With Industry 4.0 making it easier to drive operational efficiencies with wireless cellular connectivity, Alfa Laval is introducing the Alfa Laval CM, a condition monitoring system for rotating equipment, to its portfolio of sensing and control products. The new CM is another step forward in a digital transformation journey that Alfa Laval is pioneering with customers to harness the power of digital data for the hygienic processing industries.

The Alfa Laval CM monitors the operating condition of rotating equipment, such as pumps, mixers and agitators, used in hygienic process environments. Compact, easy to use and easy to install, it tracks equipment vibration, temperature and total run-time – three of the most widely used parameters for detecting and diagnosing equipment faults. This enables manufacturers in the dairy, food, beverage, home-personal care and pharmaceutical industries to protect critical assets, ensure process uptime, improve worker safety, reduce maintenance costs and gain competitive advantage.

“Digitalization is advancing rapidly. To remain competitive, the hygienic process industries clearly must keep pace,” says John Walker, Portfolio Manager, Pumps, Alfa Laval. “With the CM, Alfa Laval is taking a decisive step towards Industry 4.0 and working closely with customers to develop relevant connectivity solutions going forward and further enhance the customer experience.”

Powering the Alfa Laval CM are equipment sensors that transmit data to a connected compatible mobile device for predictive maintenance analysis, thereby supporting decision-making with advanced diagnostics such as trend monitoring.  Maintenance staff can check equipment vibration and temperature – either by visible notification on an LED indicator on the monitor or through an intuitive mobile app on a connected iOS or Android device within a 20-metre range during a periodic walk-around.

Trend analysis and FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) vibration data assist in diagnosing faults. These also enable operators to use the CM to make informed decisions on scheduling maintenance and process shutdown based on actionable information in addition to actual run-time and time to next service. All in all, the CM helps protect assets, improve worker safety, minimize unplanned downtime, maximize plant efficiency, and lower total cost of ownership.

Initially the CM has been optimized for use with Alfa Laval SX and SRU positive displacement pumps and, with product adaptation, can monitor other rotating equipment.