Posted to News on 13th Jul 2011, 16:57
Idler Sound Monitor Kit checks condition of conveyor bearings
SKF is launching the SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit, an easy-to-use, rugged, handheld monitoring device for the early detection of faults in conveyor belt idlers. Conveyor idlers support the length of a conveyor belt and are a common cause of belt damage and production downtime. The SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit therefore helps to prevent costly belt repairs, lost production and risk to workers.
SKF's Idler Sound Monitor Kit is suitable for monitoring conveyor idlers used in heavy industries such as aggregates, cement, metal ore, coal and minerals processing. It can also be used to monitor conveyors in steel mills, as well as pulp and paper mills and other material handling systems, such as airport luggage conveyors.
Equipped with acoustic enveloping technology, the SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit distinguishes between the sounds of a good idler and a faulty one even in environments with high ambient noise levels. The device is said to detect faulty idlers earlier, more reliably and more safely than if a manual operation was conducted by listening or observing for faulty idlers.
User interface
The SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit has a simple visual display, headphones and audible condition alarm. The unit's ease of use gives even inexperienced operatives the ability to detect faults with minimal training. The unit also has a facility for easily downloading data for subsequent review.
Robert Collyer, Principle Engineer at SKFs comments: "Along with uncovering idler faults quickly and reliably, the SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit provides maintenance workers with an objective tool for idler inspection that is safe to use. This is a significant improvement to the alternative of subjectively walking around and relying on the skill of the worker to listen and recognise faulty idlers.
"By detecting idler failures earlier and limiting belt failure, the SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit will help workers avoid dangerous and costly conveyor belt repairs."
The device can be operated with one hand and therefore enables the operator to maintain three-point contact as dictated by safety requirements. It can be also be integrated into an Operator Driven Reliability maintenance programme. Follow the link for more information about the SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit.
