Recently, a cement manufacturer contacted Datum Electronics after experiencing an unexpected shaft breakage of one of the motors (used for the rotation of the kiln). The cost of closing down the kiln whilst awaiting a replacement shaft, along with the value of the parts and the emergency maintenance was estimated in the – millions – directly impacting the production efficiency of the quarry.

To prevent future machinery failures, the company decided to invest in an on-shaft torque and power monitoring solution.

Such a solution would allow them to monitor these values in real time and trigger an alarm, facilitating early detection of damage to the shaft line and improve maintenance scheduling.

However, the customer had several challenges that would make a standard torque sensor not viable for this application:

• Firstly, the kiln was operating in an extremely dirty and harsh environment.
• Furthermore, the intended area for installation was located directly under the cement kiln (which is subjected to extremely high temperatures).
• On top of that, the shaft line was protected by a steel guard, restricting the space available to fit a torque sensor.
• Despite the unusual and hostile operating environment, Datum Electronics’ were able to supply them with an ideal sensor solution.
• Datum Electronics’ Shaft Power Meter has been designed to operate within the harsh and challenging environments created by diesel generators.

Benefitting from a very compact design, the system can be installed on a shaft line with extremely limited space. The Shaft Power Meter is also completely modular, and all of its’ constituent parts are kept in stock – regardless of the shaft diameter – minimising manufacturing lead times. The modularity of the system also makes for a quick and smooth installation within 1-2 days, by a single engineer.
Additionally, the control unit has a large selection of output strings, making it easy to connect the Shaft Power Meter to DAQ systems without any additional work.
All of these features made it possible for the Datum Electronics team to carry out a site survey, prepare the system and complete the installation within two weeks. Although the Datum shaft power meter was originally designed for the marine industry, it has been successfully used in a variety of other applications, including civil engineering, mixing, construction, and even wind turbines. 

If you want to learn more about shaft power meter system and how it can help you, visit our website: https://datum-electronics.co.uk/product/commercial-marine-shaft-power-meter/