Analog Devices enables vibration analysis for factory maintenance

NORWOOD, USA: Vibration analysis is an important tool in identifying problems in today’s factory environment. Bad bearings, worn gears, loose fittings, and misaligned equipment can have a profound impact on plant productivity and employee safety.

To address this growing demand for a more accurate, stable, and cost-effective approach to condition-based maintenance, Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI) has developed a tri-axis, wide-bandwidth, embedded vibration sensor that enables simple, effective, and affordable manufacturing equipment condition monitoring.

Featuring the capabilities and programmability of larger ‘brick level’ solutions for industrial equipment vibration monitoring, ADI’s wide bandwidth ADIS16223 iSensor accelerometer is smaller, more integrated, and lower cost.

“Catastrophic equipment failure is the worst-case scenario for any manufacturing operation and can be very costly in terms of lost productivity,” said Mark Martin, vice president, MEMS and Sensors Technology Group, Analog Devices.

“By adopting MEMS vibration sensors like the multi-axis vibration sensor, earlier detection of changes in a vibration profile is possible and can be used to reduce system downtime. Process engineers can now more easily isolate the vibration source and have improved diagnostic accuracy over that available with unreliable vibration switches or labor intensive handheld monitors.”

The ADIS16223 iSensor accelerometer is a triple-axis, digital vibration sensor system that combines industry-leading iMEMS® technology with signal processing, data capture, and a convenient SPI (serial peripheral interface).

The SPI and data buffer structure provide convenient access to wide-bandwidth sensor data. The 22 kHz sensor resonance and 72.9 kSPS sample rate are ideal for machine-health applications and allow a system operator to identify failing equipment long before costly damage is sustained. The programmable digital filter offers low-pass and band-pass configuration options.

The ADIS16223 is available in a +/- 70g dynamic range, across three axes. The 22 kHz sensor resonance and 72.9 kSPS sample rate provide a flat frequency response from DC to 10 kHz, which is desirable for most machine-health applications.

With the SPI interface, configuration options include programmable digital filters offering low-pass and band-pass options, condition monitoring /alarm settings, capture buffers configuration control, and embedded self test control. Users can also access serial number and device ID registers.

The data capture function has three different trigger modes, allowing in-system adaptation of the sensor to the end-systems product life cycle. Automatic data collection allows for periodic wake-up and capture, based on a programmable duty cycle.

Manual data capture mode allows the user to initiate a data capture, providing power and read-rate optimization. The event capture mode continuously updates the buffers and monitors them for a preset trigger condition. This mode captures pre-event data and post-event data and produces an alarm indicator for driving an interrupt. The ADIS16223 also offers a digital temperature sensor, digital power supply measurements, and peak output capture.