New equipment: Integrated baseline temperature monitoring motor controller
In machine diagnosis, having the measurement of the interested parameter alone is not sufficient. Diagnosis could only be done with the condition that a reliable baseline data for the reference parameter is available. There is multiple method of diagnosis available in the market, the frequently employed being vibration and current signal analysis. However, these two methods incur non-negligible equipment costs and requires expertise. Another method that is less explored is the thermal diagnosis. Other than thermal imaging, which only applicable when obvious damage occurs, cheaper method using thermocouple is less discussed. This due to the slower thermal time response, therefore difficulty to detect the discrepancy in steady state temperature in comparison to baseline temperature. Furthermore, this would require the line to be stopped to test the electrical machine temperature response to a step current input. A potential solution that would allow the usage of temperature data as diagnosis tools in real time is to have the baseline temperature of the components at all time, during the operation of the machine. This could be achieved by having a thermal model that would run in real time, giving the baseline temperature of the machine. By having a temperature measurement in parallel, the comparison between the real-time baseline temperature and the actual temperature would give insights to the health condition of the components of the machine (Figure above). This would allow the development of further automated monitoring system that is less expensive.
Tempting to answer to that demand, we have developed IBTM motor controller. The detail on the gold-winning product is as in the poster below.