Development of Indigenous Condition Monitoring System
The integration of condition monitoring is crucial to developing a robust, condition-based maintenance strategy or predictive maintenance approach for machinery and equipment used in industrial applications. When it comes to industry, information is power, data is profit, and the ability to carefull
2025-06-28 16:32:05 - Adil Khan
Development of Indigenous Condition Monitoring System
Project Area of Specialization Mechatronics EngineeringProject SummaryThe integration of condition monitoring is crucial to developing a robust, condition-based maintenance strategy or predictive maintenance approach for machinery and equipment used in industrial applications. When it comes to industry, information is power, data is profit, and the ability to carefully and precisely predict the productivity of our machines is priceless.
Condition monitoring starts with using permanently installed sensors to collect data which is then used to analyze changes in the performance or condition of a machine component while it is in operation. Any change in the performance or condition of the component that deviates from its standard parameters can be an indication of early-stage wear and deterioration. Condition monitoring not only describes the present state of a component, but also provides objective data which can be interpreted to predict its remaining useful life while in operation.
Operators can use this knowledge to shape maintenance schedules and inform component repair before catastrophic failure occurs. Condition monitoring, therefore, plays a vital role in both avoiding unplanned shutdowns and in calculating the life expectancy of an overall plant.
Additional benefits of condition monitoring for industrial equipment includes:
- Cutting maintenance costs by 35 percent or more
- Cut the average repair time by 60 percent or more
- Reduce machine failures by upwards of 55 percent
- Extend asset life by upwards of 30 percent
- Increase the rate of production by 25 percent
All of this is achieved by analyzing and interpreting the data, such as the vibration analysis from reciprocating or rotating machinery and determining when and where maintenance is required. This allows your company to repair machinery and assets before they become a major problem, creating minimal disruptions to productivity overall — and minimal disruptions equals maximum profit.
Project ObjectivesWe aim to develop a Condition Monitoring System (CMS) to shift the industrial trend from reactive maintenance to predictive maintenance. Condition Monitoring is a process of monitoring different variables like temperature, pressure, vibrations etc. to identify any irregular trends which may cause trouble in the proper running of a machine Our CMS consist of vibrational analysis, operational performance and lube oil analysis. The system is going to be a pivotal point in the field of predictive maintenance and Root cause analysis. With the use of advanced sensors, our system would be capable of real time data monitoring using LABVIEW unlike the current systems being used in the industry. Moreover to observe the trends effectively it will have the feature of Data acquisition. To make it portable, we have designed our system to be completely wireless and users friendly so that it’s easily accessible. Cost effectiveness is also an essential part of our system. The gadgets available in the market are extremely expensive and complex. By designing the sensors at our own, we have reduced the cost a number of times and have designed the system to be stand alone. Hence if we introduce this system in our local industry, it will bring revolution in the field of maintenance.
Project Implementation MethodIndigenous Condition Monitoring system is a standalone system to monitor the condition of any machine working in a industrial environment which include vibration analysis and parameter measurements like pressure measurements, temperature measurements etc. This condition monitoring system can be permanently attached to any machine like turbines, electric motors etc. The gadget can be attached with the help of magnetic clamps to avoid any error in the readings due to the movement of sensors. Once system is installed with sensors pointing towards the critical points of the machine which may include bearings, shafts or machine body depending upon the application of machine and readings required for monitoring. This condition monitoring system mostly consists of noncontact sensors so we can keep safe distance from the machine working in extreme conditions like high temperature, while installing system, so that sensors don’t lose their accuracy under such extreme conditions. Most importantly, this system is completely wireless. You don’t need to attach lot of cables to the system to get the readings and graphs on screen. Whole system is connected through Wi-Fi, you just need to connect your laptop or personal computer to Wi-Fi and you will get all the readings and graphs on your screen. By using these value one can analyze the machine and predict about any failure which could occur in near future. This system can be a portable system. We can mount sensors on adjustable stands which can move around the machine and get readings from where ever required. The major advantage of this system is that we can perform real time root cause analysis of a machine. This system continuously monitors every aspect of machine and whenever there is abrupt change in trend, one can predict the problem in the relevant part of the machine. This is really helpful in the predictive maintenance in any industry. By predicting problem in early stages, one can save lot of money and time by preventing failure.
