The level of cleanliness a system needs depends on the system itself; contaminates to the system reduce the life of the parts by accelerating wear'' causing reduced efficiency'' increased down time'' and increased cost due to replacing parts. Both particle wear'' caused by metal pieces rubbing against each other'' and water wear can effect the system'' breaking down essential pieces needed to function and ultimately leading to mechanical failure. Therefore'' it is crucial that manufacturers and machinists monitor the cleanliness of these systems.
In order to efficiently monitor the hydraulic or lubrication systems for particle contamination'' manufacturers have turned to SEM microscopes'' such as the Aspex Personal Scanning Electron Microscope (PSEM). The PSEM uses its Advanced Quality Control (AQC) software to identify and size particles within the system'' and can be used directly on the shop floor. Once the particles are identified'' the AQC can also show the elemental composition of the particles so that manufacturers and machinists can find the root of the problem upstream and take corrective action.
The AQC can easily identify and categorize particles far smaller than current optical and gravimetric inspection techniques. Also'' it has been found that eliminating the particles from a system is much less cost-effective than eliminating the source of the contamination. By implementing the PSEM with AQC'' manufacturers and machinists have a tool capable of reducing their manufacturing and warranty failures by upwards of 30% – vastly outweighing the cost of implementation.
The PSEM with AQC by Aspex is revolutionizing the way manufacturers create'' implement'' and maintain critical cleanliness'' in the lab or in the shop. Aspex’s Industrialized-By-Design™ product line offers robust particle analysis solutions for manufacturers in need of easy-to-use equipment for contamination monitoring down to the single particle level'' allowing them to control the cleanliness of their hydraulic and lubrication systems from the shop floor.
Reference:
Aspex'' http://www.aspexcorp.com/industries/industrial-automation.html
MachineryLubrication'' http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?articleid=800
