Stamping Press Vibration & Foundation Monitor

Per ISO 10816, up to 2.3 mm/s RMS is new-machine condition (zone A) and up to 4.5 mm/s is acceptable for unrestricted long-term operation (zone B). Between 4.5 and 7.1 mm/s the machine should be scheduled for corrective maintenance (zone C), and above 7.1 mm/s vibration is severe enough to cause damage (zone D).

Separate the signal: measure continuous running vibration with the press cycling empty for the ISO-style grade, and capture the stroke shock separately (peak g and decay time). Rising idle vibration means rotating parts (flywheel, motor, drive); a stroke shock that grows or rings longer means clutch/brake, gibs or foundation. Loose anchor bolts show in both.

On the crown bearings and the bed at the foundation bolts — measure between strokes (continuous running, idle) — as close to the bearing as possible, on stiff metal (never on covers or guards). Take horizontal, vertical and axial readings if you can; use the highest for the ISO grade and always re-measure at the same spot, load and speed.

The usual suspects are flywheel bearing wear, clutch/brake deterioration, loosening foundation and anchor bolts, gib wear and counterbalance maladjustment. A frequency spectrum tells them apart: imbalance shows at 1× running speed, misalignment at 2×, bearing defects at non-synchronous frequencies, and looseness as a raised noise floor with harmonics.

Velocity in mm/s RMS, 10–1,000 Hz. ISO 10816 zone tables are defined on broadband RMS velocity because it weights low- and high-frequency faults evenly for general machines. Acceleration (g) suits high-frequency bearing analysis and displacement (µm) suits low-speed machines, but neither maps onto these zone boundaries.