Condition monitoring and failure prediction for various rotating equipment components

The research presented in this paper identifies generalized failure prediction indices capable of monitoring the condition of a wide variety of manufacturing equipment (such as, bearings, cutting tools, gears, etc.) and providing an early warning of impending failure in this equipment. Several indices are shown to be capable of tracking the condition of these components very well and are able to provide an early warning of impending failure. Furthermore, the indices are not developed for a specific component, but instead are shown to work on a wide variety of components, without the monitoring technique requiring changes. These indices are verified using the data from two life-tests on bearings conducted by a well-known bearing company in the United States and the data from six end-milling life-tests collected from an industrial size manufacturing cell (Cincinnati-Milacron) under a variety of conditions. The developed indices are able to warn of the impending failure for both the bearings and the end-mills in adequate time to allow for preventive measures to be taken.