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Bently Nevada (U.K.), Ltd. Releases Snapshot™ for Windows* CE Portable Data Collector | |
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Snapshot™ for Windows* CE 
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MINDEN, NEVADA, 23 June 2000 – Combining extensive features in a compact package, Bently Nevada (U.K.), Ltd., a subsidiary of Bently Nevada Corporation, today released the industry’s most powerful, cost-effective portable data collection system. The new product, called Snapshot™ for Windows* CE, joins a growing list of items developed and manufactured exclusively by Bently Nevada (U.K.), Ltd. Snapshot™ for Windows* CE Project Manager, Chris Dagnall, describes key elements faced by the design team: "The portable data collection market is huge. There are very few plants left today that don't practice some form of predictive maintenance using a portable data collector for vibration and other condition monitoring disciplines, and with all this experience, customers were quick to tell us what they needed in their next generation of portable data collection instruments." Dagnall continues, "In looking at how we would evolve and improve the data collector offerings Bently Nevada has been providing since the early 1980s, our U.K. development team addressed the four biggest customer needs: small size, multi-channel functionality encompassing both simple data gathering and detailed diagnostics, data collection speed, and low cost. We succeeded on every front, with a great balance of small size yet a very large display, and without skimping on features. In fact, we've actually filed for patents on some of the innovations we came up with." Randy Chitwood, Bently Nevada’s Vice President of Engineering, had a chance to show early prototype units to some of the Company’s international customers. Chitwood reports, "They liked the units so well, they didn't want to give them back. They specifically commented that it collects data quite a bit faster than the competing units they have been using, and we estimate that it is at least 25% faster than other offerings on the market right now." Steve Sabin, Corporate Marketing Manager for Bently Nevada, comments on the significance of this enhanced data processing speed: "There are, conservatively, hundreds of thousands of data collection instruments being used in the world to collect data at monthly intervals, representing millions of hours of labor each month. A 25% reduction is nothing to sneeze at – it’s like getting to work 25% faster each morning – think of what you can do with that extra time to be productive, instead of just ‘traveling’ around your plant collecting data." The new data collection instrument uses Bently Nevada’s System 1™ software, an innovative suite of applications that combines various condition monitoring technologies and data acquisition methods into a unified display and database environment. Snapshot™ for Windows* CE, the Company’s offline data acquisition offering, will be joined in the near future by Bently Nevada’s online data acquisition devices as products compatible with System 1™ software and denoted by the "System 1™ Enabled" logo. Sabin explains the significance: "Condition Monitoring has historically been a very fragmented world, with different software applications required for not just the type of data you are after thermography, vibration, oil analysis, etc. but also the way in which that data is acquired. It really was quite frustrating for the customer to be using so many different software packages to perform tasks that were so fundamentally similar." Sabin goes on, "With System 1™, we've eliminated the gulf between the online and offline data collection worlds by combining them under a single software suite. We've also provided extensibility to other condition monitoring disciplines such as thermography, oil analysis, thermodynamic performance, and others. It’s a single system and that’s why we've called it System 1™." Besides compatibility with System 1™, other features of the Snapshot™ for Windows* CE portable data collection system include a featherweight (less than 4 pounds) package, a generous touch-screen display with backlight, two full channels of parallel processing (with a separate speed/phase input), an intuitive user interface based on the industry-standard Microsoft Windows* CE operating system, and a 10-hour lithium ion battery life, to name a few. "This product is simply unbeatable," enthuses Team Leader Dagnall, "and I'm proud to be associated with it. There’s always that ‘moment of truth’ when you put the product in front of the customer, waiting to see their reaction. When they don't want to give it back after using it for a few hours, that speaks volumes about the job you've done developing something that meets their needs." In addition to launching this new product, the Bently Nevada U.K. website (www.bently.co.uk) provides extensive online resources related to the Snapshot™ for Windows* CE system, including product information, photos, and the ability to order the product online or request more information. Bently Nevada Corporation is the world’s leading supplier of machinery protection and management solutions, and maintains over 80 sales and service offices in the principal industrial centers of 40 countries around the globe. The Company provides a comprehensive scope of instrumentation, software, advanced bearing technology, and engineering services, as well as fundamental rotor dynamic research – all with a common objective: helping customers protect and manage all their machinery. System 1 and Snapshot are trademarks of Bently Nevada Corporation |
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