SDT + Artesis at a cement plant: mills, kilns, fans

A cement plant runs several dozen large drives (0.4–6 MW) in dust, vibration and abrasive conditions year-round. One raw or cement mill going down costs the production department hundreds of tonnes of clinker per day. SDT340 covers mechanics and lubrication, Artesis e-MCM covers motor condition without stopping the line.

Industry overview: SDT by industry · Artesis by industry. A related asset type — mining and beneficiation plant.

Plant map

Area	Key assets	Downtime risk	Tool
Crushing and raw storage	Crushers, conveyors, screens	High (line start-up)	SDT340, LUBExpert
Raw mill	Trunnion bearings, gearbox, drive motor	Critical	SDT340 + Artesis e-MCM
Rotary kiln	Support rollers, girth gear, drive	Critical, planned stops are costly	SDT340, thermal
Clinker cooler and ID fans	Fan bearings, motors	High	SDT340, Artesis e-MCM
Cement mill	Ball charge, bearings, gearbox	Critical	SDT340 + LUBExpert
Pneumatic conveying and packing	Compressors, valves, hoses	Medium (air losses)	LeakChecker

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Mills: trunnion bearings and girth gear

Raw and cement mills are the plant's most capital-intensive asset. Trunnion bearings run on an oil film, and the girth gear turns at under 20 rpm — vibration gives little early warning here, while ultrasound picks up friction and early pitting long before it becomes audible in the shop.

• Trunnion bearing lubrication — LUBExpert's Ultra-Lube method: top up when amplitude actually drops, not on a calendar.
• Girth gear and pinion — SDT340 contact sensor on the pinion bearing housing, trended every two weeks.
• Mill drive motor (usually a 1–4 MW synchronous or induction machine) — Artesis e-MCM without a stop: ESA sees stator inter-turn shorts, rotor eccentricity, and supply imbalance.

→ Gearbox diagnostics · LUBExpert bearing lubrication · e-MCM + SDT340: two levels of drive diagnostics

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Rotary kiln and clinker cooler

The kiln is the most expensive planned stop on site: heating and cooling refractory takes days. Support rollers and thrust bearings are checked with ultrasound while running, with no need to access the shell interior.

Component	What SDT340 measures	Frequency
Kiln support rollers	Bearing level, per-roller trend	Monthly
Kiln drive gear	Tooth contact, open gear lubrication	Monthly
Cooler ID fans	Rolling bearings, fan cavitation	Every 2 weeks
Kiln drive motor	Artesis ESA (stator, rotor, supply)	Continuous or quarterly test

→ Thermal inspection of auxiliary equipment · Pump and fan cavitation

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Compressed air and pneumatic conveying

Cement pneumatic conveying, silo aeration and bag filters all depend on the compressor station. Leaks in flanges, air slides and valves are hard to spot visually on a dusty plant — an ultrasonic LeakChecker hears them through the plant noise.

Typical audit result: 8–12% of compressor fleet output is lost to leaks before the first ultrasonic survey.

→ The economics of compressed-air leaks · LeakChecker

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Why you need both tools, not one

Mechanical diagnostics (SDT340) sees the bearing, the gear mesh, the leak and the lubrication. Electrical diagnostics (Artesis e-MCM) sees what's hidden inside the stator and rotor — without stopping the drive, which matters for mills and kilns where a planned stop is a calendar-level event, not routine maintenance.

	SDT340 (mechanics)	Artesis e-MCM (electrical)
Bearings, gearboxes, gear meshes	Yes	Indirectly
Lubrication	Yes (LUBExpert)	—
Stator winding, rotor eccentricity	—	Yes
Requires stopping the drive	No	No
Suitable for mills and kiln under load	Yes	Yes

→ SDT vs. competitors · Three levels of PdM: AMT Pro, e-MCM, IoT

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90-day program

Month	Focus
1	Baseline: mill and kiln drive motors (ESA) + compressor station leak audit
2	SDT340 route on trunnion bearings and fans, LUBExpert rollout
3	Critical-drive report, plan to move key mills to IoT monitoring

A similar rollout: SDT 90-day route · e-MCM 90-day pilot.

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KEG TRK — SDT and Artesis for the cement industry in Kazakhstan. SDT catalog · Artesis catalog