Predictive Technology

Predictive Technology - Predictive Maintenance

For predictive maintenance, ATS maintains a staff of trained and/or certified technicians to assist in asset inspection and evaluation. These technicians use vibration and oil analysis together with thermographic imaging, ultrasonic and electrical diagnostics to accurately assess the condition of your equipment. Using predictive maintenance techniques can evaluate the condition of equipment to predict and plan maintenance schedules.

Predictive maintenance does not fix the problems with the equipment. Instead, predictive maintenance identifies the problematic issues in a premature stage that cannot be detected by visual or other inspections of the equipment. This early identification can prevent catastrophic failures and considerable downtime.

By using thermographic imaging, ATS can determine temperature variations in equipment, which tends to be abnormal hotspots. Ultrasonic diagnostics can be utilized to find process leaks of air, gas, steam and vacuum, among others. Oil analysis determines the overall condition of a lubricant and is one of the critical aspects of predictive maintenance. Vibration analysis can find issues such as misalignment, out of balance conditions and bearings defects. All of these predictive maintenance techniques will help you to locate and identify any issues with equipment in the earliest stages of malfunction.

ATS' predictive maintenance staff will utilize these techniques to better assess the condition and potential problems with equipment. Predictive maintenance offers many advantages, including costs savings, better planning of maintenance work and an increased return on investment. The key to a successful predictive maintenance program is knowing how to use the tools and where to apply them. ATS' highly-trained and qualified staff has this knowledge of predictive maintenance techniques for your factory maintenance requirements.

Thermography
- Our thermography assessment allows us to quickly identify abnormal hot spots typically associated with problems due to high electrical resistance or excess friction. Using an infrared camera as a predictive maintenance tool creates the opportunity of reducing downtime and increasing reliability of the equipment.
  
  Thermography is a non-contact test method that can be conducted while the equipment is in operation.
Vibration Monitoring
- Vibration monitoring checks for problems related to misalignments, out-of-balance conditions and bearing defects. For vibration analysis, ATS uses portable vibration analyzers with magnetic sensors (accelerometers) to provide and diagnose problems fast. Or for long-term solutions, ATS provides permanently mounted sensors on the equipment for continuous vibration monitoring. Solving these problems enhances machine reliability by reducing repair time and improving manufacturing costs.
Oil Analysis
- Oil analysis is a proven method to predict and prevent machine failures before they occur. As a predictive maintenance tool, ATS uses oil analysis testing to detect wear, check for contamination and schedule oil changes. By monitoring, reporting and correcting oil problems efficiently, ATS can add years of reliability to your manufacturing assets. In fact, keeping clean oil production equipment can extend machine life up to 50% or more.
  
  Most common applications are analyses of spindle lubricants, gearbox oils and hydraulic fluids. ATS provides fast, electronic reporting that lets you review oil analysis testing results and initiate corrective action.
Ultrasound Measurement
- Ultrasonic measurements find significant sources of wasted energy in compressed air systems. Our system measures fluctuating air pressure, unnecessary cycling and increased run time of air compressors. This ultrasound measurements process locates possible leaks of air, gas, steam and vacuum. Ultrasound measurements also help find electrical arching problems - corona effect - as well as cavitation problems in hydraulic pumps.