How Atten2 can help extend lubricating oil service life

With the development of optical sensors OilHealth and OilWear, Atten2 offers companies the chance to determine the condition of the lubricating oil they are using in their machinery. Our solutions can also provide information on the degradation of critical components in the machine that is being monitored, wear patterns and stress levels. Advanced-tech fluid monitoring solutions help extend lubricating oils service life and ensure the optimal condition of critical equipment.

OilHealth, simple and accurate

OilHealth is an accurate and simple solution to evaluate your lubricant’s condition in real time, so that you can see if it is time to change your lubricating oil. OilHealth can identify the slightest changes in RULER (Remaining Useful Life Evaluation Routine) additive health measurements, AN (acid number), OXI (oxidation test) and viscosity (polymerisation). With OilHealth, you can analyse lubricant degradation patterns, prevent equipment performance and efficiency problems, and help reduce the costs of replacing lubricating oil.

In addition, you can assess the correlation between the information provided by the sensor and the functioning of your machine, and check whether the lubricating oil you are using is the best for your equipment.

Planning machinery maintenance has never been easier. The sensor provides linear measurements and enables users to identify performance patterns, which offers maintenance staff a predictive and preventive tool. They can make decisions on when and why to change lubricating oil. The device can be easily installed by means of a bypass in places that are difficult to reach or in critical machinery operating in extreme conditions. An efficient use of oil helps reduce costs and is good for the environment, since it extends oil change intervals and reduces waste.

What types of industrial environments can the sensor be installed in?

Since the device ensures simple installation, OilHealth can be used in different types of machines, including water turbines, gas turbines, compressors, steam turbines and wind turbines. It is currently being used in most of these types of machine, as well as in mining machinery, test beds, laboratories and condition monitoring systems.

What types of oils can be monitored with OilHealth?

OilHealth can monitor any lubricating oil from leading manufacturers like Shell, Texaco, Mobil, Castrol, Cepsa, BP, Fuchs and Kluber. Also, its generic algorithms enable you to use it with lesser-known oil brands.

OilWear: best preventive maintenance strategies

OilWear offers a wide range of optical sensors for measuring the quantity and quality of particulate contamination in fluids in real time. It is capable of measuring contamination from both machine operation and external factors (dust, water, air, etc.). Additionally, it can measure the initial lubricant contamination due to storage or handling by the end-user, or to defective filtration.

Particle monitoring by OilWear allows users to analyse critical machinery wear patterns, which leads to the implementation of predictive critical machinery performance diagnostics. The device’s user-friendly indicators make it easy to understand what may be causing machine parts to wear out fast. With this valuable information, you can make decisions as to how to deal with faulty equipment. For instance, you can identify whether the problem is the result of normal wear and tear or it is caused by the materials of machine parts.

Moreover, the sensor monitors the impact of external agents like water, air, etc., which can get into the system and affect its reliability. Using the information supplied by OilWear, those in charge of maintaining efficient and reliable production equipment and machinery can take effective preventive measures to guarantee the efficiency of the lubricating system and the optimal functioning of the machines, so as to prevent stress and fast wear and tear. They can also predict the problems that might occur in the machinery but are still undetectable.

OilWear has yet another advantage: it monitors the wear and tear of the equipment itself, the stress levels under certain working conditions, and the machinery wear and tear patterns.

Following installation, which takes less than 2 hours, the sensor is ready to provide easy-to-read specific information, very much unlike complex conventional reports by laboratories, which sometimes make it difficult to make decisions. OilWear offers full integration with SCADA/PLC/PC through analogue and digital communication protocols, and allows users to set alarm levels. Besides, it includes self-diagnosis, self-calibration and self-compensation functions.

What are the series in the OilWear sensor range?

• OilWear P 100. 4-channel sensor capable of counting and classifying >14µ particles.
• OilWear C 100. Sensor capable of classifying >4µ particles. It quantifies contamination according to ISO 4406, NAS 1638, SAE AS4059 and other cleanliness codes.
• OilWear S 100. Sensor capable of classifying >4µ particles. It quantifies particle contamination according to codes ISO 4406, NAS 1638, SAE AS4059 and other cleanliness codes.

The three series include the OilWear P120, S120 and C120 versions, all of them containing the OilHealth technology, which means that a single sensor analyses oil degradation, detects particles and delivers reports. OilWear C100, C120, S100 and S120 quantify particle contamination according to ISO 4406, NAS 1638, SAE AS4059 and other cleanliness codes.

What types of machines can OilWear be used with?

The OilWear sensor has a modular design so, as long as the oil flows adequately within the system, it can be installed separately or be integrated into other control and monitoring systems. It is a useful device for engines, rotating machinery, lubricating equipment, hydraulic systems, aqueous solutions, fuel, oils (mineral, synthetic and glycols), hydraulic and drilling fluids, and coolants.

Atten2: una sólida oferta de servicios

Más allá de prolongar la vida útil de los aceites lubricantes, en Atten2 estamos comprometidos con la creación de valor añadido para nuestros clientes y con aportarles beneficios sostenibles y a largo plazo. Por eso ofrecemos una serie de servicios que van más allá de la comercialización de nuestra tecnología:

• Instalación. Servicio de puesta en marcha e integración de la tecnología en los procesos.
• Seguimiento remoto. En Atten2 nos servimos de una plataforma IoT para asumir, si el cliente lo desea, una monitorización remota, así como el seguimiento y el diagnóstico de máquinas.
• Cobertura técnica. La comunicación directa con expertos en esta tecnología permite satisfacer cualquier necesidad que pueda surgir.
• Renting. Además de la compra, ofrecemos la opción de realizar acuerdos de servicios y de renting de sus productos. De esta forma, firmware y hardware siguen actualizados.
• Análisis de muestras. La información es estudiada y contrastada por el prestigioso laboratorio Lubrication Management.
• Formación. Se traslada al cliente el know-how sobre los sensores y la información que facilitan, además de conocimientos de interpretación de análisis.

Los sensores de Atten2 no solo ayudan a mejorar sensiblemente la fiabilidad de las máquinas críticas de nuestros clientes y a prolongar la vida útil de los lubricantes, sino que podemos además proporcionar visibilidad sobre la influencia de la operación de las máquinas en su fiabilidad y ciclo de vida; esto abre un abanico de posibilidades para la mejora en las tomas de decisiones y para  impactar de forma directa en aspectos como la productividad, el ciclo de vida de las máquinas críticas, reducción de costes de mantenimiento y una mejor visibilidad del proceso.

Si te preocupa la condición de tu maquinaria crítica y al mismo tiempo la calidad del aceite de tu planta, en Atten2 podemos ayudarte. Ponte en contacto con nosotros aquí y un especialista se encargará de estudiar tu caso.