Technology

Vibration meters (also known as vibrometers) are crucial tools in machine monitoring. They help in analyzing, diagnosing, and correcting problems in your machines and in monitoring your machine tools before they occur. At G-TECH, we provide a range of top-of-the-line vibration meters for a wide variety of uses, such as the vPod Vibrometer Series. 

This includes hand-held and portable vibration analyzers that you can use in the field away from the factory settings, as well as PC-based vibration analyzers that allow continual remote monitoring of entire systems. These machines can help ensure that you avoid expensive machine breakdowns and help you secure your bottom line when it comes to business. 

In this article, we discuss what vibration meters are, how to incorporate them into an effective predictive maintenance strategy. Lastly, we provide you with the wide range of options that we at G-TECH have available for vibration meters or vibrometers.

What are vibration meters? 

A vibration meter or vibrometer is a device that includes a built-in vibration sensor and often a display screen. It is typically used to analyze the vibration levels of a machine or one of its components. A vibration meter normally falls into one of three categories:

• Hand-held
• PC-based
• Laser-based

Hand-held refers to vibrometers that are small enough to be portable and operated while being held in the hand, as the name implies. PC-based vibration meters are those that are connected to computers instead of being portable or hand-held.

Laser-based vibration meters are those that operate using laser-based technology. They all have their various advantages. Hand-held vibration meters, such as G-TECH's vPod Vibrometer Series, go where you go, which means they can be handy when working in remote and tough field conditions. They have the advantage of being light, portable, tough, and handy. 

PC-based vibration meters, such as G-TECH's TurboStar, have the advantage of being more comprehensive and have the ability to provide more complicated analysis and monitoring of assets and devices. This is in contrast to hand-held vibrometers, which normally focus on pinpointing problems for specific machines or specific components in a single machine at a time. 

Laser-based vibrometers, such as the OMS Laser Doppler Vibrometer, have the advantage of going where traditional hand-held vibration analyzers cannot go or operate. They can be used to record measurements in:

• High-temperature environments
• Long-distance contexts
• Low vibration conditions
• Non-contact environments

The type of vibration meter you choose depends entirely on the types of operations that you have to deal with and the systems that you have in place or wish to put in place for predictive maintenance. In the following sections, we’ll recommend various vibration meters from G-TECＨ to suit your predictive maintenance needs.

Why You Need Vibration Meters

Vibration meters support a 100% machine uptime strategy. Such a strategy requires intelligent decision-making, which in turn relies on relevant and current data. Vibration meters provide you with that data to make better choices. This is because they can instantly evaluate the health of each machine you operate, allowing you to make informed decisions on what equipment needs maintenance or replacement and how urgent the need is to take these actions. 

Vibration meters also allow proper communication between workers on the frontline and those responsible for making the decisions, since they allow data to be shared. More than that, if your engineering staff are properly trained, then they will be able to make crucial decisions on their own, saving time and increasing efficiency. 

Achieving ZERO Downtime is doable. However, you require finely calibrated and handy analysis tools like vibration meters to help collect data, analyze data, and carry out diagnoses. Machine operations are typically dynamic, which means faults can emerge out of nowhere. Vibration meters allow you to catch these faults early on, avoiding all unwanted surprises and disruptions. 

Recommended G-TECH Vibration Meters 

G-TECH has a wide range of vibration meters that you can choose from. However, we highly recommend the vPod Vibrometer Series and the vPod Pro Smart Vibration Meter. The vPod Vibrometer is a new generation of smart vibrometers that are ideal for carrying out basic predictive maintenance.  

The vPod Pro, on the other hand, can simultaneously measure vibration, bearing status, and temperature. When trying to locate the right vibrometer, there are a few things to look out for. First, a vibrometer has to be portable and hardy. This makes it easy to carry out in the field and to operate under punishing real-world conditions.

It should also be easy to read with an intuitive interface. This means that junior engineers would be able to use and read these machines as well and as easily as even the most senior engineers. 

Lastly, a vibrometer should be able to store and share data for advanced and systemic analysis and predictions. Our vibrometers have all of these features. They are light and portable with an IP65 rating as a testament to their toughness. 

In terms of data collection and analysis, the vPod Pro has an optional spectrum analysis module and route module. It can also incorporate G-TECH's predictive maintenance software for full-featured predictive maintenance operations. 

Machine operations can be notoriously unpredictable and uncertain. With our vibrometers, you are one step closer to achieving the goal of 100% machine uptime. To learn more about how our vibrometers can help avoid unwelcome interruptions, contact us today or check out our vPod Vibrometer Series.