Eliminate Manual Inspection of Bolts
The Smart Washer monitors bolt preload at installation and during operation to reduce bolt failures and eliminate manual inspection.
Fasteners (Nuts and Bolts) are simple components but they are often safety and performance critical
Fasteners are prone to failure in operational environments where they are subjected to severe loading, vibration or temperature cycling. Failure can have a significant impact on the safety or performance of the asset. We only have to reminded of the 2007 derailment at Grayrigg which injured 80% of the passengers or the Sayona-Shushenskaya hydropower plant disaster in Russia which killed 75 and required the engine room to be rebuilt at a cost of $1.2 billion to see the impact these simplistic components can have on the world's most critical assets.
Smart Washer to Predict & Prevent Joint Failures
The Smart Washer is an end-to-end remote condition monitoring solution for predicting and preventing joint failures.
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Our products provide a compact, low power and cost effective solution for load monitoring.
This technology is embedded onto an ultra-low power wireless platform, creating the first commercially available embedded clamp force sensor.
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The technology will reduce bolt failures and minimise the cost and downtime associated with maintenance.
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Remote Monitoring of Bolt Preload
The Smart Washer is integrated into an IoT network, whereby the data is wirelessly transmitted to a cloud server where it is stored, analysed and visualised. The cloud-based dashboard provides remote access to real-time bolt preload data, 24/7, 365 days a year.
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The cloud platform enables infrastructure managers to identify loose fasteners remotely in real-time, eliminating the need for manual, on-site inspection.
100% Compliance at Installation
The Smart Washer provides clamp force data to installers enabling them to tighten fasteners to the clamp force specified in the manufacturer’s standard, rather than the traditional and significantly less accurate method of using torque.
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The Smart Washer features on-board LED indicators which illuminate red, amber or green for simple identification of bolt clamp force. The data can also be sent over a local wireless network to a handheld tablet, enabling electronic audit trials to be generated.
Predicting Bolt Failure
In the cloud, real-time and historic data are combined to forecast bolt preload over the next 90 days. This provides Infrastructure Managers with sufficient forewarning of any impeding issues, enabling them to plan preventative maintenance several weeks in advance.
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Through Predicting and Preventing bolt failure, your most critical assets can continue to operate reliably and safely.
Torque isn’t tight
The Smart Washer measures clamp force and not torque.
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Torque is a measurement of the twisting force applied to the bolt head or nut. Torque is a proxy measure of bolt tension and many factors can affect this relationship, such as surface texture, rust, oil, thread condition and material type. During testing in operational environments, we have seen errors of up to 70% when using torque-based installation procedures. Incorrectly tightened fasteners will have a significantly reduced operational life.
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Using SCT’s proprietary and patented clamp force sensing technology, the Smart Washer provides accurate clamp force measurements, ensuring bolts are tight.
Any Bolt, Any Application, Any Industry
The Smart Washer technology is available in all standard bolt sizes from M10 – M45.
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Application specific versions of the technology have also been created to meet the requirements of a specific application, industry or customer. Modifications range from alternative wireless technologies to embedding the technology into existing asset components. The technology has been designed using a modular architecture so modifications to meet your requirements can be done in an extremely time and cost-efficient manner.