3300 XL Series

Proximity
Transducer
System Operation

© 2007 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Proximity Transducer
System Operation
Objectives
• Explain general construction & operation of proximity
transducer system
• Calculate scale factor values mathematically
• Describe use of calibration verification equipment
• Name installation conditions that affect proximity transducer
system operation

© 2007 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Proximitor Operation
<100mil

RF SIGNAL

EXTENSION
PROXIMITOR
CABLE
AND PROBE

DEMODULATOR

OSCILLATOR

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Eddy Current Flow

CONDUCTIVE
MATERIAL

RF SIGNAL

EDDY CURRENTS

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Small Gap / Large Gap

+10
RF SIGNAL 0
-10

+12

RF SIGNAL 0

-12

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Changing Gap

RF SIGNAL 0

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Demodulator Operation

DEMODULATOR
INPUT 0

PROXIMITOR
0 DC
Gap
OUTPUT

AC
peak to
peak 7

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Proximity Transducer System
Usage

RADIAL MOVEMENT

AXIAL MOVEMENT

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Proximity Probe Used as a
Keyphasor®

Keyphasor notch
Vibration amplitude

Timing amplitude

Shaft Keyphasor signal

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Proximity Transducer
System Components

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Triaxial Cable

CENTER
CONDUCTOR

OUTER INNER
SCREEN SCREEN

INSULATION

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Click lock connector

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3300 XL Proximitor
Part Numbering

ELECTRICAL LENGTH
SIGNAL OUTPUT
SIGNAL COMMON
TRANSDUCER POWER

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3300XL Probe
Part Numbering

P/N 330101-05-30-10-02-00

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3300XL Extension Cable
Part Numbering

P/N 330130-080-00-00

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Transducer System
Serial Numbering

P/N 330130-080-00-00

S/N APRS 416567

or
S/N 02E46A5D P/N 330101-05-30-10-02-00

S/N JUNY 214987

or
S/N 02J02048

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Verification of Proximity
Transducer Operation

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Verifying the resistance of the
extension cable and probe
MULTIMETER

0 10 20 30
OFF V
V
U 300 mV

PRESS
A
A RANGE
AUTORANGE
TOUCH HOLD
10A V

1000V
750V
FUSED

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Proximitor Verification Graph
24
22
CHANGE IN GAP
20

18

16
OUTPUT (- Vdc)

CHANGE IN VOLTAGE
14
12
10

8
6

2
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140
PROBE GAP (mils)
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Verification of Scale Factor

Average Scale Factor (ASF) equals:

Change in gap voltage

Change in gap
OR

Vdc @ 90 mils- Vdc @ 10 mils

90 mils – 10 mils
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Verification of Scale Factor
(5 and 8mm probes only)

(-18.0Vdc) - (-2.0Vdc)
(90 – 10) mils

= 200 mV/mil
or
= 7.87 mV/um

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Incremental scale factor
Measured Voltages Corresponding Incremental variances
in 5 mil increments (% deviation from 200 mV/mil)

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Proximitor Calibration Equipment

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Proximitor Verification
Equipment Setup

PROBE

TARGET

SPINDLE MICROMETER

EXTENSION CABLE
PROXIMITOR

DC VOLTMETER

-VT
INPUT

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Component Mismatch Effects
24

22

20
SHORT
18

16 CORRECT
OUTPUT (-Vdc)

14

12

10

6
LONG
4

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

PROBE GAP (mils) 25

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Power Supply Voltage Effects
24

22

20 -24V SUPPLY

18
OUTPUT (-Vdc)

16

14

12 -16V SUPPLY

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

26
PROBE GAP (mils)
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Probe Crosstalk

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Sideview Effect

28

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Effects of Target Size

YES

NO

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Target Material Effects
24
22

20

18

16
OUTPUT (-Vdc)

14

12

10

6 4140 STEEL
TUNGSTEN
ALUMINUM
4
COPPER
2

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

PROBE GAP (mils) 30

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Noise

Noise is defined to be un-desirable signal

components which:
• DISTORTS THE DATA
• Interferes with the ability to extract information about the
condition of the machinery from the data.
• Contains NO relevant information about the condition of the
machinery.

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Basic Installation Rules

Use a single point ground for the entire system

and take precautions to avoid ground loops.
Use only shielded cables and insure the
shields are properly grounded.
Verify cables and connectors are known to be
good.
Separate cable trays or conduit for power from
signal cables.

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Proper Grounding Practices

Think of an installation as two separate, but

overlaid and interacting circuits:
• a power circuit and
• a signal circuit

Voltage is measured relative to a reference.

