Safe Remote Inspection and Precision Bearing Lubrication in Hazardous and Clean Areas

Two tasks, one source of risk

A pharmaceutical cleanroom and a hazardous area at a petrochemical plant seem like different worlds at first glance. But they share a common problem: getting in there with a conventional diagnostic instrument is either impossible or expensive and risky — and yet the equipment still needs to be maintained.

In cleanrooms (ISO Class 5–8), personnel entry always carries a contamination risk: gowning, airlocks, disrupting the pressure cascade between zones (typically maintaining a 10–15 Pa differential). In ATEX zones, entering with unsuitable equipment carries a different kind of risk. In both cases, a traditional calendar-based maintenance schedule forces you to either open the zone more often than necessary or miss real defects.

SDT Ultrasound Solutions offers two tools for these tasks: precision acoustic bearing lubrication (LUBExpert) and remote inspection with acoustic cameras (SonaVu, Crysound). Let's look at how they work together.

Why calendar-based lubrication doesn't work

Up to 80% of premature bearing failures are linked to incorrect lubrication — over- or under-greasing. For equipment in cleanrooms and ATEX zones, this is especially painful: every unplanned stop means either a process sterility breach or an unscheduled entry into a hazardous area.

LUBExpert (including the LUBExpert mode on the SDT340 platform) solves this differently: instead of lubricating on a schedule, the instrument listens to the bearing's real-time acoustic signal via the LUBESense1 sensor — a resonant piezoelectric friction sensor — and tells the operator when enough grease has been applied. Guided Mode walks the operator through the procedure step by step, which matters especially when zone entry is time-limited.

For fully automated lines, there's LUBExpert ON-GUARD — a stationary system that lubricates based on condition with no operator involvement at all, removing the question of zone-entry frequency entirely.

Remote inspection: seeing without entering

The second tool is acoustic cameras that visualize the source of ultrasound on a video image. An array of MEMS microphones translates contact and airborne ultrasound into a picture: the operator immediately sees where a gas leak, corona discharge, or mechanical defect is, at a range of up to 50 meters — meaning an inspection can often be performed without entering the controlled zone or ATEX perimeter at all.

In the SDT lineup for these conditions:

• SonaVu+ ATEX — SDT's flagship camera, certified for hazardous areas, with a detection range of up to 200 m.
• Crysound CRY8120 — an ATEX-certified camera from the CRY8120 series with a MEMS microphone array, supplied through the SDT network as a more affordable alternative for the same tasks (gas leaks, corona/partial discharges).

Both cameras solve the same task — detecting electrical anomalies and gas leaks without physical contact with the equipment and without personnel entering the zone.

Where this is applied

• Cleanroom HVAC: supply and exhaust fans — fan bearings are lubricated based on condition, and duct leaks are found remotely.
• Dosing and formulation pumps in pharmaceutical manufacturing — precision lubrication without stopping the line.
• Hazardous areas in oil & gas and chemical industries — finding gas leaks and corona discharges without entering the Ex zone.
• Electrical panels and substations at regulated facilities — detecting partial discharges before failure.

Summary

Combining precision acoustic lubrication (LUBExpert / LUBExpert ON-GUARD) with remote acoustic inspection (SonaVu+ ATEX, Crysound CRY8120 ATEX) shifts maintenance of critical equipment in clean and hazardous areas from a calendar schedule to condition-based maintenance — without unnecessary zone entries and without stopping production.

KEG TRK is the official partner of SDT Ultrasound Solutions in Kazakhstan. We'll help you select the right configuration for your conditions — cleanroom, ATEX zone, or open production.

Contact us: +7 (7172) 64-08-69, info@keg-trk.kz.

---

Based on materials from SDT Ultrasound Solutions.