Machinery Diagnostics

Our RH Lyon Division consultants design and develop advanced machinery diagnostic systems for a variety of developmental and industrial applications, including machine condition monitoring and production-line quality assurance systems.

When a machine operates, forces are created that result in vibration and sound. Properly sensed, processed and analyzed, these signals can provide a wide array of useful performance data to diagnose the "health" of the machine, to control its operations and make it run more efficiently, or to make design or quality control decisions that either improve product performance or eliminate manufacturing problems in a timely way. Although vibration sensors are often used in this application because of their ruggedness and convenience (they can be placed on the exterior of a machine, and the signals they pick up are relatively local to a specific part of the machine), we have also had success with machinery diagnostics using other "non-intrusive" signals (acoustical, electrical).

Production-line machine diagnostics permit evaluation of product quality during the production process. Specifically, data from external measurements may be analyzed to "look inside" and evaluate product quality. Our system architecture for doing this is called SignaTrack™, and is embodied in an integrated production line diagnostic system. Production Quality Assurance diagnostic systems bring value to product manufacturers in a number of ways. Principally, with production-line diagnostics, manufacturing yield will increase for a given product design.

From the end-user's point of view, this yield increase results in greater customer satisfaction. The manufacturer will have fewer products returned and will see fewer service calls, which, in turn, will lead to significant cost savings. Satisfied customers set the stage for increasing market share and new market penetration. Manufacturers also realize value internally. Higher yield implies that fewer products will be reworked or scrapped, thus increasing effective utilization of raw materials and components. Finally, production-line machinery diagnostics rapidly identify faulty components or processes; these can be addressed and corrected in "real-time." Rapid identification of production-line faults increases effectiveness of the manufacturing process by reducing both remediation cost as well as reducing spoiled work.

Combustion Diagnostics for New Engine Technologies

We used vibration signal processing technology to determine the onset of combustion and adjust the combustion timing.

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Diagnostics of Motor Operated Valves

The signature analysis methods that we developed were put to use at nuclear plants and on shipboard sites.

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