Early warning

A new condition monitoring service for large induction motors has been introduced by ABB to detect potential motor failure well in advance. Called ABB MACHsense-P, the service can spot trouble with bearings, rotor winding defects, imbalances, internal misalignments and voltage abnormalities, providing an early-warning to plant engineers and saving costly downtime.

The service provides accurate diagnosis; reports quickly, with a summary delivered on-site; includes integrated analysis for current, voltage and vibration; rates defects clearly, by severity; recommends specific repairs; considers machine design in judging defect severity; reduces unplanned downtime; and issues early warnings, allowing time for planning maintenance.

ABB's intelligent software analyses vibrations and other data collected from the motor with a high degree of accuracy.

Cajetan Pinto, R&D manager for ABB motors and generators, service, says: "ABB's analysis system uses algorithms that pick out specific signals. If you're concerned about bearings, our system can isolate the signals coming from the bearings itself. This service could extend the working life of thousands of motors running in critical applications."