• For power circuits, the voltage reference is earth ground.
• For signal circuits, the voltage reference is signal common.

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Single Point Ground

Proximitor Monitor Rack Signal Common to

Signal Earth Ground
Probe Common Connection
Supply Voltage

Isolated From
Earth Ground Earth Ground

To avoid noise, connections between signal common and earth

must occur at earth ground points of equal voltage potential.
This is done by connecting signal common and earth ground
together at a single point (usually at the monitor rack).

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Single Point Ground
Reference wiring diagram without barriers

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Single Point Ground
Reference wiring diagram with barriers

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Single Point Ground
Controlling where the 3500 System is grounded

Grounding switch
on the 3500 Power
Input Module

Open: system
grounded through the
GRD terminal on the
terminal strip connector
Closed: system ground
at another location such
as when barriers are
used. 37

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Ground Loops
Connecting a diagnostic instrument to a properly installed
monitor rack can create a ground loop problem. If a signal
common and earth ground are connected inside the instrument,
another earth ground point will exist.
Instrument
Proximitor Monitor Rack
Signal
Signal Common
Probe Common
Supply Voltage
Signal
Isolated From Common
Earth Ground Earth Ground Signal Input
Coax
Connector

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Breaking Signal Common From
Earth Ground
Commonly seen methods used
on instruments to break signal
common from earth ground.

Signal
Input

Signal
Common Signal
SHORTING BAR Common
BINDING MAY BE
POSTS CONNECTED OR Isolated Earth
DiSCONNECTED
Earth
Ground

SLIDE
SWITCH

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Eliminating Ground Loops
Break the ground
connection if
significant voltage Power Monitor Monitor Power
difference exists. Supply Supply
Volt
Meter
COM SIG SIG COM

Break ground
connection here
Make ground
connection here
Coaxial Cable

1 2

Isolated Signal Common

INSTRUMENT

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Connectors for Breaking Signal
Common Connections
BANANA LEAD
TO INSTRUMENT FROM MONITOR RACK

BNC CONNECTOR

COAX CABLE
FROM INSTRUMENT TO MONITOR RACK
BINDING POST

Use single banana plug to coaxial cable adapter to connect the

signals from all other monitor racks. If the instrument cannot be
isolated from earth ground, use the single wire adapters for all
signals from all monitor racks.

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© 2007 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Ground Loops
Connecting a computer might introduce another earth ground
into the system. To break this ground loop, use an isolated short-
haul modem or opto-isolator in the communication link.
EARTH GROUND

AC OUTLET
COMMUNICATION SIGNAL INPUT
CABLE CABLE

INSTRUMENT
MONITOR
COM SIGNAL
COM

COMPUTER
GROUND LOOP
SIGNAL COMMON
SIGNAL COMMON
TO EARTH
ISOLATED FROM
CONNECTION
EARTH GROUND
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Mechanical Source

Runout: the measurable changes in a vibration

signal that are not due to shaft motion.
Two types of Runout:
• Mechanical Runout
• Electrical Runout

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Mechanical Runout

Probe tip to shaft centerline =

constant

Probe tip to shaft surface = changing

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Electrical Runout

Results from non-uniform conductivity or

permeability properties of the observed shaft.
Sources:
• non-uniform alloying
• plating of the shaft surface
• localized stress concentrations in shaft material
• localized magnetized areas on the shaft

Electrical runout cannot be measured with a

dial indicator and is usually not visible.
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Noise Elimination

Filters - remove everything from the signal within the

frequency reject band of the filter, i.e., both noise and
information.
Compensation - process of removing noise from a
signal by subtracting only the noise components.
Not all noise can be compensated. Accurate
compensation is difficult and expensive.
Criteria for compensation:
• Noise must be measurable
• Noise must be constant xxx and repeatable
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Noise Elimination
Using filters to eliminate noise
Frequency components Corresponding Timebase Waveform

Low
pass
filter
applied

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Noise Elimination
Using compensation to eliminate
noise
Runout and permanent bows observed by
displacement transducers are suitable for
compensation because runout is constant, xxx
repeatable and measurable.

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Noise Elimination
Using slow roll compensation to
eliminate noise
Slow Roll - is the speed at which dynamic
motion is insignificantly small.
Vector compensation – subtracting the 1X (or
nX) slow roll vector component from the
measured 1X (or nX) vector.

