Internet of Things or IOT is the new sensation. It is an appealing and exciting concept. Nowadays, IoT has been widely used all over the world.
Even in the field of mechanical engineering, it could be a game changer by improving mechanical seal performance and reliability.
How can it be used for this?
To understand that, we need to understand the maintenance philosophies in the mechanical world. There are three types of maintenance concepts; reactive, predictive, and preventive.
Specifically, with mechanical seals, the prominently used ideologies are reactive and preventive.
Here, the IOT can make a difference. It can enable the industry to progress with an effective predictive maintenance schedule.
How is predictive maintenance better than reactive?
The reactive maintenance replaces equipment when it gets damaged or broken. In the case of a mechanical seal, the failure of the seal results in secondary damage to the pump as well as a support system. You may have some unplanned shutdown as a consequence.
The predictive maintenance, on the other hand, is based around the knowledge of when and why a part may fail in the future?
To do that; it is essential to have a deeper understanding of how the equipment is running.
IOT and predictive maintenance
It is possible to make predictive maintenance a reality by using IOT. It is a tool that has fantastic capabilities because of device connectivity, data collection, data storage, data protection, and data analytics.
The use of IOT increases the interconnectivity and makes it easy to identify the maintenance needs beforehand.
Take the example of a mechanical seal. It needs to be instrumented and connected to an internet-based or local data analysis system.
It is easy today with the use of sensors, controllers, and other monitoring equipment that have the capability of connecting other devices.
The equipment can record, store, and transfer data to be used for analysis. This connectivity creates an IOT platform that can give an insight into how the mechanical seal is performing and when it could fail.
This data analysis brings real benefit of the mechanical industry.
When IOT tells that there is a possibility of mechanical seal failure, you can order the necessary parts and supplies.
You can have a planned downtime, which is more efficient and cost-effective than an unscheduled one. As the possibility of failure of mechanical seal drops, it increases operational safety. A reliable mechanical seal operation is guaranteed if you have predictive maintenance in place.
Leak-Pack is ISO 9001:2008 certified company and leading mechanical seals manufacturer & supplier in India, providing solutions to all types of leakages by manufacturing Mechanical Seals and Sealing Components as per customer’s drawings, samples or requirements. To know more about Mechanical Seal call on +91-(2739) 271592 or email at info@leakpack.com.
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