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FieldMonitor™ a Revolutionary Approach to Integrated Machinery Protection

For more information:
Ms. Jean Van Den Berg
Sr. Applications Engineer
Bently Nevada Corporation
1617 Water Street
Minden, Nevada, USA 89423
Phone: (775) 782-3611
Fax: (775) 782-9256
E-mail: jean.vandenberg@bently.com

 MINDEN, NEVADA, 10 June 1998 - "Bently Nevada's new FieldMonitor™ Machinery Protection System provides the integrity and reliability of our traditional stand-alone vibration monitoring systems with the convenience of a highly integrated solution that can be field-mounted. It results in dramatic installation cost savings for the OEMs, system integrators, and equipment packagers, whose unique needs we designed it to meet," according to Randy Chitwood, VP of Engineering. Savings of 30% or more over previous integrated solutions are estimated.

A small, convenient package, the FieldMonitor™ System affords its owners greater communication flexibility than ever before. Because it relies on network communications as the basis for integration, rather than plug-in cards, it is vastly more adaptable to virtually any controller or industrial I/O structure that uses the protocols supported in the Allen-Bradley 1794 Flex I/O family of network adapters.

With an emphasis on integration between the machinery control system and its related protections systems, installation costs are greatly reduced because:
  • the need for installation in an I/O chassis and the associated field wiring between the monitors and transducers is eliminated.
  • the FieldMonitor™ System can be skid-mounted if desired.
  • the transducer signal conditioning (proximitor® sensor) is integrated with the monitoring system, reducing the number of components and simplifying design.
  • the field wiring between the FieldMonitor™ system and host control system is reduced to a single network connection.
  • the system is scaleable in blocks of 2 channels, allowing the user to buy only what is required, while retaining the option to expand in the future.
  • the monitor is integrated with the control systems, reducing components and simplifying configuration.
  • there is a reduction in installation parts such as terminal blocks, barriers, housings, and XP hardware.
The FieldMonitor™ System accomplishes all this without sacrificing machinery protection functionality or integrity. And, future expansion of this platform to connect with Bently Nevada's extensive line of machinery management software is planned.

"The FieldMonitor™ System is a natural evolution of our pioneering efforts with the 2201 'slot card' Monitoring System, developed in 1992. We've taken what we learned there and made it more broadly applicable to many of our customers' control systems," Chitwood continues. "It illustrates Bently Nevada's commitment to exploring innovative ways to maintain highest quality at lower costs for all rotating and reciprocating machinery."

FieldMonitor is a trademark of Bently Nevada Corporation

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