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Noise Elimination
Using runout compensation to
eliminate noise
Runout Compensation - requires taking many
synchronous samples during a shaft revolution
at slow roll speed and storing these values.
At operating machine speed, sampling the
shaft again in the same manner.
Subtract the corresponding slow roll sample
from each sample taken at operating speed
yields a runout compensated waveform without
runout noise.
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Noise Elimination
Using runout compensation to
eliminate noise
A Runout Compensated waveform represents the
pure dynamic waveform without any runout noise.

Actual Vibration pp = Measured Vibration pp - Slow Roll pp

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RUNOUT COMPENSATION
(IN-PHASE)
0.7 MEASURED DIRECT WAVEFORM
MILS PP

-0.7

SLOW ROLL WAVEFORM

MILS PP

0.3
0
-0.3

0.7 - 0.3 = 0.4 0-0=0 -0.7 - (-0.3) = -0.4

MILS PP

0.4
0

-0.4
RUNOUT COMPENSATED WAVEFORM

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RUNOUT COMPENSATION
(IN-PHASE)

Actual Vibration pp = Measured Vibration pp ± Slow Roll pp

Actual Vibration pp = 1.4 mils pp - 0.6 mils pp
Actual Vibration pp = 0.8 mils pp

0.7 MEASURED DIRECT WAVEFORM

MILS PP

-0.7

SLOW ROLL WAVEFORM

MILS PP

0.3
0
-0.3

0.7 - 0.3 = 0.4 0-0=0 -0.7 - (-0.3) = -0.4

0.4
MILS PP

-0.4
RUNOUT COMPENSATED WAVEFORM

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RUNOUT COMPENSATION
(OUT-of-PHASE)
0.7
MILS PP

-0.7
MEASURED DIRECT WAVEFORM
MILS PP

0.3
0
-0.3
SLOW ROLL WAVEFORM

-0.7 - 0.3 = -1.0 0-0=0

MILS PP

0.4 0.7 - (-0.3) = 1.0

0

-0.4
RUNOUT COMPENSATED WAVEFORM

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RUNOUT COMPENSATION
(OUT-of-PHASE)
Actual Vibration pp = Measured Vibration pp ± Slow Roll pp
Actual Vibration pp = 1.4 mils pp + 0.6 mils pp
Actual Vibration pp = 2.0 mils pp

0.7
MILS PP

-0.7
MEASURED DIRECT WAVEFORM
MILS PP

0.3
0
-0.3
SLOW ROLL WAVEFORM

-0.7 - 0.3 = -1.0 0-0=0

0.4
MILS PP

0.7 - (-0.3) = 1.0

0

-0.4
RUNOUT COMPENSATED
WAVEFORM

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© 2007 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Review Questions
The four parts of a proximity transducer system are:
a. Probe
b. Extension cable
c. Proximitor
d. Shaft

The 3300XL Proximitor cable used is comprised of what three components?

outer screen ____________,
____________, inner screen and ________________.
center conductor

What is the electrical length of the following probe?

330106-05-30-05-02-00 ______.
0.5M

What is the electrical length of the following extension cable?

330130-045-00-00 ______.
4.5M

What is the total electrical length required by the following Proximitor?

330100-50-00 ______.
5.0M

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Review Questions
-17.5 Vdc
The Proximitor must be supplied with a dc voltage between _________,
-26.0 Vdc
and _________.

An ____
RF field is created around the probe. It extends away from the face of
the probe for linear range of at least _______.
80 mils

When a conductive material is within range of the probe, what kind of

eddy current
electrical flow is induced in the surface of that material? _____________.

material it has as a target.

A Proximitor must be calibrated to suit the ________

negative as the target

The dc output from the Proximitor will become less _________
moves closer to the probe.

0Hz(dc) to _______
A proximity system frequency response is from ________ 12KHz and
its output may contain an ____
ac and a ____
dc component.

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Review Questions
Name three applications for a proximity transducer system.
a. Thrust measurement
(axial)
b. Vibration measurement
(radial)
c. Keyphasor

Calculate the scale factor (sf) from the following: 90mils = -18.5Vdc,
10mils = -2.25Vdc. 203mV/mil Is it within tolerance? Yes, 1.5% error

Name six reasons why a proximity system could be out of tolerance.

a. Incorrect supply voltage d. Crosstalk

b. Mismatched components e. Sideview

c. Incorrect target material f. Incorrect target size

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Review Questions

Ground loops cannot occur when you connect diagnostic instrumentation directly to
the installed transducers instead of to the monitor rack.

False

If the measured direct vibration level displayed on a monitor reads 3.0 mils pp and
there is 2.0 mils pp of runout, then the actual dynamic vibration level is 1.0 mil pp.

True

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© 2007 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Proximity Transducer
System Operation

Question
&
Answer

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© 2007 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.