Watch for our 2008 Training Schedule

Contact Datastick by emailing findout@datastick.com, Telephone toll-free in the USA 1 888 277 5153. Outside the USA, call +1 408 987 3400.

About Datastick's Two-Day Vibration Training Seminar

In a survey of readers of Reliable Plant magazine published in January 2007, 44% of those who responded said, “equipment breakdowns are the norm.” In other words, Reactive Maintenance is in full effect. Reactive Maintenance is defined by IDCON, Inc., as “maintenance work that was scheduled less than 20 hours before it was executed.” And of course, unscheduled repairs are expensive and often dangerous.

In the same survey, 25% said they don’t have a predictive maintenance program and 26% said they have a predictive maintenance program but it is not effective. Yet about 60% say that downtime costs their companies between $100,000 and $10,000,000 per year!

In Datastick's own research, we’ve found that a significant — and growing — percentage of large and small companies that have predictive maintenance programs are losing their trained vibration analysts to retirement, leaving no trained people to keep a vital part of the program going.

Finally, we’ve also seen that many small- and medium-sized companies don’t use vibration analysis at all because the perception is that the equipment is too expensive and the level of vibration expertise required is too great.

Datastick bursts through both of those barriers: our systems start below $4,500 and they’re designed so that you don’t have to be an expert. Our PC software is based on Microsoft Excel so you can send data to any consultant without worrying about compatibility with proprietary software. This means you can literally buy your expertise by the hour.

Still, to get the most out of our vibration analyzer, you need a good understanding of the basics of vibration and vibration analysis so that you are certain you can collect valid data in the first place and so you can identify specific signs that it’s necessary to take action — and have a good idea of what action to take.

That’s where the Datastick Vibration Training Seminar comes in.

The Datastick Vibration Training Seminar is actually three seminars in one:

Two-Day Intro to Mechanical Vibration and How to Use Datastick VSA-series Vibration Spectrum Analyzers in Predictive Maintenance
Come for both days and it’s a two-day seminar that covers the basics of mechanical vibration and vibration analysis for Conditions-Based Predictive Maintenance on the first day and training on how to use the Datastick VSA-series vibration spectrum analyzers for vibration analysis and data collection on the second day. This will appeal to existing Datastick customers who are unfamiliar with vibration and who want to get the maximum return on investment on their Datastick VSA-series handheld Vibration Spectrum Analyzer as well as prospective customers who want to experience the ultimate demonstration of the VSA-series handheld vibration spectrum analyzers.

Day 1 by Itself is a One-Day Intro to Mechanical Vibration in Predictive Maintenance
Come for just the first day and it’s a one-day seminar that covers the basics of mechanical vibration and vibration analysis for Conditions-Based Predictive Maintenance. This is a perfect introduction to anyone who wants to learn the basics of vibration and vibration analysis.

Day 2 by Itself is a One-Day Training on How to Use Datastick VSA-series Vibration Spectrum Analyzers in Predictive Maintenance
Come for just the second day and it’s a one-day training seminar on how to use the Datastick VSA-series vibration spectrum analyzers for vibration analysis and data collection. This is for existing Datastick customers who want to get the maximum return on investment on their Datastick VSA-series handheld Vibration Spectrum Analyzer as well as prospective customers who want to experience the ultimate demonstration of the VSA-series handheld vibration spectrum analyzers.

Training agenda

Day 1: Intro to Mechanical Vibration in Conditions-Based Maintenance

Introduction to Vibration Basics

• What is vibration?
  
• What causes vibration?
  
• Vibration and Frequency
  
• Vibration and Energy
  
• Time domain (waveform) vs. frequency domain (Spectrum) — What is an FFT?
  
• When to use Waveform vs. FFT
  
• How to choose an appropriate maximum frequency
  
• Windowing: Hanning, Hamming, etc. – differences, advantages of different FFT window calculations
  
• Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration graphed and explained
  
• The effects of vibration on machine reliability
  
• How much is too much?
  
• Capturing and displaying vibration in an instrument

Vibration theory and practice

• How to place a sensor for an accurate, repeatable reading (where to place, how to mount, frequency limitations of different mounting)
  
• How to determine the correct input range
  
• What is it critical to measure?
  
• The meaning of vibration measurements
  
• The value of overall vibration values and the ISO standards
  
• FFT resolution: how many lines are appropriate?
  
• Harmonics and their meaning
  
• How to find 1X rpm
  
• The symptoms and causes of most problems
  
• Using your hands, eyes, and ears: What to feel, look, and listen for
  
• Trending and reporting
  

Day 2: How to use Datastick VSA-series Vibration Spectrum Analyzers in Conditions Based Maintenance

Using the Datastick® VSA™ Vibration Spectrum Analyzer to capture vibration data

• Introduction to the Palm handheld computer
  
• Operation of the Palm handheld computer
  
• Syncing the Palm handheld computer to a PC
  
• Introduction to the Datastick VSA hardware module
  
• Introduction to Datastick Spectrum software
  
• Basic operation of Datastick Spectrum software, including taking actual vibration readings
  
• How to use the Cursor Tools – especially harmonic cursor
  
• When and how to use Peak Detection
  
• When and how to use Spectrum Averaging and Peak Hold
  
• Power: how to get the maximum use of a single battery charge
  
• How to set up and manage inspection routes
  
• Exporting vibration data to a PC
  
• Introduction to Datastick Reporting System™ PC software
  
• Producing a useful report in Datastick Reporting System
  
• Graphing, changing appearance, adding notes
  
• Making a waterfall plot
  
• Bringing a graph into Microsoft Word for final report

Instructor:

Derek Norfield has more than 30 years experience in vibration analysis and balancing, working with the UK division of Reutlinger GmBH and in the USA with the American Hofmann Corporation, before going on to start a successful independent vibration, balancing and training company. He is the author of the book Practical Balancing of Rotating Machinery, published by Elsevier Technical Press.