Digital computer-based vibration monitoring in underground coal mine equipment

A description is given of the main developments, philosophy, and current state applications of computerized, underground mining machine vibration monitoring as seen from design effectiveness, cost-analysis, and evolutionary standpoints. The object is to provide for management a view of the use of computerized machinery vibration information to improve coal mine productivity by predictive maintenance. Data indicate that predictive preventive maintenance is a viable alternative to periodic preventive maintenance. It has produced considerable gains in machine up time as well as substantial savings in spare parts and in labor cost in other industries. Although vibration measurements are the basic tools for machine monitoring they should be used simultaneously with other techniques (oil analysis, infrared scan, motor meggering, efficiency test, etc.).<>