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Vibration Sensor Orientation

Vibration Experts

This short video by Alan Friedman from Zenco Vibration Experts explains the importance of defining sensor orientation for triaxial accelerometers. Whether you are taking readings on a route or using wireless sensors, this video has important information you need to know! Here’s the YouTube link if you want to share it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BIce8WDkcI

It’s not enough to know whether you are looking at data from the “X” or “Y” channel of the accelerometer. You have to know the sensor orientation with respect to the machine.

Vibration Faults and Axes

Different mechanical faults show up in different axes. For example, unbalance in a supported rotor shows up at 1x vertical and 1x horizontal whereas angular misalignment shows up at 1x and 2x axial. Not only do we need to know what test point the vibration data came from, we also have to know which axis. Vibration diagnostics are not possible without information about sensor orientation.

Unbalance causes the shaft to vibrate vertically and horizontally

Angular misalignment causes the shaft to vibrate in the axial direction

What is the Orientation?

We need to know which direction the X, Y and Z sensors are facing with respect to the machine. What is the orientation of the sensor? Is the X sensor in the Vertical direction? Is the Y sensor in the Axial direction? This is what mean by sensor orientation and this is what we need to determine.

Learn More!

If you want to learn more, why not sign up for a vibration course? I have in person and online classes both public and private. Contact me for private, see the public course schedule here: https://zencovibrations.com/shop