Condition monitoring has traditionally been about knowing what is happening to your equipment.
Sensors collect vibration and temperature data, trends show how an asset is behaving over time and alarms highlight when something changes. Maintenance teams can then use that information to decide what needs attention.
But what if that same connected approach could go a step further, allowing you to identify a developing lubrication issue and respond remotely?
That is the opportunity created by bringing together Dynamox condition monitoring and automatic lubrication technology from Perma.
We are now UK distributor for perma-tec, and we’re particularly excited by the perma Star Vario Bluetooth automatic lubricator and its integration with the Dynamox ecosystem.
For teams looking after greaseable bearings across motors, pumps, rollers, drives and other critical equipment, the combination can turn condition monitoring into a more directly active maintenance process.
Lubrication plays a fundamental role in bearing performance, but deciding when an asset needs attention is not always straightforward.
Vibration data can provide indications that lubrication conditions are deteriorating. With Dynamox sensors installed, custom-configured spectral alarms can alert maintenance teams to changes associated with insufficient or deteriorating lubrication.
This means the decision to lubricate can be informed by what is actually happening at the asset, rather than relying solely on a predetermined maintenance schedule.
Traditionally, somebody may then need to investigate the alarm, travel to the machine and carry out the required lubrication manually. By combining Dynamox monitoring with a connected automatic lubricator, the response can become much more immediate.
The device is a fully automatic single-point lubrication system designed to dispense precise quantities of grease or oil.
It uses an electromechanical drive and is available with different sized lubricant cartridges and is able to generate pressure of up to 7.5 bar, allowing remote mounting up to five metres from the lubrication point. This can be useful where lubrication points are difficult to access or close to potentially hazardous machinery.
For DEE customers, the Bluetooth connectivity creates another, incredibly exciting possibility – bringing the lubricator into the wider Dynamox condition monitoring ecosystem.
The DynaGateway can read data from the perma lubricator via Bluetooth, bringing information such as lubricant reservoir level, consumption history and low-lubricant alerts into the Dynamox platform alongside condition monitoring data.
Consider a Dynamox sensor monitoring a critical motor bearing. If the vibration data begins to show characteristics associated with deteriorating lubrication, a custom spectral alarm can alert the maintenance team that attention may be required.
Now, with a connected perma lubricator in place, a controlled injection of grease can then be initiated remotely through the Dynamox platform, without requiring an engineer to travel to the asset.
Condition monitoring can continue afterwards, allowing the team to see how the asset responds and whether its vibration behaviour returns towards its expected condition.
This creates a connected maintenance cycle in which asset condition informs the decision, the appropriate action can be taken remotely and subsequent data provides evidence of the result – all without leaving your desk!
Now consider how many greaseable assets there are across an industrial site. Motors, pumps, rollers and drives can quickly add up to hundreds of individual lubrication points.
Managing those points manually takes time – and some may be very difficult to reach.
Automatic lubrication provides precise, controlled lubricant delivery, while adding remote monitoring and control can reduce the need for routine manual intervention.
For maintenance teams, this can make a large number of greaseable assets easier to manage, allowing engineers to focus more of their time on equipment that genuinely requires their expertise.
Joining these two technologies allows condition monitoring to become part of an active maintenance regime.
Monitoring and maintenance begin to inform each other, helping engineers direct their time and attention towards the equipment that actually requires it.
If you would like to understand how Dynamox condition monitoring and Perma automatic lubrication could work together across your motors, pumps, rollers, drives and other equipment, speak to the DEE team.
