Applications
INDUSTRIAL PLANT
Rotating organs (fans, pumps, generation turbines, centrifuges, mixers, reducers, motors) and transport systems are present in most industrial plant and utilities stations for the generation and transmission of electricity, heat, gas, etc. In this kind of application, malfunctioning rotating organs and transport systems can cause deterioration in the equipment, which compromises service quality and causes production downtimes.
By monitoring vibrations using SeTAC installed onboard the machine in sensitive points, it is possible to interface with production cycle control, on site or remotely, verifying correct operation and notifying the user as soon as an abnormal situation occurs.
The FastTracer permits in-depth analysis for optimization of machinery and production line periodic maintenance. It is ideal for improving control cycle reliability, making this an extremely easy operation.
CENTRIFUGE AND SEPARATION PLANT PRODUCTION
SeTAC is installed as a standard feature by the world’s largest manufacturer of vertical centrifuges, extractors, decanters and belt filter presses for use in the industrial, oil and dairy sectors.
With their IP67 protection certification, SEQUOIA IT sensors are particularly ideal for applications in this sector and in all water and waste processing plant, where ongoing monitoring of vibration levels and process optimization according to such parameters constitutes an essential condition for both production cycle optimization and machine safety and reliability.
Image of centrifuge model SPI 444 kindly granted by Pieralisi Group
WIND GENERATORS
The information about the wear conditions of a mechanical part is of high importance in a wind turbine and only the preventive awareness of this defectiveness allows real cost saving during the complex and long service and diagnosis operations. Sequoia SeTAC instrument, thanks to their cost-effectiveness and measurement reliability, have been largely installed as standard equipment on Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT)
MACHINE TOOL PRODUCTION
The vibrations generated by a machine tool, always dangerous, can be caused by each of multiple interconnected components (motor, gears, shafts, spindles, bearings, etc.). So, it is very important to know and discriminate their origin. Moreover, as possible collisions between tool and machine are the most dangerous, the investigation about causes and extent of the problem becomes fundamental.
For this reason, SeTAC is already installed as standard equipment by many of Europe’s leading manufacturers of work centres and electro spindles. The triaxial analyzer FastTracer offers the advantages of portability, immediate results and ease of comparison with historical data in all service, research, development and quality control applications.
MARBLE, WOOD AND PLASTIC MACHINING
On account of their high competitive value in terms of performance and cost SEQUOIA IT products are frequently employed in numerous applications not only in the steelwork industry, which is traditionally closer to vibration-related issues, but also by large-scale manufacturers and users of work centres and CNC lathes for machining marble, wood, plastics and compound materials.
SeTAC is widely used in continuous production cycle monitoring and FastTracer is the ideal solution for diagnostics-oriented analysis, detection of unbalance, wear, overloads, collisions, malfunctions in general and maintenance programming.
CIVIL ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION AND GEOPHYSICAL APPLICATIONS
During the development of civil engineering projects and in the construction sector accelerometers are needed to ensure that the vibration parameters induced by the new constructions do not interfere with pre-existing structures.
SEQUOIA IT sensors, FastTracer, in particular, have been used for diagnostic purposes by manufacturers of structural drilling and excavation anchorages and are also widely used on bridges and large buildings in the wireless version.
By collaboration with Turin Polytechnic University (DITAG Department), SEQUOIA IT has also developed a system composed by a series of synchronised sensors, able to detect the vibrations induced in a structure following an event such as an explosion or the passing of a heavy vehicle (train, tram, lorry).
CAR BUILDING AND METEALWORK INDUSTRY
SeTAC is installed as standard by top car builders to control collisions and for the routine maintenance of work stations during the production cycle.
Both SeTAC and FastTracer are used by numerous car industry manufacturers and particularly by engine and engine block, wheel hubs, tire, gears, conversion ECU and control panel manufacturers and in companies that perform motion control tests.
RAIL SECTOR
In the rail sector, vibration studies are essential to guaranteeing safety and comfort.
The new breed of SEQUOIA IT products is useful for both studying and checking the status of plant and vehicles.
The choice of wireless devices is necessary where there are great distances between the operator and the unit he must control; in fact, wireless devices make the acquisition of any malfunction or abnormality information simpler. Moreover, the rail sector requires the use of devices with self-diagnostic features, like SEQUOIA IT triaxial sensors, that today represent the most interesting system on the market.
Other rail sector applications involve railway line maintenance and construction.
SHIPPING
Continuous vibration control onboard a vessel is essential in those components most subject to low frequency vibration problems, i.e. the propulsion system components: propeller, axle and engine.
Vibration monitoring offers advantages in terms of safety during navigation and equally important passenger comfort, which would be severely compromised if the vibrations were to enter into resonance with the hull’s frequency.
SEQUOIA IT products allow detailed analysis for planning the best preventative maintenance; in fact, with our instrument is very easy to send data via internet from the vessel to the specialized analysis centre.
PAPERMAKING
In paper processing and production plant machinery operates on a continuous cycle and the damaging of a bearing or unbalance of a cylinder can mean important losses in terms of runability, production and quality. For precisely this reason, most modern paper factories use hundreds of industrial accelerometers that monitor vibration levels on the cylinders and other critical points. The real time detection of an increase in the perceived vibration level in the early stages of damage allows programming the maintenance operations, optimising machine downtimes.
FastTracer is ideal for detailed analysis on machine functioning, for the identification of critical points and for the subsequent application of SeTAC, directly interfaced with the PLC of the plant and, therefore, suited for permanent control.
AERONAUTICAL AND AEROSPACE SECTORS
The most sophisticated vibration analysis techniques are developed to serve the aeronautical sector, which requires a great many control points for both safety and maintenance purposes.
The importance of choosing SEQUOIA IT products for applications in this sector is connected to their self-diagnostic ability, which guarantees acquisition accuracy and precision.
SEQUOIA IT has developed a version of its SeTAC to monitor the vibration levels induced on the structure of aircraft by explosion engines.
FastTracer is used as a diagnostic instrument in the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul fields.
UNIVERSITY AND RESEARCH
FastTracer, connected to the PC by the USB port, is an ideal teaching tool; using a video projector it is possible to explain the many complex possibilities of acquiring and processing vibration data in numerical or graphic form, and also to play phenomena acquired and stored before.
The reduced footprint of the FastTracer, which uses the PC as interface, guarantees constant availability of an essential instrument for fast, easy and even complex acquisitions and analyses.
As it is able to detect and alert the user of even minimum vibrations, the D-Tect is the ideal instrument for checking the absence of potentially harmful vibrations in measurement environments, experimental laboratories or metrology rooms.