In the experience of the participants, the acoustic signals can be used for assessing the condition of rotating elements in devices such as motors, pumps, mills and compressors. Possession of a device that determines the machine’s condition based on sound would enable the so-called predictive maintenance, where staff is constantly informed about the machine’s condition and alerted when significant deteriorations are imminent, so that maintenance planning can be optimized. This would result in a significant reduction of costs, more efficient production organization, and a significant decrease of the possibilities of hazardous breakdowns. Project activities will be organized in two stages.
The first of them is to design and produce a small mobile device (called FASTER), which can be mounted on the chassis of any rotating machinery using magnets. The microprocessor with corresponding software will enable FASTER to train and to adapt to a specific industrial facility, while using the wireless networks will provide real-time exchange of information with the main server. A particular challenge will be to find solutions for dealing with acoustic contamination which is inevitable in industrial environments. The goal is to make a broad purpose device that could find its place in many applications: coal mills in thermal power plants, cranes at constructions sites, but also small production units, car repair shops, service centres where engines and compressors represent a significant part of capital. Essential features of FASTER will be adaptability to different sound environments and acoustical features of rotary devices.