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RPM Phantom

The RPM Phantom sensor is an easy way to keep track of the velocity of your fans, rotors, or engines without taking the risk of being close to them. Here we will show you how to easy install the sensor on your machines and how to assign to a Machine on DigivibeMX 11.

We will cover just the physical installation and configuration settings. For the Database registry visit the Phantom Wizard tutorial.

Hall Effect Sensor

To work, the sensor uses an electromagnetic effect called Hall effect and needs a special sensor to achieve this measurement. This sensor is included when you buy an RPM Phantom sensor and it’s a 2 meters (6.56 Ft) line with a T head on one side and a LEMO connector in the other.
The pack also includes a neodymium magnet with 12 mm (~ 0.5 inches) in diameter. This magnet creates the magnetic field necessary for the sensor to work properly. (Also, we will send you a spare magnet).

Installing the RPM Phantom 

To achieve correct measurements using the RPM Phantom Sensor there are some considerations we need to understand. The first step to follow is to attach the magnet to the surface of your machine with the North Pole facing out of the machine. Be sure to attach it very firmly so the centrifugal force would not shoot out the magnet.

An easy way to know which pole are you looking at, is to compare the magnet with our magnetic key (the one which reset the phantom). All magnetic keys have the south pole facing towards the key, this means if one face of your magnet feels attracted to the key, that face it’s the North Pole.

Once done, locate the sensor with the bump side facing towards the magnet with a maximum distance of about 1 cm (0.3 inches). If located farther than this, the sensor could have some difficulties to read the correct velocity of the machine.

DigivibeMX Configuration

Go to the phantom window and select Wizard. The Phantom Configuration Wizard screen opens in a new window. Click the Next button. Following we need to add our phantom device, in the select phantom window we have the next options: Option A allows us to manually enter a phantom code, and with option B we can scan the phantom QR code.

Add Phantom’s

Manually 

You can add phantoms by using an 11-digit ID code, select the Manually button. The Code window opens. Manually enter the 11-digit Phantom ID code from the sensor’s QR label (2-digit sensor model code + 9-digit sensor serial number) into the Code text field. Then click the Ok button. The manually entered sensor will appear in the Phantoms added section. Sensors may be removed from the group using the Delete option.

Scanning the QR code

(PC, laptop, or tablet computer camera required): Click the QR Code Reader button. The Code Bar Reader window opens.

Select the desired camera from the Device dropdown list. Position the QR label in front of the camera – squarely and close enough to be clearly read. The Code Bar Reader window will automatically capture the image, momentarily turn green, and document the sensor when it has read the QR code. It will then close automatically, and the scanned sensor will appear in the Phantoms added section.

Naming and configuration

The Set Phantom screen allows users to identify Phantoms using common nomenclature, for easier identification in DigivibeMX Phantom.

We can organize ur phantom devices with the following tools:

  • With the group box, we can select a previous group name from the list or type a new one to create a group.
  • In the name box, we can select a name for our device o to simplify the phantom identification.
  • On the description box, we select what kind of phantom are we using.

Once you’re finished click next.

Assing device

In the next window, we find the Assing Channels screen, here we can assign the device to an analysis point in a selected machine from the tree, we can only set one point per channel:

Set the Alarm

Next, we have the set phantom alarms window, here we can set a preset internal temperature threshold. 

Completing Phantom Configuration

Finally, the Completing Phantom Configuration screen provides an opportunity to add a new phantom sensor and review the sensor configurations. If corrections need to be made, the previous button can be used. If satisfied with the configuration, click Finish to save all changes and close the wizard. Changes can be abandoned by closing the window or clicking Cancel.

To learn more about our  Phantom system please visit the Continuous Vibration Monitoring section. 

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