PC-based diagnostic tool for predictive maintenance of cement mill equipment

A PC-based monitoring system has been developed to monitor motor drives used by the cement industry. The system uses a versatile front-end data-acquisition system that can interface with a variety of transducers. The system can be used to provide information about the condition of motors and other equipment. Monitoring system hardware, software, and applications are described. This integrated tool is capable of being expanded for plantwide monitoring. The principal advantage is that monitoring can be done in a cost-effective manner. All critical parameters are continuously monitored, so that any problems can be detected and corrected at early stages, leading to better equipment utilization and life. Information gathered by the signal conditioning and event monitoring system provides a database of trends that is very valuable for design engineers in developing better and more cost-effective machines and systems