We look forward to seeing you on February 1st!

For this month’s product showcase, we wanted to showcase a couple of products from Metrix, an industry leader in industrial vibration monitoring systems.

Metrix can perhaps be credited for popularizing the concept of simple, affordable machinery protection. Their offerings today include mechanical vibration switch solutions, 4-20mA vibration transmitters, robust high-temperature velocity sensors, and innovative impact transmitter technology for reciprocating machinery.

SETPOINT MPS and SETPOINT CMS for Condition Monitoring

Perhaps the flagship product Metrix offers is their SETPOINT MPS system. This is a rack-based machinery protection system, designed to continuously monitor up to 56 vibration channels or 84 temperature channels in a single rack. SETPOINT MPS also features:

• An intuitive touchscreen display
• Completely independent and redundant power
• Industry-first open protocol for both static (overall) and dynamic (waveform) data
• Out-of-the-box connectivity to OSIsoft PI System
• Simplified spare parts, with just 4 basic module types
• Ability to accept standard 24Vdc instrument power
• Simple, spreadsheet-like configuration software
• 4-slot, 8-slot, or 16-slot rack sizes

Behind SETPOINT MPS is SETPOINT CMS, Metrix’s proprietary condition monitoring software. This software allows systems to connect directly to the SETPOINT MPS system without the need for additional data acquisition hardware. SETPOINT CMS also provides:

• Powerful visualization tools for machinery analysis
• Simple, intuitive operation and configuration
• Tight integration with OSIsoft PI System for data storage, navigation, and visualization
• Powerful plot types: orbit, timebase, spectrum, shaft centerline, bode, trend, and more
• Flexible data collection
• Secure infrastructure designed to work within your IT guidelines
• Innovative data compression algorithms that minimize storage space and bandwidth

Other Metrix Products

Of course, SETPOINT is just one of many products that Metrix makes and that BDC, Inc. is proud to carry. Other products include:

• Single-channel vibration switches and monitors (including mechanical and electronic, indicating and non-indicating)
• Proximity transducer systems and proximity system smart drivers
• Seismic vibration sensors and transmitters

For more about the technical details of the Metrix products, you can access our Metrix products page and download technical specs for any of our offered products.

Here at BDC, we cannot stress enough how important it is to monitor the vibration and condition of industrial equipment. Doing so helps guarantee machine reliability, prevents downtime, and ultimately maximizes machine life.

The new Metrix Smart Driver is a highly reliable and accurate 3-wire dynamic voltage output device. It allows the flexibility to completely configure their proximity transducer systems in the field to include custom “OK / Not OK” limits indicated by a case mounted LED.

BDC, Inc. is proud to be the Missouri, Illinois and Kansas representative for Metrix, maker of vibration monitoring systems used worldwide.

With accounts in more than 40 countries, Metrix is a preferred supplier of industrial vibration monitoring systems to many of the world’s leading manufacturers. Their equipment is used for cooling towers, gas turbines, reciprocating compressors, and other rotating and reciprocating machinery.

Why is vibration monitoring equipment so important? Having designed and installed many such systems, BDC, Inc. and Metrix both agree on its valuable roles in the factory or plant:

1) Condition monitoring. Machine condition monitoring increases reliability by providing early warning of developing problems before they become critical and expensive.

Machine condition monitoring is the process of monitoring the condition of a machine with the intent to predict mechanical wear and failure. Vibration, noise, and temperature measurements are often used as key indicators of the state of the machine. Vibration especially can be a huge clue to a machine’s condition.The vibration signals collected from moving parts and supporting structures can be used to detect any impending trouble in the machine so that preventive action can be taken…before a catastrophic failure occurs. An on-line vibration monitoring and protection system thus plays an important role in ensuring the safety and economics of the plant.

2) Operating within designated limits. Operating machinery within designated limits leads to optimal performance and useful machinery lifecycle results. Running an engine too fast can lead to compromised employee safety, system failures, damaged systems, and unplanned downtime.

3) Maximizing machine life. Lasting machinery health is vital to capital-intensive operations. Machines and rotating equipment are core items of a plant, and they need to be highly reliable. Increased reliability means fewer failures, reduced operating risk, protection of assets, and a sustained competitive advantage

4) Preventing downtime. As many as 50% of machinery malfunctions that lead to downtime are process induced, and 90% are predictable—even controllable. And machine downtime has the potential to bring production to a grinding halt. Having vibration shutdown protection systems in place can help prevent catastrophic failure.

5) Keeping up with technology. Progress made in engineering and materials science has made rotating machinery much faster and lighter, as well as being required to run for longer periods of time. All of these factors mean that the detection, location, and analysis of faults play a vital role in the field of rotor dynamics.

Please visit our products pages for our offerings of vibration monitoring devices, and check back often for future Metrix-specific offerings.  We’re here to answer any questions you may have about these or any other products on our site.  Don’t hesitate to contact us and thank you for reading!

Vibration and motion sensors and transmitters for use on any piece of equipment with moving parts.