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Mechanical failure in paper mill

November 9, 2022

Imagine being the largest paper producer and exporter in the country and starting to have problems with critical machinery in your production? This was a setback experienced by Klabin’s maintenance team that chose to bet on the monitoring of vibration of assets as an important ally in the early identification of anomalies, avoiding greater losses. 

The truth is that having production affected due to machinery failure is still something recurrent on the factory floor of many companies.

As of the technological advances of Industry 4.0, this type of problem is usually handled with machine monitoring.

In this case, applications that allow remote monitoring of the asset during its operation are used.  

The engine sensing and detailed trend graph analysis of the DynaPredict Platform was the option chosen to revert the situation of the paper exporter’s machines.

Next, understand how the equipment was losing its operating capacity and causing high financial losses with unscheduled corrective actions. Check it out! 

Mechanical failure – caustification plant motor 

With the wireless sensor attached to the motor drive, a change in behavior was identified in one of the motors of the causticizing plant, a stage for the chemical recovery of the white liquor used in the cooking of the wood chips in the digester. 

Through the data obtained, some changes in the vibration levels were visualized in the spectral analysis graph of the web platform.

After testing, misalignment was identified due to the rear foot and torsion of the housing. 

Once the anomaly had been identified, the maintenance team began to correct the alignment with a shim on the motor foot, considerably lowering the vibration level of the machine from 7mm/s to 2.7mm/s, now working under ideal conditions. 

Operational Failure – chlorine mixer pump in bleaching plant  

From the trend analysis, an increase in the vibration levels of the chlorine mixer pump was noted. It was clear that the operating conditions were not adequate because of the high level of vibration and inadequate behavior of the equipment.  

With the identification of the incorrect operation and a field visit, the mixer’s steam was requested to be turned down, where the situation was normalized and the machine returned to operating at acceptable levels.

In both examples it is possible to identify how the trend evolution directs maintenance actions and assertive correction of anomalies, avoiding an irreversible failure.

However, losing the timing on this type of defect can lead to equipment loss, production stoppages, and losses estimated in millions per day.

Obtained Results

Remote monitoring with wireless sensors, along with detailed analysis in the DynaPredict Platform was the key to identifying failures in the factory plants that could cause unexpected downtime of the assets used.

From the remote and online monitoring of the machines, the data collection obtained by the sensors allowed quick action both in mechanical and operational failures.

At the same time, the action has considerably reduced maintenance costs.

For Flávia Fontoura, Maintenance Inspector, “the ease of installation and data identification are very strong points of the technology. In addition, the graphics are complete and allow analysis to be done directly on the platform.”

She continues, “Remote monitoring has increased the availability of machines, as well as increasing predictive maintenance instead of corrective maintenance,” she says.

Currently, the paper exporter monitors 2242 pieces of equipment with DynaLoggers.

The partnership continues steadfast in the search for greater machine availability, meeting Dynamox’s purpose: safety for people, reliability and predictability for assets. 

Finally, keep browsing and access other cases to learn more about the benefits of the DynaPredict Solution in your industry. 

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Dynamox S.A

Rod. SC-401 600, km 01, R. Parque Tecnológico Alfa, Módulo 05 - João Paulo, Florianópolis - SC, 88030-909 | Telephone: +55 48 3024-5858