machine Health Surveillance were developed through user input from clients and analysts, says Grobler.

The ID Canary enables users to take machine vibration measurements and eliminate mistakes through the use of ID buttons fixed onto the machine’s main features.

“These are the differentiating factors between our product and our competitors’ offerings to the condition monitoring market,” he states.

Clients can appoint their employees to log the machine vibration measurements, which is more affordable than contracting a qualified vibration analyst to drive to site and take measurements.

The ID Canary’s measurements are also more reliable, as mistakes are eliminated. The product allows users real time-like availability of the expert vibration analyst or the user is able to perform the analysis himself, he adds.

Online Machine Health Surveillance
Motornostix also offers an online Machine Health Surveillance service.

“The growing need to perform condition monitoring on a broader range of criticality levels of machines and across more types of machines has to be dealt with, as more and more clients change their maintenance strategies based on the condition of their assets,” says Grobler.

He adds that machine owners are demanding that original-equipment manufacturers, especially in the mechanical power transmission sector, incorporate machine health surveillance in their service contracts.

“The ability to perform continuous health surveillance on any machine from anywhere in the world will benefit any industry,” states Motornostix, adding that its online Machine Health Surveillance service provides a permanent ‘finger on the pulse’ solution.

“Because of cost and criticality, a number of the machines on a plant are only monitored on a periodic basis,” he says, adding that this approach is costly and less reliable, as many machines are not monitored for long periods of time and cannot be maintained according to their condition.

The company identified a need in the market for an affordable and easy method to determine the health of a machine through vibration analysis, as well as a need for the provision of reliable information in real time.

It is, and always will be, a high-cost item to contract the services of a specialist to perform the duties of an artisan, states Motornostix.

“To combat the cost of having to contract a vibration analyst to perform on-site logging of machine vibration measurements, we decided to develop an online surveillance system.

“This meant that a wider range of machines could be monitored at a more affordable cost. The online surveillance also includes the analysis of other energy-emitted measurements, such as temperature and acoustic emissions, giving the online surveillance approach a huge return on investment (RoI),” says Grobler.

Further, the company’s newest software development, the Motornostix Communicator, enables it to report machine condition directly to clients’ desktops and eliminate the old-fashioned portable document format report system.

The Communicator software application was rolled out to a selection of clients during a validation period that started in February and active collaboration with its clients allowed the company to put the Motornostix Communicator into practice.

“The Communicator allows for immediate communication between the Motornostix analyst and the client,” Grobler notes.

He stresses that client feedback and involvement during the development process were key reasons for the successful launches of the Communicator application, as well as the ID Canary machine health monitoring programme. It entailed testing the hardware in harsh conditions, such as the mining and chemicals industries.

FluidTest Service
Motornostix’s FluidTest service, which was launched during the 2010 Electra Mining exhibition, has since been implemented by many clients, reports Grobler.

The main benefits of this service are a one-stop integrated condition monitoring service provided by Motornostix and a single report management system that is accessible by all users.

“Clients change their maintenance strategies, which requires investment in new maintenance solutions and, by meeting their needs, we hope to achieve a profitable RoI for them,” says Grobler.

He adds that the company’s aim is to broaden its offering by enabling its clients to perform condition-based maintenance on most of their producing assets, while covering all levels of criticality – from the smallest and slowest piece of equipment, such as slew bearings, to the largest and fastest rotating machine, such as a compressor.

The company states that, to combat industry challenges, such as economic pressures, it consults with clients to inform them of the value and benefits of implementing and maintaining a well-developed condition-based maintenance plan.

Motornostix will showcase its new developments at this year’s Electra Mining exhibition in September and adds that it is already planning its exhibition stand.

“On the development side, we are already busy with the next solution and are very excited about it,” Grobler concludes.

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