Product highlights
- Enables constant monitoring of multiple-disc clutches
- Increases process reliability and availability of machinery and facilities
- Non-contact, maintenance-free RFID technology
- Measurement values are stored in the reader device (SD card)
- Incorporation into central plant monitoring via optional fieldbus systems
- Warning alert given before disc package fracture occurs
RFID Monitoring System
When the components of a drive train are precisely aligned and adjusted, steel multiple-disc clutches can be operated for long periods with practically no maintenance or wear. However, mechanical settling or thermal expansion can lead to a significant increase in misalignment between drive shafts, the result being that permissible values for axial and angular displacement of the steel disc packages are exceeded. This can lead to overloading and eventual fracture of the disc packages, causing expensive downtime for as long as the whole facility is at a standstill.
Raja-Lovejoy and Chemnitz University of Technology have developed an RFID-based system for monitoring of multiple-disc clutches in order to prevent such unscheduled downtime. The system makes it possible to monitor the load on the steel disc package via the current shaft displacement, and to reliably detect fractures to the outer disc.