We know that at least a few of our readers have shops that run all sorts of heavy equipment regularly. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a system in place that would alert you to potential maintenance issues in your equipment before they actually break down? After all, predictive and preventative maintenance costs a whole lot less than repairs, downtime, and the loss of production when a pivotal part of your operation fails. The 3561 FC Fluke Vibration Sensor can alert you to any vibrational abnormalities, imbalances, and misalignments by sending an alarm to your smartphone or computer.
Fluke Vibration Sensor Benefits
Fluke Vibration Sensor BenefitsIn fact, according to the Fluke website, the top 5 benefits of the 3561 FC Fluke Vibration Sensor are:
- The 3561 vibration sensor is a compact, simple, scalable solution that can be installed in any location, including hard-to-reach or inaccessible areas.
- Reduce routes, identify potential failures early and save time.
- Make data-driven decisions with wirelessly collected real-time information.
- Maximize uptime with auto-generated alarms based on Fluke Overall Vibration Severity scale.
- Minimize maintenance spend by reducing routes and ensuring more asset uptime.
I’m Picking Up Good (?) Vibrations
So, how does it all work? The Fluke Vibration Sensor attaches to any piece of equipment with an epoxy glue. Every 90 seconds, it captures a data point, which records the vibration trend for three axes and the temperature. It then beams, via Bluetooth, this information to the 3502 FC Gateway, which plugs into any standard outlet. The Gateway unit sends this information to the Cloud, where this information can be analyzed and monitored by the user, via the Fluke Connect Condition Monitoring app.
The Fluke Vibration Sensor Starter Kit comes with four sensors, a Gateway unit, and either a 1-year or 3-year subscription to the Fluke Connect monitoring software. The Starter Kit with 1-year subscription retails for $1099.99. Expansion kits, which supply four additional sensors, are also available.
One of the neat things about this system is that it’s designed to run and collect data from multiple sensors. Users can name and track each sensor separately. Let’s say you have 15 of these sensors spread across various pieces of equipment at the jobsite. Because they can each be named and tracked discretely, you can know that the #4 turbine on level 3 is starting to run a little wonky with some misbalance and a temperature spike.
The Bottom Line
The initial cost of the 3561 FC Fluke Vibration Sensor system, when put into the context of keeping track of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, seems relatively small. Ultimately, if these sensors can mitigate the disastrous downtime that occurs when a full-scale repair is needed, the Fluke Vibration Sensor kits will pay for themselves quickly.
Fluke Vibration Sensor Specs
- Model Number: 3561 FC
- Sensitivity Range: +/-32 g
- Frequency Range: 10Hz to 1000 Hz
- Sampling Rate: 25,600 Hz
- Operating Temperature Range: -30 °C to +80 °C (-20 °F to +176 °F)
- Storage Temperature Range: -30 °C to +80 °C (-20 °F to +176 °F)
- Trending Temperature Range: Displays temperature trends between -30 °C and +80 °C (-20 °F and +176 °F)
- Relative Humidity: 10% to 95% non-condensing
- Operating Altitude: 2000 m
- Storage Altitude: 12,000 m
- Size (H x W): 2.42 x 0.95 in (61.5 x 24 mm)
- Weight: 1.4 oz
- Battery Type: 3.6 V, 2400 mAh Lithium
- Battery Life: 3 years typical
- Bluetooth Type: Low Energy 4.1
- Range (during session): 65 m, line-of-sight
- Frequency Range: 2405 MHz to 2480 MHz
- Output Power: <10mW
- IP Rating: IP67
- MSRP for the Starter Kit: $1,077.55
For more information about the 3561 FC Fluke Vibration Sensor, visit the Fluke website here.
