Ridgetop Group’s RotoSense advanced rotational vibration sensor (RVS) enables easy extraction of high-resolution acoustic signatures from rotating components in harsh environments. RotoSense is included in the Sentinel Motion™ product line of advanced diagnostic and prognostic tools, and is an integral part of the RailSafe™ Integrity Analysis System.
Ridgetop’s innovative Internet of Things (IoT)-compatible RotoSense wireless instrument helps engineers perform dynamic analysis of rotating interaction and develop improved designs for rotating components. RotoSense is available in different packages for a range of applications. In addition, data from this instrument can be used with Sentinel Motion algorithms that detect and predict faults based on external acoustic signatures, for prognostic purposes. The result is an improvement in safety, performance, and maintenance costs for future generations of rotating components.
Complete sensor assembly, end point; circuit board diameter is 1.2 in. (3 cm)
RailSafe RotoSense sensor module (blue) mounted on train axle hub
The RotoSense wireless rotation sensors have been installed and tested inside a Bell OH-58 helicopter gearbox spinning at 5,500 RPM. A paper jointly authored by NASA and Ridgetop Group details the impressive results. RotoSense has also been tested on the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) test track in Pueblo, Colorado.
RotoSense graphical user interface – Data collection
Data are logged and compared in real time between the local testbed and a remotely located wireless gateway with precise results.
Applications
- Sensing gear tooth wear, chatter, or spindle balance in computer numerical control (CNC) applications
- Real-time monitoring of downhole drill vibration in oil and gas exploration applications
- Detecting vibrational signatures in rotating shafts or pinions to give early warning of gear tooth cracking or spalling in wind turbines and transmissions
- Sensing wheel cracks, friction, and wear in train applications
RotoSense development kits are available from Ridgetop.
For more information, contact us directly, or visit the links below.
Overviews and Brochure
Product Briefs
Related Product Pages
- RailSafe™ Integrity Analysis System
- Sentinel Motion™, a product line that includes wireless vibration and motion signature monitoring sensors, prognostic reasoners, and a visualization tool
- ARULE™ – Adaptive Remaining Useful Life Estimator
- Sentinel Suite™, Family of Advanced Diagnostics and Prognostics Tools
- Sentinel Power™, a product line for monitoring power systems, providing diagnostics and prognostics analysis and visualization
- Sentinel Interconnect™, a product line that includes embedded monitors for detecting intermittencies and degradation in crucial system interconnects, and a visualization tool
- Sentinel IT™, a product line that provides solutions for improving IT network reliability and network health management (NHM)
White Papers
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Links to IEEE and AutoTestCon conference presentations on this subject can be found in our Resource Library
Press Releases
- Ridgetop Group Announces New Products for Rail Safety Improvements
- New Solution for Monitoring Performance of Gear Trains and Complex Rotary Systems
- 2011 NASA Program Phase 2 awards press release
Featured Articles
- Wireless Sensors Pinpoint Rotorcraft Troubles (Article in NASA Spinoff Magazine)
Ridgetop’s SMRT Probe (Sample Mode Response Technique™) 4000 is a resonant voltage-sampling sensor that is attached to a module or assembly to extract degradation signatures. Monitoring power systems by injecting a voltage stimulus to measure effective resistance and capacitance, SMRT Probe 4000 provides state-of-the-art prognostic and degradation analysis.
Ridgetop is certified as category 1A under the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) as part of the Trusted Supplier Program. Ridgetop has history of designing analog and mixed signal ICs for demanding applications in space satellites that are subjected to extreme temperatures and radiation. Our designs have utilized bulk CMOS, CMOS-SOI, and SiGe at process geometries down to 28 nm channel lengths. Radiation hardness is also a concern, and Ridgetop has addressed those requirements as well. A recent Ridgetop design was delivered to ON Semiconductor for the U.S. Air Force STELLAR Star Tracker.
Under contract to NASA, Ridgetop designed an effective 3-axis wireless rotational sensor. The RotoSense™ sensor has been tested on fast-spinning pinion gears on helicopter gear boxes, and also rolling stock for railroad safety improvements.