In industries such as food and beverage, mining, raw material handling and pharmaceuticals, conveyor systems are recognized as critical infrastructure where uptime and reliability are paramount. The cost of unplanned downtime in these industries is incredibly high, costing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour.
Maintaining conveyor systems is a complex and challenging process. Systems can be in elevated or hard-to-reach places, in dangerous environments or may be inaccessible due to safety guards. They can also be miles long and contain thousands of moving parts, each integral to keeping the system functional.
Standard maintenance practices are often complex and inefficient when it comes to maintaining conveyor systems. On the most basic level, they involve using human senses, with technicians listening for strange noises or feeling unusual heat coming from different areas to detect issues, but accessibility and scalability become major challenges in these situations. Manual inspection methods also require technicians to have the skill and experience needed to recognize the problem, and to get close to the entire length of the system to analyze every area.
Companies use a combination of tools and techniques to mitigate these problems. While most offer a variety of benefits, they also struggle to fully inspect the systems properly because of the vast and expansive nature of the systems. Acoustic imagers offer teams a safer, easy-to-use and connected approach that is better suited for the harsh and complex environments of conveyor systems than most other measurement tools. With acoustic imaging technology, teams are revolutionizing their maintenance strategies by catching faults earlier, drastically decreasing downtime and making conveyor maintenance more efficient than ever.
How acoustic imagers compare to other tools
Non-contact tools such as thermal imagers and airborne ultrasonic technologies can help detect potential failures but have some disadvantages compared with acoustic imagers. For example, thermal imagers are usually only able to detect failures late in the potential failure curve. And airborne ultrasonic technologies can have trouble pinpointing the source of the potential issue compared to an acoustic imager, which displays images rather than sound to the user.
Contact vibration sensors, on the other hand, require physical contact with operating equipment that can either be difficult to access or add an element of safety risk. Fixed sensors are safe and can provide continuous monitoring data on several points within a conveyor system, but cannot effectively monitor the hundreds or thousands of components within a conveyor system that have the potential to cause unplanned downtime.
Many existing methods to inspect and maintain conveyor systems have not met the needs of maintenance professionals, resulting in an increased risk of significant costs caused by unplanned downtime. However, acoustic imagers address many of the limitations of other tools by offering a fast, efficient and easy-to-use non-contact tool that pinpoints potential issues through a real-time visual image displayed on the screen.
Acoustic imagers work by turning sounds created by the conveyor system into images. Increasing noise levels can indicate a developing issue, such as deteriorating mechanical components or other mechanical issues. The inspection speed, visual precision and workflow enhancement offered by acoustic imagers change the game for maintenance teams.
The benefits of acoustic imaging over other inspection methods
Adding an acoustic imager to the tools already in use for conveyor system inspection and maintenance can improve the entire ecosystem in multiple ways.
Increased detection precision: Since conveyor systems have so many moving parts, it is challenging to locate a single fault in the system that may cause the entire system to fail if left unaddressed. Acoustic imagers make the process of pinpointing potential failure much more efficient, allowing maintenance teams to quickly make targeted repairs that can prevent failures and increase the lifespan of the entire system.
Reduced risk of cascading issues: A minor failure in one area of a conveyor system can cascade and cause a catastrophic failure of the entire system. Acoustic imagers are easy to use, allowing teams to efficiently scan an entire system and locate developing faults before they occur. This allows maintenance teams to perform needed repairs before the failures cascade, causing downtime or damaging other systems or components. And instead of needing to troubleshoot an entire system, the maintenance team can focus their resources directly on the problem area.
Reduced need for skilled labor: Filling open skilled labor positions has been challenging for many organizations, but detection with acoustic imaging does not require the user to have special skills or training. The intuitive design and visualization of sounds make it simpler and faster to use than other inspection methods, saving time for both performing the inspection and interpreting the results.
Early fault detection: The problem areas located by the acoustic imager guide the maintenance team on where to focus their inspections. If the inspection reveals that an area of the system is experiencing mechanical wear, the team can perform repairs during planned downtime, minimizing the cost of the repairs and reducing the chance of failure and costly unplanned downtime. If the team determines that repairs are not yet necessary, they can still note the area and continue monitoring it to see if noise levels increase.
Increased employee safety: While other detection methods require proximity to the system, acoustic imagers can capture data from up to 164 feet (50 meters) away. Employees can remain safely on the ground and quickly perform inspections, even for conveyor systems that are hard to access or enclosed.
Detect failures over a wider range of frequencies: While airborne ultrasonic sensors can detect in one frequency at a time (such as the 30-kilohertz range), acoustic imagers offer detection in frequency bands ranging from two to 100 kHz. They may also have the option of limiting frequency bands if desired. Additional frequency bands provide more data and give the imager a wider range to detect abnormalities, even those that may not be present at 30 kHz.
Additional tools for data capture and storage: Since noise changes need to be monitored over time, some acoustic imagers can capture a file with the data showing noise levels at the time of inspection and move that data into the cloud. Users can access the data from a computer or other internet-connected device, making it available to anyone monitoring the data. The next time the system is inspected, the data can be compared to identify changes that could indicate developing problems. Historical data can help simplify noise level trend identification and reduce the need for skilled technicians to interpret the data.
Reduced energy consumption: Drag on systems caused by mechanical wear and increased friction makes systems work harder to perform. They use more energy and, as a result, cost more to operate. When technicians catch and correct this type of wear, systems run more smoothly, resulting in reduced energy consumption.
Revolutionizing conveyor maintenance with acoustic imagers
Acoustic imaging offers many benefits over traditional inspection methods, including ease of use, scalability and safety for employees during inspections. By providing detailed information about where developing faults are located, they give maintenance professionals an additional tool to catch and correct developing failures.
Adding an acoustic imager to maintenance teams’ tools can help them keep critical infrastructure such as conveyor systems operating effectively and efficiently, reducing downtime and extending equipment lifespan.
