The Enlight IMx-1, from SKF (Lansdale, PA, and Gothenburg, Sweden) is a compact, vibration and temperature sensor for monitoring the condition of rotating parts on heavy industrial machinery. Intended for use as part of an SKF Rotating Equipment Performance (REP) solution (on a fee- and performance-based contract arrangement), the sensor enables customers to reduce both expensive unplanned downtime and their maintenance costs.
Powered by long-lasting batteries, the Enlight IMx-1 can be deployed in large numbers to automate the gathering of data regarding the health of machinery, a process typically carried out by technicians with manual portable devices. When mounted to bearing housings, these sensors collect data that is wirelessly sent to a host computer network, and then forwarded to cloud-based analysis services at SKF REP centers.
The sensor systems rely on a “mesh network” that allows the devices to relay data between one another. This means data can be routed around radio obstacles (such as pipework and liquid-storage vessels that create signal blocks for conventional line-of-sight systems), and be sent over greater distances than would be possible using a single device. The mesh network is self-forming, which is said to make it easier and quicker to deploy than wireless-communication technologies such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It’s also said to be innovative in the way it manages available bandwidth and the power consumption of the sensors, which leads to a long enough battery life to meet the needs of our multi-year service contracts.”
According to SKF, the Enlight Collect IMx-1 has been designed specifically to achieve a tough ingress protection rating of IP69K. This means it will work reliably when exposed to dust, dirt, oil, grease, contaminants, flying debris, temperature changes, wind, rain, high-pressure hot water washdowns and more.
