As machines or the electronics and components within machines begin to move back and forth,

the vibration is preventing a smooth flow of energy. The flow is interrupted, hence the noise and
the shake. Typically its overload due to some sort of stress, or the components themselves may
have reached their useful lifegears, teeth, bearings, or belts may be in the process of failure.
Why monitor vibration? Vibrations produced by industrial machinery are vital indicators of
machinery health. Vibration analysis is used as a tool to determine a machines condition and the
specific cause and location of problems, expediting repairs and minimizing costs. Machinery
monitoring programs record a machine's vibration history. Monitoring vibration levels over time
allows prediction of problems before serious damage can occur.
Critical to vibration monitoring and analysis are machine-mounted sensors. Three parameters
representing motion detected by vibration monitors are displacement, velocity and acceleration.
Mathematically related, the parameters can be taken from a variety of motion sensors. Selection
of a sensor proportional to displacement, velocity, or acceleration depends on the frequencies of
interest and signal levels that are involved.
Displacement sensors are used to measure shaft motion and internal clearances. Non-contact
proximity sensors sense shaft vibration relative to bearings or other support structure. The
sensors are used in low-frequency (1 to 100 Hz) measurement and measure low-amplitude
displacement typically found in sleeve-bearing machine designs. Piezoelectric displacement
transducers solve issues associated with mounting non-contact probes and are more suitable for
rolling element-bearing machine designs. Piezoelectric sensors yield an output proportional to
the absolute motion of a structure.
Velocity sensors are used for low to medium frequency measurements (1 to 1000 Hz) and are
useful for vibration monitoring and balancing operations on rotating machinery. They have lower
sensitivity to high frequency vibrations than accelerometers and are therefore less susceptible to
amplifier overloads. Overloads compromise low amplitude, low frequency signals. Traditional
velocity sensors use an electromagnetic coil and magnet system to generate the velocity signal.
Today, piezoelectric velocity sensors are becoming popular due to improved capabilities and
their rugged nature.
Accelerometers are the preferred motion sensors for most vibration monitoring. They measure
low to very high frequencies and are available in a variety of general purpose and applicationspecific designs. The piezoelectric accelerometer is reliable, versatile, unmatched for frequency
and amplitude range, and popular for machinery monitoring.
When selecting any of the three types, its important to ask the following:

What is the vibration level and frequency range?

What is the temperature range?

Is the environment corrosive or atmosphere combustible?

Are intense fields (electromagnetic or acoustic) involved?

Is there substantial ESD present?

Are there sensor size and weight considerations?

For vibration analysis and condition monitoring, look at sensors with an AC or charge output.
For continuous monitoring and machine protection, sensors with DC output are a better choice.
Five main features must be considered when selecting vibration sensors: measuring range,
frequency range, accuracy, transverse sensitivity and ambient conditions. Measuring range can
be in Gs for acceleration, in/sec for linear velocity (or other distance over time), and inches or
other distance for displacement and proximity.
Frequency is measured in Hz and accuracy is typically represented as a percentage of allowable
error over the full measurement range of the device. Transverse sensitivity refers to the effect a
force orthogonal to the one being measured can have on the reading. Again, this is represented as
percentage of full scale of allowable interference.
For the ambient conditions, such things as temperature should be considered, as well as the
maximum shock and vibration the vibration sensors will be able to handle. This is the rating of
how much abuse the device can stand before it stops performing, much different from how much
vibration or acceleration vibration sensors can measure.
Examples of note
Looking at examples of vibration sensors, the MiniSense 100 Vibration Sensor from
Measurement Specialties, Inc. (Figure 1) is a low-cost cantilever-type vibration sensor that offers
high sensitivity at low frequencies. The active sensor area is shielded for improved RFI/EMI
rejection. Rugged flexible PVDF sensing element withstands high shock overloads.