November 11, 2019 by Luke James
Analog Devices Inc. recently announced its acquisition of Test Motors, a company that specializes in predictive maintenance of electric motors and generators.
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) recently announced its acquisition of Test Motors, a Spain-based company that specializes in the predictive maintenance of electric motors and generators.
Test Motors’ primary offerings are products and services that detect faults in electric motors—before they have a chance to cause damage to production cycles—and advises on how they can be repaired, and when.
Test Motors’ own team will join ADI’s Automation and Energy Group to operate as a key technology group.
The official Test Motors company logo. Image Credit: Test Motors.
ADI’s acquisition of Test Motors builds on its 2018 acquisition of OtoSense, a start-up whose proprietary software can learn and recognize sounds or vibrations and then use this information to detect potential faults in engines and machinery. This “sensing interpretation” software is based on an AI platform that is dedicated solely to this task—sensing interpretation and the monitoring of machinery.
In an official statement, Kevin Carlin, Vice President Automation and Energy Group, Analog Devices, said, “Machine maintenance relies heavily on experienced technicians and engineers able to detect and diagnose issues that can lead to unplanned downtime, There are not enough trained professionals, however, to keep up with the demand as the number of machines to maintain rapidly grows. ADI’s condition-based monitoring applications, driven by the acquisitions of Test Motors and OtoSense, will tackle this expert resource challenge by providing customers with a system able to perform complete and early detection of anomalies to avoid unexpected and costly machine downtime.”
ADI plans to combine OtoSense’s software with Test Motors’ monitoring capabilities. This will result in a solution that offers an advanced, comprehensive snapshot of machine health by capturing a wide range of potential faults so that they can be resolved in good time.
Because condition-based monitoring is not about and cannot be achieved by any single technology but instead by a combination of technologies and solutions, ADI’s acquisition and their expanding portfolio enables these solutions with breakthroughs in MEMS sensors, data conversion technologies, and flexible signal conditioning, among other things, to deliver best-in-class wired and wireless condition-based monitoring solutions.
Through the combination of technologies from Test Motors and OtoSense, as well as ADI’s proprietary tech and solutions, ADI is able to bolster its domain expertise.
Emili Valero, Test Motors’ former CEO, said “We are excited to become part of Analog Devices and work with its team of industrial technology experts. The combining of our technology and expertise will enable us to develop the next generation of condition-based monitoring solutions designed to greatly extend manufacturing equipment life for electrical and non-electrical rotating machines and deliver significant cost savings that benefit both businesses and consumers.”
The finer terms and financial details surrounding the deal between ADI and Test Motors were not disclosed.
