Issue link: https://te.mouser.com/i/1349224
TE CONNECTIVITY SENSORS /// TREND PAPER THE DRIVE TO GO FROM WIRED TO WIRELESS WIRELESS VIBRATION SENSORS FOR CONDITION MONITORING As the march towards digitization continues unabated, one lesson that becomes clear is that the demand for data is never satisfied. Supplying this data, however, must be done economically. Condition monitoring of plant assets is no different. Conventional installations require a multi-conductor, shielded cable to be connected to the sensor installed on the machine and run all the way back to a central machinery protection system. The total cable run length could be hundreds of feet long. Every sensor requires this. With multiple sensors, thousands of feet of cable are required. Further, to meet National Electrical Code® and local plant requirements, typically the first tens of feet of cable from the sensor at the machine is required to be installed in conduit. The remaining length back to the central station is often bundled in larger conduits or cable trays. All of this adds up to expensive labor and materials and it is not easily scalable. Wireless sensors solve this problem. The wireless gateway is hard-wired back to a central station. But many wireless sensors are handled by a single gateway, thus eliminating the cable and conduit from the machine. Now the single cable from the gateway back to the central station is carrying data from many sensors, not just one. This is an easily scalable architecture, as the gateway can likely handle additional wireless sensors, or an additional gateway could be installed to accommodate an additional double or triple the number of sensors – a task that would be impossible to do the conventional way at the same cost. Wireless sensors obviously require batteries to perform as expected. The most significant factor in the success or failure of utilizing wireless sensors is the battery's performance. Having to frequently replace depleted batteries chips away at the economic business case for using wireless sensors, not to mention loss of data while the sensor is left unpowered. Technological improvements in battery performance have not kept up with other performance improvements in electronics, until recently. The drive for electrification in the transportation sectors (electric vehicles) and aerial drones has dramatically lowered the cost of batteries and improved their performance. Lithium based batteries, still the best technology and preferred choice for wireless applications, has come down in price significantly, from about $1,200 per kWh in 2010 to about $175 per kWh in 2018. The day is not far off when operating an electric vehicle will be cheaper than operating a gas-powered vehicle. Availability of improved battery life makes operation of wireless sensors feasible economically. Going from replacing batteries every few months, to every year, to every two years and beyond suddenly makes operation of wireless sensors cost competitive with wired sensors. DRIVER 1: EVER-INCREASING DEMAND FOR DATA BY PLANT OPERATORS AT AN ECONOMICAL PRICE DRIVER 2: CONTINUED ELECTRIFICATION HAS DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED BATTERY PERFORMANCE