Listicles | 10/18/2022 5 things you may not have known about Bearing Clearance Monitoring

Anyone who works with Liebherr machines knows how large slewing bearings are. The gigantic steel components enable, among other things, the rotation of cranes and uppercarriages. The Bearing Clearance Monitoring (BCM) digital wear measurement system allows these giants to be monitored remotely via an app. BCM is used, for example, in mining equipment and material handling technology or in maritime applications.

When a construction machine is in daily use, highly stressed components are subject to wear. Naturally this wear has to be monitored. With many wear measurement methods, the monitoring is, of course, done manually. Service technicians mount dial gauges or other measuring devices directly on the slewing bearing. This is not always easy, because they also have to work in dangerous areas, for example under excavators. With the BCM system, the measuring devices are already permanently installed in the bearing. The measurement by the installed sensors is triggered via the app. Safety first.

More than three hours can pass if a mining excavator is at a standstill due to manual wear measurement. But what does that mean? The mining excavator cannot load about 60 trucks during this time. So time and money are lost. The digital BCM system comes in handy here. Through its regular use, replacement intervals can be optimally planned and spare parts ordered accordingly. The measurements with the BCM system help to identify what the condition of a bearing is, whether it needs to be replaced or whether further measures are necessary to preserve the bearing. This way, downtimes can be greatly minimised since, with a measurement duration of 30 minutes, only 10 trucks cannot be loaded by the mining excavator.

How does BCM work in the first place? It’s all about the combination of preicse technology and the optimal connection. The sensor connection box receives the data from the sensors attached to the slewing bearing and supplies power to the entire BCM system. This sensor data is stored in the gateway, i.e., the hardware used for the BCM, and updates for the BCM can also be installed there. The sensors then transmit the data to the app users.

Not every location has an Internet connection. BCM can even be used autonomously in regions without a data connection. This is the case in mines, for example, because they often do not have the necessary reception. A direct connection via Bluetooth makes the measurement process possible from a safe distance and without a network connection.

Bearing Clearance Monitoring can be found at the Liebherr booth A326 in Hall A4.

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