Vacuum Conveying Smart Pumps Deliver Maximum Uptime

Many plastics processors depend mightily on their vacuum conveying systems. There’s never a good time to have one down. Fortunately, self-monitoring equipment such as Novatec’s PumpSense line of vacuum pumps makes it much easier to achieve maximum uptime by identifying impending problems before they turn critical. With advanced monitoring and diagnostic technology, these smart pumps tell you when they need maintenance. They’ll even tell you how to go about it.
 

Diagnostic Software Provides Actionable Intelligence

All PumpSense models come fit with MachineSense technology that monitors the pump in operation, diagnoses out-of-conformance conditions, and provides maintenance advice on corrective action.

Sensors are attached to the pump that constantly measure vacuum pressure, vibration and temperature. The sensor data is collected by a data hub and is then sent via router to cloud-based servers running MachineSense Crystalball analysis software. The software tracks and compares the collected data against baseline values to determine overall pump operating health. Results are then transmitted to a phone or tablet with a user-friendly app where maintenance technicians can view the pump operating conditions in real time. The data can also be accessed on a PC via internet connection.

The system reports factors such as:

• Filter performance
• Oil levels and viscosity
• Vacuum levels
• Bearing condition

What really sets MachineSense apart, however, is how the system’s software analyzes that data and automatically generates actionable advice on how to address any issues that may need attention.
 

Condition Monitoring vs. Predictive Maintenance

Pumps are typically furnished with only a local vacuum gauge. With vacuum pumps, data controls can track vacuum levels and motor faults with sensors and then set off an alarm when something is wrong. That’s condition monitoring.

Predictive-maintenance technology, however, uses analytics to establish an operating baseline to which real-time data is compared. This allows the system to detect more subtle shifts in operating parameters much earlier in the cycle, as well as ascribe their likely causes.

The software predicts what is going to happen, as opposed to reporting what already happened, and then tells you what to do about it.

For example, a sensor may pick up excessive blower vibration. The maintenance technician then gets a notification message of the issue as well as a recommendation to check for loose fasteners, check oil and belt conditions, and also check the blower and motor bearings. Once that maintenance is done, the system will confirm that the pump has returned to normal operating conditions.

The benefit of this approach is that problems are discovered before they turn critical, allowing maintenance to be performed at the most convenient times. Less obvious, it eliminates the need for regular scheduled maintenance that can often serve no purpose at all. Most consequential, it heads off the run-to-fail practices that are extraordinarily expensive through lost production, yet all too common in many plastics processing plants.
 

Powerful and Quiet

Novatec PumpSense vacuum pumps come in two models:

VDPB vacuum positive displacement pumps provide a powerful vacuum to convey free-flowing pellets, powders and regrind in single and multi-receiver systems. The line includes seven models from 3 - 20 HP and 55 - 470 cubic feet per minute (CFM) air volume capacity. Each uses a rotary lobe-type blower with capacity for high throughput and long-distance conveying. Built for easy maintenance and trouble-free operation, the pumps include vacuum breaker valves and clear canister safety filters that lengthen pump life by minimizing pump starts and dust contamination. They also include electronic motor overload protection. (Click here for VDPD Vacuum Pump data sheet.)

SVP silencer vacuum positive displacement pumps include all the same features plus quieter operation with sound levels under 80 decibels (dB). This lower noise operation eliminates the need for sound enclosures. The SVP line includes three models from 3 - 10 HP and 55 - 170 CFM air volume capacity. (Click here for SVP Vacuum Pump data sheet.)

Whichever model fits your vacuum conveying needs, you can expect that it will run longer, and with easier maintenance, than has ever been possible before. It can also enable true predictive maintenance operations right out of the box. Find more information on PumpSense vacuum pumps or find a local representative with Novatec’s Rep Locator.