TESTIMONIALS

I am proud to let you know that our measurements were a success !!! We did not only qualify ourselves to bond the strain gauges but the TorqueTrak system performed seamlessly well in the noisy environment of an engine room of a large vessel (32.000 DWT bulker). [We processed the torque and RPM data using] our computer program, powered by LabVIEW. We used National Instruments^® most modern technology, the CompactRIO, to acquire the signals from the TorqueTrak and to connect a tachometer sensor directly on the hardware. I want to express you our deepest gratitude for your kind, fast and accurate guidance and support through this difficult task. Our client was also marveled with our job.

One of the best tools for taking torsional measurements in the field has been the Binsfeld TorqueTrak10k.  It is easy to install and provides a clean signal torque.  We have used it to successfully troubleshoot torsional failures of many systems such as VFD motors, reciprocating compressors, couplings, etc.  We have also used the TorqueTrak10k to measure axial thrust in vertical pump systems.  In fact, we like the TorqueTrak10k so much that EDI currently owns six of them!

Thank you for keeping me updated on your product lines. My responsibilities at this time primarily involve plant troubleshooting. As you know, the work undertaken by [Binsfeld Engineering Inc.] at Phoenix was highly professional and the information invaluable in rapidly defining one of the major problems at the plant concerned. Your equipment would therefore be the only method I would consider for a similar or other applicable application in the future.

I am writing this to provide feedback to you on our application of the TorqueTrak system. We had a piece of packaging equipment that would continuously break the torque limiter on the main drive. Our technicians inspected the machine and found no reason for the malfunctions. I had the manufacturer inspect the equipment to determine the cause of the “excessive” (their words) strain on the drive train, they found nothing. I received the email from you as we were working through this so I decided to give it a try. Using the TorqueTrak telemetry, we were able to determine that during a small portion of the machine cycle, the machine regularly requires more torque than the OEM torque limiter could supply. In time, the stress would break down the torque limiter causing the malfunction. After determining what our torque requirements were, we then contacted the manufacturer of the torque limiter (not the equipment manufacturer – they said they couldn’t determine what the problem with our machine was) and purchased a torque limiter that was effective through the torque range our machine needed and have operated the equipment without a main drive failure for ten weeks and counting. Thank you again!

We received the two TorqueTrak systems this afternoon. Thanks for the quick delivery. I tested them out and we are very impressed with the ease of setting up the kits and the transmission range/power. In fact I now look forward to the next torsional vibration survey.

I was able to use the TorqueTrak telemetry on a jackshaft in one of our boats and it seemed to work great – calculated HP from the measured torque was close to what was expected. I was a little concerned seeing that stuff spin with just tape holding it but it was OK! I used shaft properties to get a preliminary torque scale factor and will be calibrating with a torque wrench shortly to refine the torque measurements so the engine people will believe the power measurements. Also, I was able to analyze the torque signal with a dynamic signal analyzer to find torsional vibration amplitudes and frequencies in the shaft that were where they were expected to be.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with the new features [of the TorqueTrak 10K as compared to the TorqueTrak 9000], particularly being able to see the voltage on the front of the unit. That’s great. Being able to see the current gain setting and other feedback from the unit on the front display is a great addition. It’s also great to “see” the offset value…we never used that previously as we were always afraid of not knowing “exactly” where that offset was and thus just accomodated for it in post-processing. Now, however, I can see using it with confidence.

A quick test was performed in our lab to compare the TorqueTrak 10K with the TorqueTrak 9000 and the results were comparable. I really like the many new features and improvements the TT10K has over the TT9000.

As a vibration consultant, for a long time I have been looking for a simple, efficient and reliable instrument for measuring torsional vibration, and I have found it in the Binsfeld TorqueTrak instrumentation. Torsional vibration analysis is absolutely necessary in reciprocating, gear transmission, electric motors and generating machinery…I found the torsional instrumentation I needed for solving problems not easily known. I have been measuring torque and torsional vibration with excellent results. A couple of my customers are amazed with the instrument and will possibly contact you. I talked to them about your excellent support.

Clarage builds custom, heavy duty centrifugal and axial fans with applications ranging from petroleum refneries and power plants to mine and tunnel ventilation. One of our principal “selling points” is effciency of our fan designs. Because of the increased value placed on power savings (especially recently), tremendous emphasis is placed by our customers on testing our fans at our facility for performance and power consumption. For the better part of three decades, Clarage has used in-line torque transducers [not Binsfeld] to measure fan power. Our fans are direct-coupled to motors (i.e. motor shaft-coupling-fan shaft) which are mounted on unitary bases with the rest of the fan. In order to attach the old in-line torque measurement device, we had to slide the motor back, insert the torque meter between it and the fan shaft and use tempor ary grid couplings to combine them (i.e motor s aft-coupling-torque meter-coupling- fan shaft). After testing was complete, we would remove the torque met and slide the arrangement back to its proper confguration. Being a custom fan manufacturer, we very rarely make the same size fan twice. This is true of the fan shafts too. As a result, most of the temporary grid couplings were scrapped after use. As you can imagine the cost of material and assembly add up over time.

We had a project in-house in December that required eight (8) fans to be tested in four weeks and factoring in assembly time for each fan as well as the time taken to install the old transducers, we could not meet that schedule with our old system. We purchased the Binsfeld TorqueTrak 10K telemetry instrument after extensive research on process improvement. I am happy to say that using the TT10K was simplicity itself and the results were fantastic. We no longer had to re-confgure the fan to perform a test. The TT10K receiver and strain gauge could attach directly to the fan shaft and wirelessly transmit the data for us to read power consumption. Binsfeld customer service was impeccable and went a long way in making our initial experience with the device as smooth as possible. We could not have met  our schedule without the TT10K and the I estimate we saved about 80-100 hours in labor on that contract alone (not  to mention the cost of temporary couplings). I am more than happy to recommend the TT10K product from Binsfeld Engineering.

When I first saw our engineer’s requisition for this order, I was kind of expecting difficulty in placing it, but you proved me wrong. You’ve reacted quickly in getting us set up as a new customer, and have kept me informed every step of the way as the order moved through your system. I want you to know how much I appreciate this; it makes me happy when a vendor makes my job so easy!

The TorqueTrak Revolution has been installed since December 8, 2002 and is working great. I was concerned that it would be difficult to install and/or calibrate. I was very busy during the shutdown and gave the TorqueTrak Revolution and the user’s guide to one of the E&I Technicians to install; I told him to not worry about calibrating the unit; simply run power to it, install the load cell [strain gage] and connect the output to the DCS; we would get it calibrated and working some time after start-up. When the paper machine started back up, I worked for several days debugging some software that had been added during the shutdown and did not even think about the TorqueTrak. I had walked by the unit and made sure the installation was correct, but, that was about it. I finally got some time and decided to put the TorqueTrak Revolution on line. The E&I Technician told me that the TorqueTrak was [already] on line and working. He said that when he installed it, he followed the set-up instructions in the guide and the unit had come up working. He asked me to verify the set-up and his scaling in the DCS for the 4-20 MA signal. I verified that all was correct. As I stated, the unit is working well and everyone is impressed with its operation, stability and simplicity. I wish everything we added to this machine worked as well from the beginning.

The TorqueTrak Revolution installation went very smoothly. We had no significant issues and the calibration was SIMPLE. To date, our customer has run several hundred tests and has reported no problems relating to torque. I am monitoring the installation now for reliability (drift, erratic readings, component failure, etc.) but, I don’t really anticipate any problems in the foreseeable future. Thanks for your help.