Performing failure analysis on machinery can sometimes seem easy as the fault is staring at you in the frequency domain. But remember, this data has been massaged, averaged, windowed, and resolved to some extent to get the format into that "easy to read" graph! The real story can be there but make sure you are not assuming that whole story is being told. Machines do not read analysis books but they certainly have a story to tell and the analyst's job is to tune in and hear the narrative. Even though analysis can be done through the data, being at the asset and using your senses around it can help understand the storyline. Back to the data, I always take a time waveform because ALL of the raw data is in there and you can find the underlying theme to the fault mode. Take as much data as you possibly can to verify assumptions when making a call.

Tip provided by Commtest

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Rod Acklin
General Manager, Commtest, Inc