Development of “Handheld Diagnostic Device for Bearings”

[Industry first! Bearing vibration measurement and analysis device with outstanding portability]

NTN Corporation (hereafter, NTN) has applied the bearing diagnosis technology that it has developed over many years to develop the “Handheld Diagnostic Device for Bearings” with outstanding portability.

Conventional bearing diagnostic devices calculate and analyze measured vibration data within the device itself and display the output results, which limits their potential size and weight reduction. Another drawback of these devices is that they are also too large to be carried with other tools and documents by maintenance staff of manufacturing equipment and production lines during maintenance and inspections.

The “Handheld Diagnostic Device for Bearings” developed by NTN utilizes a smartphone to send vibration data via the internet to a server for calculation and analysis. The input and output is also displayed on the smartphone, which makes for an extremely compact and portable vibration measurement system.

This system consists of the vibration pickup and pocket size AD converter^*1 sold by NTN, combined with a smartphone. Measurement data is sent from the customer's smartphone that has downloaded the special app, through to NTN servers using a specific ID and password. This is then analyzed with FFT^*2 to determine whether or not a bearing is operating normally or malfunctioning, and if it is malfunctioning, the area that is worn can be identified. Measurement results are stored on the server, which means the measurement history can be displayed as a graph, and also enables condition monitoring of equipment from remote locations. All data calculation and analysis software is updated on the server, which ensures that equipment diagnosis is conducted using the latest software environment.

Specific customers will be asked to test the “Handheld Diagnostic Device for Bearings” in order to monitor usage so that further improvements can be made into the future, with plans to begin official sales from the middle of this year.

In addition to developing and supplying high-quality, high-functionality bearings, NTN will expand its aftermarket business by strengthening its technical services such as bearing diagnosis and analysis.

*1:	device that converts analog electrical signals to digital electrical signals
*2:	method used to diagnose and analyze input signals using Fast Fourier Transform to determine the frequency spectrum

[ Features ]

(1)	Vibration data is sent to a server from the customer's smartphone, and then calculated and analyzed on the server
	→	Vibration measurement system with outstanding portability (AD converter: Height 100mm × width 60 mm × thickness 20 mm)
(2)	Proprietary bearing diagnosis and identification by using FFT analysis
	→	Determine proper or malfunctioning operation of bearings, identify worn areas if bearing is malfunctioning
(3)	Measurement results saved on the NTN server
	→	Measurement results displayed as graph, condition monitoring of equipment also possible
(4)	Batch processing and management of data calculation and analysis software
	→	Equipment diagnosis under the latest software environment

[ Inquiries about this release ]

[ Product photo ]

	<Equipment dimensions> · Vibration pickup unit (excluding connector, contact terminals) External diameter 24 mm × length 50 mm · AD converter Height 100 mm × width 60 mm × thickness 20 mm	* Available on models with Android and Bluetooth

[ Handheld Diagnostic Device for Bearings ]