Why So Many Electric Motors Are Quietly Running Beyond Safe Limits
Over the past four years, we have seen an increase in field troubleshooting calls related to catastrophic failures of specific types of equipment. When failed c... Read more.
Best Practices for Electric Motor and VFD Inspection and Monitoring
Electric motors of all types remain the prime mover of industrial and commercial applications, efficiently converting over 68% of electrical energy to mechanica... Read more.
How to Diagnose High Shaft Current Motor Bearing Failures with ESA and MCSA
In some cases, diagnosing high shaft currents in electric machines requires additional testing. In a small motor-conveyor application, frequent bearing failures... Read more.
How Reliability Strategies Cut Compressed Air Energy Costs
Compressed air systems are an essential part of most plant operations but can be a plant's most inefficient source of energy. To operate a one-horse air motor, ... Read more.
2025 NREL Wind Powertrain Meeting: AI, Bearings, and Reliability
This year, we participated in the NREL Wind Drivetrain Reliability Collaborative Workshop from February 17 to 19, 2025, in Golden, Colorado, which corresponds w... Read more.
Your Predictive Maintenance Program Is Broken – Here’s How to Fix It
The definition of reactive maintenance is to react or repair a system once it has run to failure. This failure can be unexpected due to an undetected issue or a... Read more.
Partial Discharge Mechanisms: A Technical Deep Dive for VFD Motors
The article ‘Partial Discharge Explained: Causes, Effects, and Prevention generated a few questions from companies and engineers associated with high-voltage... Read more.
Single Axis vs. Triaxial Vibration Sensors: Which One Delivers Better Data?
Over the years, two groups of vibration analysts have been involved in the use of triaxial sensors. We want to express our thoughts on the subject from an end-u... Read more.
How Precision Alignment Can Transform Motor Reliability and Efficiency
By Howard Penrose and Eric Foreman
As maintenance and reliability professionals, we know that misalignment reduces the life of bearings and other components. St... Read more.
P-F Curve Fundamentals: Aligning Maintenance and Test Frequencies
One of the most important aspects of any condition-based maintenance program or maintenance inspection is knowing the optimal frequency of performing the tasks.... Read more.
Top 5 Rules for Accurate Vibration Sensor Placement and Setup
By Howard Penrose and Matt Knuth
Vibration analysis is a powerful diagnostic tool for identifying mechanical and electrical issues before failure. When execut... Read more.
Partial Discharge Explained: Causes, Effects, and Prevention
Partial discharge is an electrical effect that, once upon a time, was only a concern for high-voltage system engineers and technicians.
In systems over 6,000 Vo... Read more.
How Misapplying IEEE 519 Affects Inverters and Harmonic Distortion
You are about to install a new variable frequency drive. The supply transformer is checked for harmonic content before and after installation. The results meet ... Read more.
Electrical Signature Analysis Case Studies: From Detection to Resolution
There is often discussion about how soon faults can be detected by different technologies and success postings of those technologies showing catastrophic failur... Read more.
Energy Efficiency Isn’t Simple: The Case for Smarter Applications
The effort to save energy is seldom viewed beyond the components when, in fact, energy efficiency requires an understanding of the systems involved.
Over the pa... Read more.
Harmonic Overload: Impacts Of High-Frequency Switching on Modern Electrical Systems
During the CIGRE Grid of the Future symposium and workshop, harmonics were recognized as a critical focus in modern electrical systems, where high-frequency swi... Read more.
Grid Breaking Point: The True Cost of AI’s Energy Addiction
AI's explosive growth is placing unprecedented demands on our aging power grid. As energy consumption surges, the cracks in our century-old infrastructure are b... Read more.
Voltage, Veterans, and Victory: Building an Engineering Legacy from Military Roots
In mid-November 1984, I entered the US Navy as a prospective electrician through the Chicago MEPS station. Coming from the Chicago Western suburbs, I was sent t... Read more.
Insulation Testing in Transition: The Reshaping of IEEE Standards 43 and P97
We will focus on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Standard 43 and the in-development IEEE P97 for brevity. IEEE 43 is titled "... Read more.
Examining Load Effects on ESA/MCSA and the Importance of Resolution
Over the past few years, some incorrect information has been provided, resulting in standards and trade articles associated with Electrical Signature Analysis (... Read more.
