Why it matters
Vibration is one of the few signals that reliably changes before a mechanical failure rather than during it, which makes it the classic predictive-maintenance channel.
Sensing
Machine vibration monitoring
Machine vibration monitoring measures mechanical oscillation in equipment to identify wear, imbalance, misalignment or impending failure.
How it works
Accelerometers or vibration switches measure oscillation. Simple implementations detect movement above a threshold; richer ones analyse frequency content, since different faults produce characteristic frequencies.
Example
A bearing beginning to fail produces a rising vibration signature days before it seizes.
In Alfa HazardX
The v1 node latches a vibration switch in firmware for one second so a brief knock is not lost between samples. The v2 board reads three-axis motion instead, giving magnitude rather than a binary trigger. Frequency-domain analysis is not implemented.
Read further
Related terms
- Sensor fusionSensor fusion combines readings from multiple sensing channels into a single assessment, so that patterns spanning several channels become detectable.
- Hazard DNAHazard DNA is Alfa HazardX's behaviour signature: a fixed-length vector computed from a window of sensor readings, built from rates of change rather than raw values, and matched against a library of known hazard patterns.
- Predictive maintenancePredictive maintenance uses condition monitoring to estimate when equipment will need servicing, so that work is scheduled by actual condition rather than by a fixed calendar.