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SKF optimizes industrial machines with wireless sensors and algorithms, monitoring 550 pieces of equipment and 1,7 million bearings in Brazil.
Innovation in supervision industrial machines has been intensified by the advancement of technologies such as wireless sensors and sophisticated algorithms. These advances allow leading companies in the sector to perform more accurate and agile diagnostics, ensuring efficient management of equipment used on a large scale in industries. This constantly evolving field seeks to optimize not only the performance of industrial machines, but also ensure the longevity of their components, directly reflecting on productivity and reduced operating costs.
Within this context, monitoring of industrial machines includes technologies that focus especially on rotating equipment. The use of advanced sensors contributes to the detailed monitoring of complex systems, where bearing performance is critical. Specialized service centers such as REP Center play a crucial role in the predictive maintenance of these machines, offering technical support and expertise to ensure that high-precision equipment continues to operate in the best possible conditions. This way, the industry can continue to trust its operations with greater peace of mind and efficiency.
Industrial Machine Monitoring
The center called REP Center (Rotating Equipment Performance Center) is an innovation that operates by constantly monitoring the status of rotating equipment, providing detailed diagnostics of industrial machines in operation. Alex Pereira, who leads the Sales and Services area of the Industrial Market at SKF, highlights the importance of ensuring optimal performance and maximum longevity of this equipment in industries of all sizes and segments.
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He highlights that monitoring and predictive maintenance of industrial machines are essential to achieving production targets, minimizing the risk of emergency shutdowns and increasing the useful life of bearings. This approach also allows for a significant reduction in operating costs.
Efficiency with REP Center
REP Center performs comprehensive virtual monitoring of industrial plants in various sectors, such as Pulp & Paper, Steel, Mining, and Food & Beverage, providing predictability of the conditions of rotating equipment. From this, it is possible to remotely diagnose the stage of wear of machines and identify the need for maintenance or replacement of bearings.
Alex comments that currently, more than 5,5 million bearings are diagnosed globally, with 1,7 million in Brazil, where they maintain control over the operational performance of 550 thousand machines spread across different locations in the country.
Solutions with Wireless Sensors
To ensure accurate diagnostics on the functioning of the machines, the team of SKF Engineering implements wireless sensors that capture vibration data from equipment. 'Mechanical movement generates vibration, and by analyzing the frequency and amplitude of this data, we can predict failures and recommend corrective actions,' explains Alex. This process includes identifying misalignments or imbalances in machine bearings and gears.
In addition to vibration measurements, wireless sensors can capture temperature data, another crucial indicator of the health of industrial machines. Today, SKF can remotely monitor the performance of almost all industrial machinery. Lubricant analyses and other parameters such as pressure and flow can be incorporated into predictive analytics software.
Intelligence with Algorithms
The vibration data acquired by the sensors is sent to the cloud, where the Automatic Detection Process (ADP) applies advanced algorithms for analysis. This system is capable of reducing the required analysis points by 70%, prioritizing essential diagnoses and critical emergencies. The algorithms, therefore, promote a preliminary identification and filtering of the collected data. Alex explains that the remaining data, around 30%, is sent for human analysis, allowing detailed diagnoses of the anomalies and guidance on the real need for intervention in the industrial machines.
Reporting and ESG
The REP Center also offers detailed reports on machine performance, providing a dashboards to the customer, which provides real-time insights. It is possible, for example, to determine the correct time and method to replace a bearing. If there is a high pattern of failures, the company's Engineering department is called upon to carry out a detailed study, identifying whether the cause is simple, such as failures when replacing bearings, or complex, requiring in-depth analysis.
Commitment to ESG is another focus of the REP Center. The aim is not only to reduce machine downtime, but also to reduce bearing consumption. Bearing remanufacturing is encouraged, reducing CO² consumption, in line with sustainability and resource-saving practices.
About SKF
SKF, founded in 1907 by Sven Wingquist, the inventor of the self-aligning bearing, is a world leader in industrial solutions. With a total of 70 factories and 43 employees, the company has a broad global presence in 130 countries. In Brazil, its operations began in 1915, and it has a robust presence today. SKF Brazil's modern factory in Cajamar, São Paulo, houses the 'Solution Factory', which focuses on the development and maintenance of innovative solutions for the industrial sector. Since 2013, its sales operations have been centralized on Rodovia Anhanguera.
Source: SKF Press
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