Baler with bearing health monitor
A baler including an accelerometer coupled to the frame and configured to output a bulk signal representative of the total vibrational power in the frame, and a controller in operable communication with the accelerometer, where the controller is configured to deconstruct the bulk output signal provided by the accelerometer into at least a first component signal and a second component signal, and where the controller is configured to associate one of the first component signal and the second component signal with a first bearing and the other of the first component signal and the second component signal with a second bearing.
1 . A baler comprising:
a frame;
one or more wheels rotatably mounted to the frame;
a bale forming system including:
a first rotational element rotatably coupled to the frame by a first bearing for rotation about a first axis, wherein the first bearing is a first bearing type,
a second rotational element rotatably coupled to the frame by a second bearing for rotation about a second axis, wherein the second bearing is a second bearing type different than the first bearing type,
a third rotational element rotatably coupled to the frame by a third bearing for rotation about a third axis that is parallel to the first axis, wherein the third bearing is the first bearing type, and
a fourth rotational element rotatably coupled to the frame by a fourth bearing for rotation about a fourth axis that is parallel to the second axis, wherein the fourth bearing is the second bearing type; and
an accelerometer coupled to the frame and configured to output a bulk signal representative of a total vibrational power in the frame; and
a controller in operable communication with the accelerometer, where the controller is configured to deconstruct the bulk output signal provided by the accelerometer into at least a first component signal and a second component signal, and wherein the controller is configured to associate the first component signal with a first bearing group including the first bearing and the third bearing, and wherein the controller is configured to associate the second component signal with a second bearing group including the second bearing and the fourth bearing.
2 . The baler of claim 1 , wherein the controller deconstructs the bulk output signal into two or more component signals by decomposing the component signals by frequency.
3 . The baler of claim 2 , wherein the controller deconstructs the bulk output signal by passing the bulk output signal through a form of a Fourier transform.
4 . The baler of claim 2 , wherein the first rotational element rotates about the first axis at a first rotational speed, wherein the third rotational element rotates about the third axis at the first rotational speed, and wherein the controller is configured to calculate a first bearing frequency for the first bearing and the third bearing based at least on the first rotational speed.
5 . The baler of claim 4 , wherein the controller associates the first component signal with the first bearing group based at least in part on the first bearing frequency.
6 . The baler of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to compare the first component signal and the second component signal with a pre-determined set of operating parameters.
7 . The baler of claim 6 , wherein the pre-determined set of parameters is modeled at least in part on the first bearing type.
8 . The baler of claim 1 , wherein the first rotational element and the second rotation element rotate at a first speed.
9 . The baler of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first rotating element and the second rotating element includes a roller configured to at least partially support a belt thereon.
10 . The baler of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to calculate a first bearing frequency for the first bearing based at least in part on a bearing size and a bearing element number.
11 . A method of monitoring a health of a a first bearing group and a second bearing group in a baler having a frame and an accelerometer fixedly coupled to the frame, wherein the first bearing group includes at least two rotational elements of a first bearing type, and wherein the second bearing group includes at least two rotational elements of a second bearing type different than the first bearing type, the method comprising:
outputting a bulk signal representative of a vibrational power within the frame;
deconstructing the bulk signal into a first component signal and a second component signal;
associating the first component signal with the first bearing group;
associating the second component signal with the second bearing group;
comparing the first component signal to a first set of operational parameters;
comparing the second component signal to a second set of operational parameters; and
outputting an alert if at least one of the first component signal falls outside the first set of operational parameters and the second component signal falls outside the second set of operational parameters.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein deconstructing the bulk signal into the first component signal and the second component signal includes running the bulk signal through a form of Fourier transform.
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein associating the first component signal with the first bearing group includes:
calculating a bearing frequency for the first bearing group; and
associating the first component signal with the first bearing group based at least in part on the calculated bearing frequency.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein deconstructing the bulk signal into the first component signal and the second component signal includes deconstructing component vibration power levels by frequency.
15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein outputting a bulk signal representative of the vibrational power within the frame includes outputting a bulk signal representative of the vibrational power within the frame along an X, a Y, and a Z axis.
16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the first set of operational parameters is based at least in part on the first bearing type.
17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein comparing the first component signal to the first set of operational parameters includes compiling vibration data from the first component signal over a predetermined period of time and comparing the compiled vibration data to a statistical model of an anticipated life-cycle of the first bearing type.
18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein comparing the first component signal to the first set of operational parameters includes compiling vibration data from the first component signal over a period of time and entering the vibration data into an algorithm configured to map out an anticipated wear cycle of the first bearing type.