Equipment monitoring system

The Equipment Monitoring System (EMS), introduced by Raytek, is a noncontact temperature measurement system that enables round-the-clock condition monitoring of actively powered components or operating machinery, supporting predictive and preventive maintenance. Detecting temperature rises or spikes on the surface of equipment, the Raytek multiple head solution acts as an early warning device for critical assets, including switchgear and electrical cabinets, electrical motors, pumps, furnace controls and heating elements. It gives operators notice of thermal issues as they begin to occur, as well as recording data for trend analysis.

Early detection of heat-related faults and failures, along with maintenance performed as needed and not when estimated, result in reduced maintenance costs, less waste from unexpected downtime and higher safety. Temperatures are displayed on the system's LCD control module and/or remotely through the PC-based, Windows 7-compatible DataTemp Multidrop software.

The “plug and play” EMS consists of a control box with circuit breaker, power supply and controller; a connection box with a cable; and sensors with adjustable mounting brackets. It utilizes the field-proven technology of the Raytek MI3 sensors with up to eight sensor heads that can be connected to an MI3 electronics box. The compact system fits in hard-to-reach or enclosed locations and monitors temperature ranges of -40 to +600 °C. The control box and sensors are IP65 rated to ensure long life in harsh environments.

Developed with personnel safety in mind, the Raytek solution allows temperatures to be read from a safe location by anyone on active systems without additional equipment or special training. Users can manually program audible alarm settings through the integrated push button panel on the control module or easily communicate remotely via the RS485 serial interface and DataTemp software. For full factory or machine control, an ASCII protocol allows the system to communicate with an internal control network. The DataTemp Multidrop software enables the simultaneous viewing of multiple points and can be set to monitor up to 32 EMS-systems, providing the ability to see the temperature of, and set early warning alarms on a total of 256 individual monitor points. The software allows operators to easily record and store data; remotely adjust sensor parameters; customize screen views; change sensors from reading object temperature to ambient temperature; change emissivity; and turn filters on/off to scale the range, graph or average.