Understanding the Vibrometer

Devices

Portable balancer & Vibration analyzer Balanset-1A

€1,975.00 + VAT (if applicable)

Parts

Vibration sensor

€90.00 + VAT (if applicable)

Parts

Optical Sensor (Laser Tachometer)

€124.00 + VAT (if applicable)

Devices

Balanset-4

€6,803.00 + VAT (if applicable)

Parts

Magnetic Stand Insize-60-kgf

€46.00 + VAT (if applicable)

Parts

Reflective tape

€10.00 + VAT (if applicable)

Devices

Dynamic balancer “Balanset-1A” OEM

€1,735.00 + VAT (if applicable)

A vibrometer — often called a vibration meter or vibration pen — is a simple, handheld electronic instrument used to take a quick reading of the overall vibration level on a machine. It is a screening tool, designed for easy use by maintenance staff, operators and mechanics who need a fast verdict on machine health without the training that full vibration analysis demands. Where a vibration analyzer answers “what is wrong and how bad is it?”, a vibrometer answers the simpler but still vital question “is there a problem here at all?”

1. Definition: What is a Vibrometer?

Unlike a sophisticated analyzer, a vibrometer does not normally display a frequency spectrum. Instead it reduces the whole vibration signal to a single number representing the total vibrational energy within a predefined frequency band. That single figure — typically an overall RMS velocity in mm/s — is enough to tell an operator whether a machine has changed since last time, even though it reveals nothing about why. The deliberate trade of diagnostic detail for speed and simplicity is the entire point of the instrument.

2. How a Vibrometer Works

A vibrometer packs a sensor, signal-processing electronics and a display into one compact body. The measurement chain is short and self-contained:

1. The operator presses the tip of the vibrometer against a bearing housing or other defined measurement point.
2. An internal accelerometer senses the vibration and converts it into an electrical signal.
3. The electronics filter that signal to a specific band — commonly 10 Hz to 1,000 Hz, the range recommended by ISO standards for general machine-health assessment.
4. The filtered signal is processed into a single overall amplitude, most often the RMS of velocity, because velocity RMS in this band correlates well with the damaging energy a machine experiences.
5. That one RMS velocity value is shown on the display, for example 4.5 mm/s.

Many vibrometers add a simple traffic-light display — green, yellow, red — derived from the vibration-severity charts in standards such as ISO 20816-1 (the modern successor to the long-familiar ISO 10816, itself a replacement for the withdrawn ISO 2372). This gives an instant “good”, “satisfactory” or “unacceptable” verdict on the machine’s condition. The thresholds behind those colours depend on machine class and mounting; you can look them up for a specific machine with our ISO 10816 / 20816 vibration-severity reference, and convert between units with the vibration unit converter.

3. Balanset-1A in Vibrometer Mode

Vibromera’s Balanset-1A is a dual-channel, PC-based system that can act as a virtual vibrometer (its Vibration Meter mode), using external vibration sensors and its Windows software. In this mode the program periodically displays the measured values on the laptop screen and can additionally show time waveforms and spectra — a useful step up from a single-number pen, while keeping the screening workflow simple.

Hardware used in Vibrometer mode:

• Two vibration sensors (accelerometers) connected to inputs X1 and X2 of the USB interface unit.
• A photoelectric phase-angle sensor (laser tachometer) connected to input X3 — optional if you only need overall RMS vibration.
• A reflective mark applied to the rotor surface for the phase/RPM sensor.
• A Windows laptop or PC running the Balanset-1A software.

What the software shows in Vibrometer mode:

• Overall vibration velocity (RMS) for each channel: V1s, V2s.
• 1× vibration (RMS) for each channel: V1o, V2o.
• Phase of the 1× vibration for each channel: F1, F2 (when the phase sensor is used).
• Rotor speed: N rev.

How the measurement starts (software workflow):

1. Install the vibration sensors on the machine and connect them to X1 and X2 of the USB interface unit.
2. If you need RPM and phase, connect the phase-angle sensor to X3 and apply a reflective mark to the rotor.
3. In the main program window, select vibration measurement on one channel (single plane) or on two channels (two plane).
4. Press “F5 – Vibration meter” to open Vibrometer mode.
5. Press “F9 – Run” to start the measurement; the values update periodically in the Vibrometer window.

If the phase-angle sensor is disconnected, Vibrometer mode still works for overall RMS vibration (V1s, V2s), but the program will not display RPM, the 1× component, or phase. In practice this mode is also used as a pre-flight check before balancing: it confirms that the dominant vibration component is genuinely 1× (running speed), since balancing only helps when the problem is unbalance rather than, say, misalignment or a bearing fault. This is exactly the boundary where a simple vibrometer reading stops and true analysis must begin.

Software screenshots (Balanset-1A Vibrometer mode)

4. Role in a Maintenance Programme

The vibrometer is an excellent entry-level instrument for an organisation beginning a condition monitoring programme. It bridges the gap between doing nothing and committing to a full-scale predictive maintenance system, delivering most of the early-warning value at a fraction of the cost and training.

• Screening tool: dozens of machines can be checked quickly. Any machine showing a high or rising reading is flagged for detailed investigation by a trained analyst with a proper analyzer.
• Operator rounds: operators can be taught to take vibrometer readings on daily or weekly rounds, providing an early warning of developing problems between formal surveys.
• Verification: a before-and-after reading confirms the success of a repair — for instance after a bearing change or an alignment job — by showing that the vibration level has genuinely dropped.

Its real power emerges through trending: a single absolute reading means little, but a series of readings on the same point reveals a rising trend that betrays a fault while there is still ample time to plan a repair. Comparing each reading against a known-good baseline turns a crude number into a meaningful decision.

5. Vibrometer vs. Vibration Analyzer

The two instruments are complementary rather than competing — they sit at different points in the same workflow.

Aspect	Vibrometer (Vibration Meter)	Vibration Analyzer
Purpose	Quick screening and overall-level checks	In-depth diagnostics and root-cause analysis
Output	A single overall value (e.g. RMS velocity)	Detailed FFT spectra, time waveforms, phase readings
Typical user	Maintenance technicians, operators, mechanics	Trained vibration analysts
Question answered	“Is there a problem?”	“What is the specific problem, and how severe?”

A vibrometer is invaluable for its simplicity and speed, but it cannot identify the cause of vibration. A high reading proves only that a problem exists; it takes a vibration analyzer — and the FFT spectrum, phase and waveform it provides — to determine whether that problem is unbalance, misalignment, a bearing spall, looseness, or something else. The sensible strategy is to screen widely and cheaply with vibrometers, then deploy analysis only where the screening points to trouble. An instrument such as the Balanset-1A is useful here precisely because it spans both roles: it screens overall level like a vibrometer, yet can drop straight into spectrum and phase measurement — and into single- or two-plane balancing — once a fault is found.

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