Multi-Technology Fault Identification
By Reggie Fett, MCA/IR Analyst
Reprinted with permission of Allied Reliability

This case study by Reggie Fett in inspired Source May 2013, Allied Reliability’s online newsletter, highlights the value of using multi-technology for motor analysis. The pump in question cannot be off line for more than three hours without causing production issues, making it imperative to quickly analyze and react to any test result anomalies. After routine testing the motor exhibited current and impedance imbalances. Read how multiple technologies were used to diagnose the problem.

Congratulations to Westar Energy

Congratulations to Westar Energy for winning the 2012 Uptime Magazine Best Maintenance Reliability Program. Uptime Magazine’s awards recognize organizations that demonstrate excellence in managing equipment reliability using advanced strategies and high tech sensing technologies to determine the early onset of a potential failure. PdMA is proud to be a part of Westar Energy's success.

Click here to read more about the award and Westar Energy.

Send This Motor to the "Clink"?
To get higher quality clinker, you need faster cooling. How do you assure that your clinker  IS cooled faster? Click on the image below to watch this case study about a hydraulic motor that is critical to the clinker cooling process and learn how an Egyptian cement company diagnosed problems with the motor, took action, and averted a costly, catastrophic failure.

Motor Repair or Replacement? The Green Solution
The ever present emphasis on technological efficiency is just one of several forces behind the pressure on companies to "go green" despite a trying economy. The ultimate criterion that determines whether a motor is truly green is energy efficiency. Technology, long the key to efficiency, can help resolve this issue through detailed computerized analysis of the motor, the power environment in which it operates, and even its reliability. Click on the image below to view a brief discussion.

Platinum Plus - A South African Success Story
How do you prevent water from rising in a deep underground South African platinum mine? Answer: Make sure your pump motors are in good health. But what if one of the pumps is experiencing intermittent trips, creating fear that the mine will flood and shut down production? Watch this Case Study to learn how MCEMAX™ prevented catastrophic motor failure. Click on the image below.

Case Study - The Dreaded Saturday Call
How do you want to spend your Saturday morning? Pursuing your favorite activity or answering the dreaded Saturday morning phone call? View this case study to learn the story of The Dreaded Saturday Call and how it can be avoided if proper quality assurance motor testing takes place. Click on the image below to start the video.

Case Study – Preventing Catastrophic Pump Failure
In-Rush/Start-Up test results were not normal. Demod test results compared to prior test results showed a ten times increase in noise level. Comparing test results from a like motor indicated something was wrong with the pump motor. To watch a video and learn how an alert CBM specialist at an electric utility prevented a catastrophic pump failure, click on the image below.

The Case of the Broken Bolt
The problem: A high current imbalance showed up during routine EMAX testing. The motor in question is important to operating the petrochemical facility at full capacity. Further evaluation of the motor by the technicians was needed. Click on the button below to watch a short video to learn how they responded to the test results and what they found.  

Safe and Easy
It is safe, but there is nothing easy about donning all of the required personal protection equipment necessary to perform online electric motor testing. Helmet with face shield, goggles, two pair of gloves (rubber and leather), long-sleeves these all take time to put it on and they are bulky when you try to maneuver in small, cramped spaces.

Are you interested in an easier, quicker, but still safe, way to test electric motors online that doesn’t involve suiting up? Click on the Electrical Safety image below to view our safety presentation for an answer.

Quality Assurance
Is your motor tested before delivery? Do you test before accepting it? Is the motor coming out of the warehouse inspected for degradation? Do you test after installing the motor? Getting a motor off to a healthy start is critical to achieve the design life expectancy of the motor. A good quality control program is necessary to ensure this healthy start. To view a case study on the importance of quality assurance click on the image below.

PdMA Corporation is the leader in the field of predictive maintenance, condition monitoring applications, and the development of electric motor test equipment for motor circuit analysis. Companies across the globe trust our reliability solutions, products, and services.

PdMA Corporation has developed these portable motor testers:

• MCE™ - static motor tester
• EMAX – dynamic motor tester
• MCEMAX™ powered by MCEGold® – combination motor tester

All testers are designed to trend the condition of AC induction, synchronous, wound rotor, and DC motors and their circuits. They track, trend and monitor the six fault zones: power quality, power circuit, stator, rotor, insulation, and air gap.