Importance of early detection of maintenance problems in rotating machines in management of plants: Case studies from wire and tyre plants

In this article, importance of application of predictive maintenance concept with vibration measurement has been discussed. Appreciation of the subject was performed with the help of data collected cases related to maintenance problems from Plants A and B. The first case was examined in aerial conductor manufacturing Plant A. The company does not apply predictive maintenance (PM) in management of the manufacturing activities. The machines used in conductor and similar wire processing plants have very big rotors and their loads on rotors continuously change. Therefore, these types of machines are good examples in checking the health of the machine regularly. The second case was analysed in vehicle tyre plant named as Plant B and it has perfect usage ability of vibration technique of PM methods. The importance of the regular collection of vibration signatures in evaluation of conditions of rotating machines has been analysed in details to indicate the power of the predictive maintenance technique in prevention of losses, which are caused by unbalanced forces, misalignments, improper lubrication of ball bearings, metal fatigue and cracks occurred in welding of constructed parts and locking of the ball bearings due to excessive heating.The second case observed in Plant B is an example to show detection of a ball bearing failure just in time. Evaluation of second case has been performed using measurements of vibration signatures of the machines with the help of fault indicator graphics.Results from the cases have been summarised to give useful ideas in management of the plants to the persons responsible with production and maintenance subjects.