A methodical approach to the selection of a condition monitoring system

The Dryer section of New Thames paper machine incorporated over 400 bearings, the failure of any one of these will shut the machine and incur penalties due to lost production of many thousands of pounds. It is therefore essential, if profitability is to be maximized, that bearing defects are identified so that scheduled replacement is possible and production is not disrupted. The most widely used method of bearing health monitoring is that of vibration analysis. The 1990 rebuild of New Thames paper mill included a management decision to invest in a distributed condition monitoring system to continuously monitor vibration on all bearing of the dryer section that are critical to the plants continuous operation. The system installed at New Thames Paper Company, 434 points in total, is thought to be the largest in the UK. This paper outlines the procedures undertaken at UK Paper that resulted in the selection of the DMS Satellite monitoring system