minion® Vibration Sensor 1 kHz:
The MV001 measures vibrations and temperatures and detects impacts, shocks, and the position of machines.
Meierling Fans – Proactive monitoring
With autosen minion, Meierling detects mechanical changes early on
Regardless of the customer's IT infrastructure
Industrial fans ensure stable operations in heat treatment facilities, industrial furnaces, and chemical processes. An unplanned failure can therefore have far-reaching consequences: production downtime, high repair costs, or even the loss of a current batch.
Meierling Ventilatoren was looking for a compact and self-contained solution to detect mechanical changes in its fans at an early stage. Of particular concern are increasing vibrations, imbalance, misalignment, and incipient bearing wear. This is because the fans often operate under demanding conditions—at high temperatures, in the presence of vapors, and under sustained heavy loads.
Condition Monitoring Without a Customer Network
As an early application partner, Meierling supported the development of autosen minion. Together with the autosen team, they configured a suitable solution for condition monitoring of industrial fans.
The following were used:
minion® Mobile Gateway:
The minion mobile gateway connects the sensors to the desired cloud platform.
minion® S 900 mAh battery:
The size S minion battery provides reliable and high-performance power to your minion IoT sensor system.
The sensor system measures vibrations directly at the fan and transmits the readings via the cellular gateway to a cloud dashboard. There, the data is available without a connection to the customer's network and without access to production-related processes.
Automatically detect discrepancies
Using historical measurement data from several fans, Meierling determined typical operating and aging profiles. Based on this, appropriate threshold values were defined in collaboration with autosen.
If the measured values deviate from normal behavior, the end customer automatically receives a notification on their mobile devices. In this way, unusual vibration patterns can serve as an early warning sign of a mechanical change or progressive wear.
In practice, the system had already enabled the early detection of abnormal vibrations. The maintenance team was able to conduct a targeted inspection of the affected equipment and schedule a controlled shutdown. The cause was resolved before a critical failure occurred.
Planned Maintenance Instead of Unplanned Downtime
Thanks to the early warning, unplanned downtime, high repair costs, and process interruptions were avoided. At the same time, the collected data provides valuable insights into how different fans age under various loads and environmental conditions.
Meierling uses this information for:
- Condition-based maintenance concepts
- Targeted service calls
- maintenance that is easier to plan
- the development of new digital services
This makes condition monitoring an added value feature of the fan system. End customers benefit from higher system availability, predictable maintenance, and a longer product lifespan.
Effective monitoring isn't just about collecting vibration or temperature data. The real value comes from understanding what that data means.
Dr.-Ing. André Haas, CTO and Managing Director at Meierling Ventilatoren
Digital Services Without Interfering with the Customer's IT Infrastructure
Meierling's customer story shows how machinery and equipment manufacturers can use autosen minion to offer their own digital services—regardless of their customers' IT infrastructure.
This self-contained solution provides transparency into the condition of the fans without having to transmit sensitive production data over the customer’s network. This makes it possible to implement predictive maintenance and new service concepts—simply, securely, and with a high level of acceptance among end customers.
Everything at a Glance
Meierling uses autosen minion to proactively monitor industrial fans.
The solution detects abnormal vibrations, imbalance, misalignment, and incipient bearing wear at an early stage.
The measurement data is collected directly at the fan and transmitted via cellular networks to a cloud-based dashboard.
The system operates autonomously and independently of the customer's network—without interfering with or relying on the IT infrastructure.
Automatic notifications enable a quick response to unusual readings.
This makes it easier to plan maintenance, prevents unplanned downtime, and increases system availability.
Manufacturer of industrial fans for the most demanding applications
MEIERLING Ventilatoren, Inc.
7 Dr.-Rudolf-Eberle Street,
79725 Laufenburg
info(at)meierling-ventilatoren(dot)de
+49 7763 9231-0
www.meierling-ventilatoren.de
