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UNIQUE PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Broken Gear Coupling Hub:
I am asked to monitor a wide variety of components at the paper
mills, power plants and other industries I scan regularly. My biggest
customer has me regularly scan drive shaft couplings for lubrication
issues. These shafts are commonly known as jackshafts.
This type of scan requires use of a fast frame-rate
infrared camera... such as the SatIR HotFind-S camera I used to capture the
image above.
Many of the jackshaft couplings I'm scanning are located in high
moisture environments... some are in hard-to-reach spots and may not get
adequate greasing. As long as I can get an unobstructed view, I can
monitor these mechanical components for heating - trending the temperatures -
watching for a sharp increase... or other anomalies.
Pictured above, we have a typical gear coupling driving a paper
roll. I noticed the coupling was wobbling - but, the view of the coupling
(in the IR photo) shows a tight coupling, with no discernible heating.
Further investigation with the paper mill engineers revealed the back hub of the
coupling was actually broken! This means the coupling was being held up by
the shaft, but floating around & wobbling. Due to the paper machine
run schedule, the coupling was left in place - running as usual for about 2
weeks. As I type this, it's still running. The temp on the face of
the coupling increased by about 20°F from when I first found it, but it's
still holding.
Scrutinizing every component - beyond the thermal image (by
sight, smell, sounds) often reveals issues. Finding this issue early
allowed the engineers to come up with a plan and stage a replacement; all done
ahead of time, minimizing downtime and increasing profits.
If your company is not scanning with the proper equipment... you
may be missing the details! Preventing failures requires consistent
monitoring, proper access and a thermographer that knows what he is doing.
Having the right equipment for the job helps too!
Let Altheus Infrared SHOW you the heating... Call today:
207-205-3994 to schedule! | 
