Greasing bearings with Ultrasound Detection is very fast becoming the way to go. We can actually tell by Ultrasound Detection when bearings need greased and then when they have enough grease. We listen to the bearing and when it sounds smooth like air escaping then it is properly lubricated. When it sounds like popcorn popping or gravel in a bucket it needs greased. We then have the maintenance man grease the bearing ½ stroke at a time while we listen to the bearing with the Ultraprobe 10000, we can actually hear the grease enter the bearing and the sound quickly goes to the smooth air escaping sound. At that point we stop the greasing.
In 2008, there arose a broad selection of solution providers specializing in helping the community of maintenance and reliability professionals to 'Go Green'. It is unlikely that the original mandate of most of these companies was to "help save the environment", but it does show how nimble entrepreneurialism adjusts to accommodate the demands of corporate social responsibility.
Today's airborne ultrasound is a far more versatile technology than most people think. We can use ultrasound, together with vibration analysis and infrared thermography, to deepen our understanding of our machinery's condition. This article, which touches upon the use of airborne ultrasound and vibration, is the second of a three part series, in which we look at ultrasound, ultrasound/vibration and ultrasound/infrared.