Compressed air is used every day in industrial facilities, but the true cost of producing it is often overlooked. When leaks and misuse become part of the everyday background, so does the wasted energy. This whitepaper explores where those hidden costs come from and how a well-planned compressed air leak management program can turn waste…
Bearing failure doesn’t begin when you hear a noisy bearing or see visible damage. It often starts much earlier, beneath the surface, where repeated stress can create microscopic cracks that eventually lead to spalling and failure. This whitepaper takes a closer look at how subsurface fatigue develops, the factors that influence bearing life, and what’s…
Overview A paper mill in the southeastern United States avoided a potentially catastrophic transformer failure and significant unplanned downtime by leveraging airborne ultrasound technology, including an Si2-PRO Acoustic Camera and Ultraprobe 10,000, to identify a hidden defect undetected by traditional inspection methods. What ultimately required only a minor corrective action had the potential to escalate…
About Johnsonville, LLC is a major food production company specializing in sausage and a variety of similar meat products. They sell their products nationwide through retail outlets, food processors, institutional customers, and other food services. Johnsonville bratwurst (brats) are the official brats of the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Milwaukee Brewers. The company has…
About Monitoring a Recirculation Fan’s NDE Bearing with the OnTrak Wireless This case study focuses on a Recirculation Fan’s Non-Drive End (NDE) bearing, a 4-15/16″ pillow block bearing. To ensure the bearing’s ongoing performance, the OnTrak Wireless System was installed to continuously monitor both its lubrication needs and mechanical health. By tracking both lubrication levels…
In a high-heat, hard-to-access manufacturing environment, a well-known company struggled to maintain the health of its pillow block overhung fan bearings. These bearings, vital to their operation, faced extreme conditions where time-based auto lubricators frequently failed, leading to over-lubrication, under-lubrication, and increased bearing failures. The company’s reliance on time-based lubrication, which lacked real-time data, ultimately…
About Koontz-Wagner Founded in 1921, Koontz-Wagner Services is a leading electromechanical facility solutions provider specializing in the industrial and institutional markets in the Midwest and beyond. While their primary focus is rebuilding and repairing motors, Koontz-Wagner also has the expertise to provide complete electrical and mechanical design, installation, and preventive maintenance services in any environment,…
In industrial settings, the early detection of machinery faults is crucial for preventing costly breakdowns and ensuring the smooth operation of equipment. A proactive approach using an acoustic camera proved instrumental in identifying and addressing critical bearing faults at a metalworking facility. The Problem: Reactive Maintenance Is Not Sustainable Conveyor systems play a crucial role…
The Problem This automotive company’s production facility faced a potentially catastrophic issue with serious implications for both safety and production costs. During an introductory product demonstration using UE System’s UltraView Camera (Si124), this high-powered camera revealed several problems: Air leaks: The UltraView Camera (Si124) detected multiple air leaks within the facility, indicating a significant loss…