FAG Industrial Services and National Instruments announced on May 7 the introduction of the FAG ProCheck, a powerful and flexible condition monitoring system that cuts operating costs by preventing unexpected production disruptions. The ProCheck system uniquely integrates National Instruments’ CompactRIO hardware platform with proven FIS Administrator software to offer highly efficient monitoring functions at a cost-effective price.
“Because the system, based on CompactRIO, surpasses so many of the previous standards for machine condition monitoring, we foresee it playing an important role in the future of the industry,” said Preston Johnson, National Instruments’ measurement and control business development manager.
FAG ProCheck is an ATEX certified monitoring system, suitable for use in harsh ambient conditions. The system continuously records and analyses data, including vibration, temperature and other process parameters in applications such as steel plants, aluminum plants, cement plants and paper machines. Using the ProCheck system, damage and its causes are detected at a very early stage allowing for appropriate countermeasures to be quickly initiated, thereby dramatically reducing operating costs. Thanks to its compact size and large number of analogue and digital inputs and outputs, the condition monitoring system can be integrated into the central control station and control unit (PLC and SPC) without problems.
The FAG ProCheck also features a novel expansion slot system so that it can be adapted and extended as required. Moreover, the measuring system permits users to configure, analyze and correlate data in a flexible manner, providing a basis for more reliable predictions regarding the condition of a machine. The system has a large on-board memory, which enables it to work independently for extended periods while maintaining a high level of data integrity, for example, in the event of network and system disruptions, data integrity is guaranteed.
In field tests, the FAG ProCheck has been successfully used in applications requiring the most stringent quality standards. A recent application involved monitoring a side trimmer at AluNorf, the world’s largest aluminum rolling mill. Side trimmers are used to cut off irregularities at the edges of aluminum coils cleanly, a task easily enabled by the FAG ProCheck.
