Meeting the Predictive Maintenance Needs of Industrial Plants with On-Site Oil Analysis System

Spectro Scientific (USA), a leading developer and manufacturer of analytical tools and software for fluid and machine condition monitoring, has introduced the MiniLab 53 on-site oil analysis system. This product is a result of new development from intellectual property rights Spectro acquired from Emerson Process Management in 2012 -- specifically the CSI 5200 Machinery Health Oil Analyzer.

Designed for use by industrial plant personnel, the MiniLab 53 combines multiple tests in one unit to monitor lubricant chemistry, contamination and machinery wear. 

As corrosion and wear are the root causes of most mechanically-induced equipment downtime, performing on-site oil analysis allows operators to understand the condition of their machinery before a problem occurs. The MiniLab 53 is a practical solution that eliminates the wait and costs associated with sending samples to an off-site testing facility. The system provides machine wear data and trend analyses, enabling users to make immediate, condition-based decisions to reduce unexpected downtime and eliminate potential machine failures.

In analysing fluid chemistry, the FluidScan IR technology measures Total Acid Number (TAN), Total Base Number (TBN), soot, oxidation, nitration and sulfation. The FluidScan delivers comprehensive water measurement capability (patent pending) in both dissolved and free water of the oil sample, offering a practical replacement to Karl Fischer analysis. The MiniLab 53 also provides high accuracy 40C kinematic viscosity measurements. The removable viscometer and handheld IR spectrometer enable complete portable oil condition monitoring.  

The MiniLab 53 measures fluid contamination via the LaserNet Fines (LNF) particle counter that provides total particle count, size distribution and ISO codes as well as a count of non-metallic particles. Data acquired for wear analysis include a fluid’s total ferrous content at ppm levels as well as particle count and size distribution for large ferrous particles. The MiniLab 53 directly images wear particle silhouettes and counts. It classifies to identify types of wear debris, wear modes and potential sources of the particles.

Spectro Scientific President and CEO Brian Mitchell said, “The MiniLab 53 represents the next generation of on-site oil analysis systems for use by industrial facilities. The system provides immediate answers about the health of high-value equipment with real-time analyses at the plant location. This information provided by the MiniLab 53 facilitates maintenance actions that prevent downtime, reduce maintenance costs and ensure machinery is running with optimal fluid performance. This analytical platform was developed as a result of the alliance we formed with Emerson Process Management in 2012 when we acquired the CSI 5200 MiniLab oil analysis product line.”

The MiniLab 53 integrates seamlessly with Emerson’s AMS Machinery Health Manager OilView software.  A sample is created in OilView and downloaded to the MiniLab 53. Once measurements are made, the data is automatically transferred to the user database where sample and trend reports enable informed preventative maintenance decisions.