Case Study | Early Warning of Abnormal Gear Meshing in Roller Presses: Smart Operations and Maintenance Mitigates the Risk of Production Line Downtime

In the cement grinding production process, the roller press is the core equipment for raw material preparation, and the alignment accuracy between the motor and the reducer directly affects the reliability of the gearbox transmission. If the centering deviation exceeds the allowable tolerance, it can result in abnormal gear meshing and increased vibration at best, or in severe cases, gear wear, transmission failure, and even damage to the reducer and sudden shutdowns of the production line—leading to substantial losses for the enterprise.

Recently, a major cement company has leveraged Zhongyun Kangchong Intelligent Operations and Maintenance Platform By proactively identifying potential abnormalities in the gear meshing of the roller press gearbox and promptly performing center alignment, we successfully prevented the escalation of equipment malfunctions and avoided unplanned shutdowns.

1. Vibration continues to rise; the platform promptly issues an alarm to pinpoint the fault location.

In early August 2026, during the commissioning and operation of the roller press, the platform’s real-time monitoring system detected that the vibration acceleration at the axial measurement point on the low-speed shaft of the moving-roll reducer steadily increased from 7.5 m/s² to 18.5 m/s², while the vibration velocity rose from 4 mm/s to 20 mm/s—exceeding the system’s trend threshold and triggering an alarm.

The system automatically pushes alerts to operations and maintenance personnel, clearly indicating the fault location, alert severity, and occurrence time, thereby directly pinpointing the troubleshooting target and gaining valuable time for addressing potential risks.

II. Data-Driven Analysis and Diagnosis: Precisely Identifying Gear Meshing Anomalies

Upon receiving the alarm notification, the Zhongyun Kangchong diagnostic team conducted a comprehensive analysis incorporating the equipment’s rated speed and the gearbox’s structural parameters, determining that the fault was an abnormal gear meshing between the high-speed and low-speed shafts of the moving-roll input shaft. The platform recommended the following maintenance action: promptly shut down the equipment and verify the concentricity of the high-speed and low-speed input shafts.

III. On-site shutdown verification and centering to thoroughly eliminate potential hazards.

In accordance with the platform’s diagnostic recommendations, a shutdown for inspection was scheduled on the afternoon of August 17. Following on-site measurements and verification, the vertical misalignment between the motor and the reducer was 2.9 mm, and the lateral misalignment was 2.1 mm—both exceeding the equipment’s allowable tolerances, consistent with the platform’s diagnostic findings.

The maintenance team promptly completed the alignment and calibration of the motor and gearbox centers. Following the equipment’s restart, monitoring data indicated that the vibration acceleration of the low-speed shaft on the drive roller had dropped below 10 m/s², restoring stable operation and completely eliminating the safety hazard.

IV. Lessons from the Case | Equipping Critical Equipment with an “Early-Warning Radar”

The early warning and closed-loop handling of the gear‑meshing anomaly in this roller press fully demonstrate the practical value of the intelligent operations‑and‑maintenance platform:

1. Trend following, proactive risk early warning Trigger an alarm during the early stage of slow vibration escalation to secure a maintenance window and prevent gear‑meshing faults from worsening.
2. Data-driven diagnostics to reduce ineffective tasks. Leveraging monitoring data, we precisely pinpoint the root cause of faults and directly identify the optimal corrective action, thereby avoiding unnecessary disassembly and inspection and saving both manpower and time.
3. End-to-end closed-loop operations and maintenance Achieve Alert Notification — Fault Diagnosis — On-Site Handling — Repair Verification A fully closed-loop system ensures the stable operation of the roller press’s core equipment.

Industrial equipment failures rarely occur suddenly; more often, they result from the long-term accumulation of hidden risks. Zhongyun Kangchong has deeply cultivated the field of intelligent industrial operations and maintenance, leveraging online monitoring data to provide fault‑early warning and expert diagnostic services for critical rotating equipment in the cement and building materials industries, helping enterprises transition from “reactive emergency repairs” to… Predictive maintenance , achieving safe production and reducing costs while improving efficiency.