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Gearbox oil monitor will cut downtime and costs

09 August, 2016

Renold Gears has announced an oil-condition monitoring system that it claims is 60 times more sensitive to oil contamination than conventional dielectric sensors and provides an all-round view of gearbox oil performance

The patented SmartGearbox technology, which displays the condition of gearbox oil in real time, is said to be easy to use. It can be applied either as a stand-alone system or connected to control and display systems such as PLCs, smartphones and tablets.

About 75% of gearbox system failures are the result of oil contamination. The new system has been designed to reduce maintenance, downtime, and the cost of ownership. It is said to increase reliability and performance by monitoring the condition of the oil continuously, and by reporting early signs of problems, allows immediate action to be taken.

The Renold system can be used to optimise service intervals by predicting when maintenance will be needed, without affecting equipment performance or reliability. It also cuts expenditure on expensive lubricants and the need for waste disposal, because the gearbox oil is changed only when needed, based on a precise knowledge of its condition.

The SmartGearbox system contains ports for vibration and temperature sensors, four of each, on the input and output bearings. There are also two oil level sensors, one static and one dynamic. The static sensor monitors oil level at rest and the dynamic sensor monitors the level during operation.

Renold’s SmartGearbox oil-monitoring system is based on Tan Delta Systems’ OQD Express technology.

The oil-monitoring system is based on a technology developed by Rotherham-based Tan Delta Systems with which Renold has an exclusive agreement for applications in the gears industry. Tan Delta has developed an Android app for monitoring the system.

The oil-condition monitoring system has undergone independent testing to verify its performance and is certified to international standards.

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