Using System Check in Preventative Maintenance

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System Check can be used in preventative maintenance programs to track system changes over time.  It functions as a sine wave generator, an oscilloscope, and a spectrum analyzer – all at the same time.

After initial installation, capture baseline operating measurements. Regularly scheduled measurements can then be compiled and overlaid on one graph for a test engineer to review. Any significant changes in measurements over time may indicate system degradation, component failure, test setup errors, or any number of issues that a test engineer should investigate.

System Check is not the one and only tool for verifying system operation, but it is a great option in the test engineer’s toolkit.

We recommend running System Check at various frequencies with 1/3 octave steps to obtain multiple data points across the operating frequency range of the shaker system.

We also recommend running System Check at various frequencies in multiple configurations – meaning with and without additional components like head expanders, fixtures, etc.  For example, System Check could be run first in bare-table configuration, then with an added component (perhaps the head expander), and then run again with another additional component (perhaps the fixture).  If regularly scheduled measurements detect a noticeable change, this baseline data makes it fairly easy to isolate the component causing the change.