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There are few frontline technologies more effective for predictive maintenance (PdM), testing and measurement, and asset reliability than a smart vibration monitoring and analysis platform. Vibration analysis technology has been an asset for a variety of industries for decades now. 

Traditional vibration monitoring platforms with contact sensors, while effective, can be difficult to use and interpret. Attaching sensors to machines isn’t always viable and has limited diagnostic functionality, especially when it comes to communicating results from data.

The alternative is smart vibration analysis equipment powered by Motion Amplification® technology. It converts every pixel in a video camera into a sensitive vibration, movement, and displacement sensor. With a system powered by Motion Amplification® there is reduced need for contact sensors, and the visual analysis makes it significantly easier to interpret and communicate vibration data. These improvements to the technology have made vibration monitoring and analysis a viable option for a number of industries for which the technology was previously inaccessible.

The Aerospace and Defense Industries

The aerospace and defense industries are responsible for some of the most cutting-edge technological advancements. They are also industries that require the most precise testing and measurement technology available. Vibration analysis equipment that’s powered by Motion Amplification® provides users with a whole-system view of the asset, structure, or even craft being monitored.

Contactless vibration analysis platforms allow for component-level views of something like a hovering rotorcraft, enabling insight into each of the aircraft’s components and the interactions between them. In addition to whole-system views, smart vibration analysis can assist with structural analysis that drills down to specific regions of interest for more detailed information. The use of vibration analysis equipment that relies on contact sensors for aircraft can prove difficult at best.

The Manufacturing Industry

Testing, measurement and PdM in the manufacturing industry are among vibration analysis technology’s most common applications. A platform powered by Motion Amplification®, like RDI Technologies’ Iris M™ system, can be used to analyze any asset, process line, or structure for issues in real time. As the potential applications are too numerous to list, the following examples represent just a few of the possibilities.

• Motor and Pump Bases – Employing vibration monitoring equipment to identify problematic vibration in critical manufacturing assets is a vital practice. However, the bases of motors and pumps are among the most overlooked sources of problematic vibration. Motion Amplification® makes it possible to visualize and measure the base and support structures for any type of equipment.
• Identifying Imbalances – It’s not just internal malfunctions or defects that can result in equipment, efficiency, or safety issues. Imbalanced machinery can produce process inefficiencies, premature wear and damage, and several other problems. Those imbalances can be identified immediately by visualizing the motion.
• Mechanical seals – Mechanical seals that are damaged, improperly sealed, or otherwise not functioning as they should can cause significant problems for a manufacturing asset. Mechanical seals are also notoriously difficult to measure and troubleshoot. They can contribute to issues while appearing to function. Motion Amplification® can make it clear when mechanical seals need attention.
• Misalignment – A misalignment of components can be responsible for damage and excessive wear to all of the components involved as well as causing system issues. Those misalignments are often entirely undetectable to the naked eye. Motion Amplification® makes that invisible motion visible.
• Looseness – Sometimes, all of the internal components of a machine, including its seals, can be in working order and functioning properly, balanced, and in alignment. However, that asset’s operation can still be negatively affected by looseness. Even a loose base or plinth an asset is mounted to can become an issue. Vibration analysis technology can identify or rule out that possibility.


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The Energy Industry

An additional benefit of vibration monitoring powered by Motion Amplification® is the ability to capture assets and structures in a way that would prove difficult or impossible with contact sensors alone. For example, it allows users to see the overall motion of larger structures like wind turbines. The insights provided by that whole-system view are often invaluable.

The technology also provides the practical benefit of doing away with the downtime, difficulty, and even safety concerns associated with attaching contact sensors hundreds of feet up. It resolves the same difficulty when vibration monitoring is applied to large, complex structures like cooling towers. Moreover, the vibration monitoring technology can pick up additional data peripheral to the displacement and movement of the structure like floors flexing or attached machinery being rocked or moved.

The Automotive Industry

Vibration monitoring has a great deal of potential for the automotive industry. Since the industry relies on manufacturing, smart vibration analysis equipment is an invaluable PdM resource. Automotive manufacturing increasingly implements robotic assets, from the heaviest industrial models to fine, precise parts assembly. Vibration monitoring can pick up on problematic vibration and displacement that can indicate malfunctions in robots as it can for any other mechanical assets. However, unwanted vibration of any kind can significantly compromise a robot’s precision, which can result in costly production errors.

Vibration analysis powered by Motion Amplification® can also help shorten the production cycle. A smart vibration monitoring technology like the Iris M™ platform can monitor the components and their interrelationships during the production process. It’s a step that can prevent problems further in the process that are more expensive to address and extend the production cycle. Finally, smart vibration monitoring is now a leading-edge technology for automotive noise, vibration, and harshness testing. The fact is, there are very few industries that could not benefit in some way from smart and effective vibration monitoring and analysis.

About RDI Technologies

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With the release of the leading-edge Iris product platform, RDI Technologies effectively revolutionized the machine condition monitoring and testing space. The Iris M™ vibration analysis and monitoring platform is powered by Motion Amplification®, making it a high-precision machine condition monitoring solution. That Motion Amplification technology delivers crucial insights into the condition and the reliability of critical assets. It does so by rendering otherwise invisible vibration, displacement, and movement in those critical assets visible in real time. Additionally, the Iris products can be installed for predictive maintenance or testing that either runs continually or at specified intervals. Monitor the condition of your critical assets and test results with Iris technology platform from RDI Technologies.

Discover what smart vibration analysis can do for your industry with RDI Technologies at Rditechnologies.com