A virtual instrumentation system for integrated bearing condition monitoring

This paper presents the design, optimization, and implementation of a virtual instrument (VI), which is an essential part of an integrated bearing condition monitoring system. The VI is designed using the graphical programming language LabVIEW and is capable of performing on-line measurement functions, including data acquisition, display, and analyses in the time and frequency domains, as well as data archiving. The issues of data length selection and VI real-time capability have been investigated to optimize the VI operation and improve data-processing efficiency. The VI system presents an effective and user-friendly human-machine interface for on-line bearing condition monitoring, which is of critical importance to real-time fault diagnosis and intelligent manufacturing.