🔍 Key Concepts
• Condition-based maintenance (CBM) focuses on monitoring equipment condition rather than fixed time intervals
• Different techniques detect different kinds of developing faults: mechanical wear, lubrication breakdown, overheating, or leaks
• Which method shows early changes in mechanical condition and balance of rotating machinery over time
💭 Think About
• Ask yourself: which technique most directly shows changes in how smoothly bearings, gears, and rotating parts are running as they wear?
• Which method is commonly trended over time on pumps, motors, and turbines to catch misalignment or bearing damage before failure?
• Which option is especially valuable for detecting imbalance, looseness, and bearing defects that come from physical wear?
✅ Before You Answer
• Identify which method is best at detecting misalignment, imbalance, and bearing defects in rotating machinery
• Decide which technique is most often used for trending mechanical deterioration over time, not just temperature or fluid quality
• Make sure you separate methods that mainly detect heat or fluid contamination from the one that best tracks changes in mechanical motion due to wear