An intelligent rolling element that sends you up to 24,000 data points per second from the inside of a rolling bearing with an outer diameter of only 19 cm?

We show you how this is possible based on the tapered roller bearing 30318 from SKF Group.

The system consists of a Measurement Board, which is responsible for recording the data from all sensors, processing it if wanted and sending either raw data or smart data (pre-processed) to a receiver. The Power Management Board supplies the Measurement Board with energy. The integrated battery can be easily re-charged via USB using an adapter cable. The boards have a diameter similar to a 2 cent coin! In this application, the following parameters will be measured:

– 2x strain gauge full bridges
– 6-DoF IMU (inertial measurement unit): triaxial Accelerometer, Gyroscope
– Temperature
– Battery voltage

The IMU can also be used to determine the rotation rate, rotation angle and – using our advanced algorithms – the exact position of the intelligent rolling element in the bearing. Other measured variables are also possible, as our previous bearing use cases show. Like all our individual solutions, this one is also compatible with all our standard receiver products: USB receiver nemi Connect, LTE gateway nemi EdgeBase, data logger nemi Log.

To get an better understanding view this video. If you have any questions or are interested in your own smart bearing get in touch with us.

The bearings equipped with our system are going to be part of a research project which explores the influence of highly dynamical operating conditions on rolling body slip in wind turbine drive trains.