Our signal conditioning expertise used in a digital measurement design.
Cutsforth Inc., a manufacturer of advanced shaft grounding systems for power generators, saw an opportunity to reach new markets with an advanced but competitively priced monitoring system. Having used us on a previous project, they asked for a proposal. Working in partnership with them we tied down the details and designed the system they needed.
Rotating generators, through both magnetic induction and static electricity, can generate large unwanted voltages on their shafts. Left ungrounded these can cause serious damage to bearing surfaces and other areas. Cutsforth’s innovative grounding systems use conductive ropes (brushes) to provide safe current paths to ground, bypassing the bearings.
Over time the ropes and/or shaft wear, degrading the grounding. Marrying our signal conditioning experience with a digital measurement design, the Assurance Monitoring System continuously displays and retransmits several voltage, current and rope condition measurements. We programmed a 4D Systems touch screen control display to show the RMS, Peak and DC readings for both shaft voltage and ground current, plus rope condition. All seven readings are retransmitted as 4-20mAdc current loops and are available digitally via Modbus.
The Assurance Monitoring system currently is being built for Cutsforth by another company. Our white paper provides detailed information.