Acoustic process monitoring: hear the problem before it becomes one
Experienced operators hear when a machine runs wrong long before a dashboard shows it. Acoustic process monitoring turns that instinct into infrastructure: microphones on the line, models that learn what normal sounds like, alerts when the sound changes.
Why acoustics
Sound is the earliest broadband symptom. Tool wear, bearing damage, cavitation, misfeeds and leaks all change a machine’s acoustic signature, often days before failure and without touching the machine. Installing a microphone takes an afternoon; instrumenting the same machine with contact sensors takes a shutdown.
What the hardware needs
Industrial cable runs, robust mounting and connectors (aluminum housing, M12, M4 or 3/8” mount), clean power, and bandwidth up to 80 kHz to capture ultrasonic symptoms such as leaks and discharge. The MPK801 streams into standard edge hardware, so the cost per monitored machine stays low.
How to start: prove it on one machine
The practical route is a Development Kit on a single machine or test bench: record what normal sounds like, build the model, and confirm the features you need are actually present in the signal. Going from one machine to a whole line, with the mounting, fleet monitoring and support that implies, is the next step. Convinced and want to roll out in production? Contact us directly.
From monitoring to inspection
Passive listening tells you how the process is doing. Our QCFlex system goes one step further for the parts themselves: it actively excites each manufactured part and uses AI on the resonance response to find structural defects, 100% inline.
Related: MPK product page · Shop · contact page · QCFlex product page
