Measure the Rotational Speed of Machinery without Physical Contact with Fluke's LED Stroboscope
December 02 2014
Identifying the running speed of rotating equipment can be difficult, but the Fluke 820-2 LED Stroboscope simplifies the process allowing you to perform stop motion diagnostics without actually stopping, or making contact, with the machine you are working on. Whether you are trying to diagnose parasitic oscillations, slippage, or unwanted distortions, the 820-2 LED Stroboscope is the ideal frontline troubleshooting, process or product research and development tool.
Adjustable flash duration
For most applications the standard flash duration will work well without adjustment. In other applications with higher rpm or larger rotating objects with high surface speeds, an adjustable flash duration is needed. In high speed applications, objects may move during the brief period of a single flash, resulting in a blurred image. By decreasing flash duration, objects have less time to move and the image will appear sharper.
Common applications for the 820-2
The Fluke 820-2 LED Stroboscope is more than just a tool to measure rotational speed of machinery without physical contact. It is also an excellent diagnostic tool for a wide variety of applications:
- Belt driven machines - HVAC fans, pumps
- Roller bearings, shafts, gear teeth or other machine components
- Clutches and cogwheels
- Foundations - resonance vibrations
- Cable or piping wear or damage
- Mixing and dosage processes
In addition, the LED stroboscope can be used as a strobe tachometer to measure speed instead of using a laser tachometer. In order to use the stroboscope, the component under measure must be visible, and have an identifying mark that can be used as a point of reference. A strobe tachometer is a useful tool because you can't always get access to the machine shaft to stick a piece of reflective tape to use a laser tachometer or make contact with the moving shaft to use a contact tachometer - using a stroboscope you can "stop" the shaft down to 30 RPM (FPM).
Use the 820-2 for:
- Turbines that vary in speed and change speed frequently
- Variable Frequency Drive motors that vary in speed, but do not change frequently
- Find belt rotation speed and look for belt slippage
- Find machine element components – fan blades, pump vanes, compressor screws, and gear teeth
- RPM measurement and frequency investigation
- Slip measurement
