Vibrations of machines are important features when it comes to assessing the current condition. Damage to rolling bearings and other machine components can be detected at an early stage, before a costly machine downtime occurs. The new and smart IO-Link vibration sensor from ifm is designed to help implement a simple and scalable condition monitoring system – all in a single device.

The new VVB30x condition monitoring sensor, which ifm has now introduced, continuously records vibrations in all three spatial directions. Based on the measured values, the sensor calculates proven condition indicators for evaluating the machine condition: information on fatigue (v-RMS), mechanical friction (a-RMS), shocks (a-Peak) and bearing wear (crest factor). In addition, the surface temperature is transmitted as an additional wear indicator. The sensor also offers a whole range of smart functions: in the basic condition monitoring version, the sensor can continuously analyze an emerging imbalance in the machine and reliably communicate it if necessary, according to ifm. In addition, the sensor records the machine operating hours based on the machine-related vibration level, which is another useful parameter in modern maintenance. In the DataScience Condition Monitoring version, the device also offers a smart bearing demodulation method for reliable and continuous bearing analysis, known as BearingScout.

The new vibration sensor relies on IO-Link for data transmission, device diagnostics and parameterization. This allows users to implement vibration monitoring and analysis in any SCADA system, regardless of the manufacturer, using standard fieldbus protocols or simultaneously via a standardized MQTT or HTTPS interface in any IT system. With the moneo IIoT platform, ifm electronic offers a whole range of smart additional functions for root cause failure analysis, making it easy to implement IT-based condition monitoring. Configuration is also very easy via IO-Link: based on the respective machine category according to ISO 20816-3, predefined limit value profiles are stored directly in the device, which can be adapted to the respective target application via the corresponding system command. If a limit value is exceeded, the integrated BLOB ring buffer makes it possible to perform a detailed error cause analysis without moneo. If necessary, up to twelve seconds of raw data can be provided automatically. In addition, the sensor has an internal characteristic value history providing an insight into the past nine days.

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