What is Wireless Monitoring? Cable-Free Condition Monitoring • Portable balancer, vibration analyzer "Balanset" for dynamic balancing crushers, fans, mulchers, augers on combines, shafts, centrifuges, turbines, and many others rotors What is Wireless Monitoring? Cable-Free Condition Monitoring • Portable balancer, vibration analyzer "Balanset" for dynamic balancing crushers, fans, mulchers, augers on combines, shafts, centrifuges, turbines, and many others rotors

What is Wireless Monitoring? Cable-Free Condition Monitoring

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Understanding Wireless Monitoring

Definition: What is Wireless Monitoring?

Wireless monitoring (also called wireless sensor networks or WSN) refers to condition monitoring systems using battery-powered sensors that transmit vibration, temperature, and other data via radio frequency (RF) communication to central receivers, eliminating the need for signal cables between sensors and monitoring hardware. Wireless systems combine sensor, local processing, radio transmitter, and battery in compact packages mounted directly on equipment, communicating measurements to gateways/receivers that forward data to monitoring software via facility networks.

Wireless monitoring dramatically reduces installation costs (no cable pulling), enables monitoring of rotating equipment, temporary installations, and hard-to-access locations, and allows rapid expansion of monitoring coverage. Technology advances in low-power electronics and energy harvesting are making wireless increasingly viable for permanent online monitoring applications.

System Architecture

Wireless Sensor Nodes

  • Sensor: MEMS or piezoelectric accelerometer, temperature sensor
  • Processor: Microcontroller for signal processing and data compression
  • Radio: Low-power transmitter (2.4 GHz, sub-GHz typical)
  • Power: Battery (3-5 years typical) or energy harvesting
  • Size: Compact package (credit card to deck of cards)

Network Infrastructure

  • Gateways/Receivers: Collect data from multiple sensor nodes
  • Mesh Networking: Sensors relay through each other extending range
  • Cloud Connectivity: Internet connection for remote access
  • Software: Trending, analysis, alarming, reporting

Advantages

Installation Simplicity

  • No cable pulling (major cost savings)
  • Mount sensor, configure network, operational
  • Installation time: minutes vs. hours for wired
  • Minimal skilled labor required

Flexibility

  • Easy to add or relocate sensors
  • Temporary monitoring straightforward
  • Pilot programs low-risk
  • Scalable incrementally

Hard-to-Access Equipment

  • Remote locations (tanks, towers, overhead)
  • Rotating equipment (difficult to wire)
  • Hazardous areas (minimize intrusions)
  • Distributed assets (pipelines, wind farms)

Cost-Effectiveness

  • Lower installation cost than wired
  • Enables monitoring equipment previously uneconomical
  • Expand coverage within same budget

Limitations and Challenges

Battery Life

  • Finite operating life (1-5 years typical)
  • Battery replacement required
  • Must track battery status
  • Energy harvesting helps but adds complexity

Data Resolution

  • Limited processing power (battery conservation)
  • Lower sample rates than wired systems
  • Reduced spectral detail
  • May miss high-frequency content

Communication Reliability

  • RF interference from electrical equipment
  • Range limitations (metal structures attenuate signals)
  • Potential data loss if communication interrupted
  • Network management complexity

Security Concerns

  • Wireless vulnerable to hacking/interference
  • Encryption and authentication needed
  • Cybersecurity considerations

Applications

General Equipment Coverage

  • Extend monitoring to previously unmonitored equipment
  • Cost-effectively monitor large equipment populations
  • Balance-of-plant equipment

Temporary Monitoring

  • Short-term diagnostic campaigns
  • Equipment on loan/rent
  • Construction equipment
  • Seasonal equipment

Remote Assets

  • Wind turbines
  • Pipeline equipment
  • Mining equipment
  • Distributed facilities

Technology Trends

Energy Harvesting

  • Vibration energy harvesting extends battery life
  • Thermal gradient harvesting
  • Solar for outdoor applications
  • Approaching self-sustaining operation

Edge Processing

  • More analysis at sensor node
  • Transmit only alarms or compressed data
  • Reduces power and bandwidth needs

IIoT Integration

  • Industrial Internet of Things platforms
  • Cloud-based analytics
  • Machine learning at scale
  • Smartphone/tablet interfaces

Selection Criteria

Use Wireless When:

  • Cabling cost prohibitive or impractical
  • Need to monitor many moderate-priority machines
  • Temporary or trial monitoring
  • Remote or distributed equipment
  • Standard vibration analysis adequate (not critical protection)

Use Wired When:

  • Critical equipment requiring continuous high-fidelity monitoring
  • Machinery protection (automatic shutdown) required
  • Very high sample rates or spectral resolution needed
  • Regulatory mandate for hardwired systems

Wireless vibration monitoring represents an enabling technology that makes condition monitoring economically practical for equipment previously excluded from programs due to cabling costs. While not replacing wired systems for critical applications, wireless greatly expands monitoring coverage, provides flexible temporary monitoring, and enables new applications in remote and distributed assets, democratizing condition monitoring across industrial facilities.

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