This case involves a cooling oven where muffins cool before packaging. The rack is six levels high and the speed varies according to the product, from 10 rpm to 30 rpm. There were bearings mounted behind gears.

There was competing sound from the conveyor and the frame, but we could isolate the sound through the contact approach with ultrasound. When we took the recording, there was repetition in the time waveform and we could hear the repetitive sound.

The problem was lack of lubrication as well as damage. The sound should have been smooth and uniform. Before this, the technicians had been using a very sophisticated device to listen to the machine: a screwdriver. This is a fairly common technique, but ultrasound devices are obviously more sophisticated and sensitive. Ultrasound is also much safer since it doesn’t require you to place your head near rotating assets.

Once the client implemented the new technology, they saw savings in excess of €180,000 with downtime and waste factored in.