The Renold Condition Monitoring app will verify the condition of the chain drive through the noise at the point where the loaded strand enters the driving sprocket. Displayed are chain wear through percentage elongation, potential stiff links or worn out sprocket teeth and uneven wear. The user will receive a recommendation whether the chain has to be exchanged or is still good to be operated further.
The user has to enter chain type, manufacturer and application. The number of teeth on the sprocket and the number of links will support the functionality of stiff link and sprocket tooth damage detection. The user has to select the speed of the chain drive, if the number of teeth of the sprocket are given the rpm of the sprocket is shown in addition to the chain speed.
The app needs to record the noise for 12 to 15 seconds and will send this noise signal to a server for analysis and processing. Without a server connection the noise signal can be stored on the phone until the phone has access to the server again and will then display the result.
The app offers the option to test in three different sensitivity levels. The coarse level will only give a rough estimation, medium sensitivity will work for most drives and gives a reasonable result while fine sensitivity can only be used in an excellent environment with low background noise.
The results of the app can only be used as an indication of the condition of the chain drive. A proper investigation through a Renold expert might still be necessary.