Benefits of the ProjectCondition monitoring is a central part of a condition-based maintenance strategy. A well-orchestrated condition monitoring system is an opportunity for continuous improvement, and the impacts can be dramatic. The proposed system provides a digital solution for predictive maintenance, to identify deviation in process functionality and plan maintenance operations in advance. Maintenance as a support function is to guarantee machine availability and reliability, employee’s safety and cost-effective production, which attest to the above-mentioned objective. One feasible way to ensuring machine availability and reliability with respect to complex machine and equipment used in today’s industries is maintaining the condition of such complex machines. In third world countries this is a major setback as most of the industries lack a proper condition-based maintenance system. This is majorly because the system available in the market is too expensive. Our design provided a simple and inexpensive solution for the problem. The main goal of the project is to develop a low cost, portable system that can be installed on any system regardless of its type and working condition. The modules are encapsulated in custom built 3D printed housing. This ensure the safety of the sensor as well as reduces the Electromagnetic interference from the surrounding. The project consists of a set of independently working sensors embedded on a wireless network providing necessary data to monitor the working condition of a machine. The main objective of the project is to devise a low-cost alternative to the currently available systems in the market. For this reason, a set of low-cost sensors that are easily available in the local market were used. Also, the interface designed for the system is kept simple and flexible so that it can be modified to match user requirement and to make it compatible for any future model of the sensor. The cost saving in term of construction of this project is huge as compared to any similar system available in the market. For instance, vibration analysis system available in the market comes at around 50,000 to 80,000 PKR while for the given project its cost is about 3,000 PKR. This difference is mainly because most of the data acquisition devices in the marked are developed for a set of machines whereas the given system has been designed to match any type of industrial machines and setup. Independent module of each sensor over a wireless network enables the system to be installed even in the remote areas without the tangle of wired connection to the area. This also increases the robustness of the system as in many cases the wire tends to limit the operational capabilities of the module. Each sensor being self-standing and portable also enable the system to be installed on different machine for inspection and analysis. This also reduces cost as the monitoring devices can also be used for inspection purposes.
Technical Details of Final DeliverableOur project has been made primarily using LabVIEW 2019 since it supported all the toolkits we needed for data acquisition and root cause analysis. We used NodeMCU ESP8266 V1.0 as the wireless data acquisition device. This device has been interfaced with LabVIEW using LINX from Maker HUB. Each such device can read 4 sensors at most therefore our project is comprised of two of these data acquisition devices along with the National Instruments Data Acquisition Device (DAQ). Each Sensor has been selected carefully based upon its specifications and cost whilst being subjected to a variety of Applications. The LASER sensor from Wave share is capable of recoding RPMs of a machine from 1.5 meters precisely. The Accelerometer (MPU6050) which is of paramount importance in the vibration analysis can detect tri-axial vibration of a machine and has a high frequency bandwidth. Using 3 such sensors on various parts of the machines will enable the precise analysis for determining the root cause of a developed or developing problem. The data obtained from these sensors is subjected to Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT), the result of which is continuously displayed on a 3-D spectrogram. The spectrogram captures and displays the amplitudes of various frequencies thus highlighting the parts and their performance as they operate invisible to the naked eye. Our system shall also be integrated with pressure and temperature sensors which will be programmed to monitor the state the gasses and physical condition of the operating machine accompanied by other parameter-observing sensors such as ultrasonic flowmeter (2MHz Emitting frequency). The analysis of these parameters against the machine RPMs will enable the operator to control the emissions of the machine whilst sitting in his comfortable chair because the entire project will be wireless and easy to use. This assembly of sensors will be enclosed in a 3D Printed housing which will be modular in design thus allowing addition of any further sensors. The non-contact sensors can be pointed from a safe distance whilst the sensors involved in vibration analysis will be mounted on the machine using magnetic clamps thus allowing an easy interrupt-free testing. This paves way for our project to be used on any machine which is running in either an industry or a commercial unit. The analysis of the machine can be done on demand or the system can be installed permanently to continuously monitor the state of the machine and alarming the operator for a predictive maintenance. Oil analysis will be done using a centrifuge and various other sensors for determining the concentration of various particles in the lubricant oil of the machine. This will also enable us to perform a better root cause analysis since the wear and tear of particles can be then traced to their origin.
Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry ManufacturingOther Industries Petroleum , Agriculture , Energy , Finance , Transportation Core Technology Clean TechOther Technologies Robotics, Wearables and Implantables, OthersSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate ActionRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 75500 | |||
| Accelerometer | Equipment | 3 | 1000 | 3000 |
| Pressure Sensor | Equipment | 3 | 2000 | 6000 |
| LASER Sensor | Equipment | 2 | 2000 | 4000 |
| Temperature Sensor | Equipment | 4 | 1500 | 6000 |
| Current Sensor | Equipment | 2 | 2000 | 4000 |
| NodeMCU | Equipment | 2 | 1000 | 2000 |
| National Instruments Data Acquisition Modem | Equipment | 1 | 15000 | 15000 |
| Oil Centrifuge | Equipment | 1 | 20000 | 20000 |
| 3D Printing and Supports | Miscellaneous | 1 | 3000 | 3000 |
| Delivery Charges | Miscellaneous | 1 | 2000 | 2000 |
| PCB Design | Miscellaneous | 1 | 2500 | 2500 |
| 2MHz Ultrasonic Transducers | Equipment | 2 | 4000 | 8000 |