How to do weekly predictive maintenance on gears to prevent failures

Stop action photographs girth gear photographs are an excellent predictive maintenance task that every site can employ without shutting down critical mills, kilns, or dryers. When taken at regular weekly intervals, changes in mill set operation and condition can quickly be identified.

• Misalignment
• Wear
• Macropitting
• Scuffing
• excessive contamination
• tooth fracture

1. Open the pinion inspection door with the set-in operation
2. Take images of the pinion using a landscape setting or higher aperture to capture a clear image of the entire pinion
3. Schedule a weekly reminder on your calendar
4. If damage is detected send images to info@global-pam.com for a complementary remote assessment

1. Digital Camera with Flash
2. Macro modes with a lower aperture generally cause more of the image to blur
3. The combination of good flash and medium to high aperture will yield the clearest images
4. Using manual focus can enhance repeatability of shots
5. Do not use a strobe light with the camera it will blur the images

Example stop action photographs

Example of Misalignment with overload damage

Stop Action Photographs Monitoring Contact Patterns, and Wear over time