Now We Can Laugh - Intermittent Electrical Problems

Presented by Clarence Klassen, KlassENgineering

At the mention of "electrical problems", many of us are filled with dread. This is made worse when the problem is intermittent. I will describe many common intermittent complaints and troubleshooting methods for electrical web handling equipment. In this presentation, an intermittent electrical fault results in an unexpected stop of web handling equipment or unexpected loss of product quality.

Intermittent electrical problems take several forms. A device such as a motor tachometer may give intermittent bad speeds. Loose connections are a constant source of intermittent faults. Faulty machine to machine communications can result in intermittent operation. Software may produce random unexpected operations.

Troubleshooting intermittent electrical problems has improved greatly over the years. Years ago we used expensive 8 channel chart recorders to plot the most important signals leaving one or 2 channels for troubleshooting intermittent problems. Today we may digitally monitor 200 or more channels with high frequency. At lower frequencies, we may monitor thousands of signals as well as multiple high-speed video streams. New software can search this data to zoom in on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) such as sheet breaks, excessive vibration, torque variations, or speed variations.