Condition monitoring system (CMS) software for the VM600 series

From the Vibro-Meter® product line

» Configuration and operation of VM600 

hardware (CMC16 and IOC16T condition 

monitoring card pairs)

» Automatic data acquisition and storage

» Limit exceedance checking and 

event logging

» Online or offline data analysis

» Graphical user interface

» Runs on Windows® Server 2003, 

Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, 

Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating 

systems

» ANSI SQL-92 compatible

» Optional modules:

Air Gap Module for hydro-turbines

Diagnostics Rule Box

DESCRIPTION

Condition-based maintenance is a predictive 

methodology that can be used to improve your asset 

(machinery) effectiveness. It enables you to:

• Improve equipment reliability through the effective 

 prediction of equipment failures

• Minimise downtime through the planning and 

 scheduling of overhauls

• Maximise component life by avoiding critical known 

 conditions

• Utilise condition monitoring techniques to maximise 

 equipment performance.

The VM600 CMS Software from Meggitt Sensing 

Systems’ Vibro-Meter ® product line is based on this 

principle and is dedicated to the support of technicians, 

operators and engineers, enabling them to identify a 

problem rapidly, evaluate the situation and determine the 

appropriate action to take.

The VM600 CMS Software has a truly modular 

architecture that adapts to your specific needs. It 

comprises several software modules for use with the 

VM600 series hardware

To use the VM600 CMS Software, the system 

parameters are configured (once) before the data 

acquisition and signal processing starts. Then the results 

can be displayed as required, to assist the advanced 

analysis and diagnosis of the monitored machinery.

The VM600 CMS Software has the ability to 

automatically adapt to the criticality of the machine 

status by applying specific data logging scenarios. The 

background mode is continuous low-resolution data 

acquisition. The scheduled mode is pre-defined highresolution acquisition. The transient mode is 

automatically detected and then transient data are 

acquired when the speed is out of the "steady" state. 

Finally, the manual mode is real-time data acquisition 

initiated by the user.

The VM600 CMS Software takes advantage of the 

industry standard platforms to allow total adaptability of 

the system. It runs under Windows Server 2003, 

Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, 

Windows Vista and Windows 7 and has a fully graphical 

interface for ease of use. Moreover, the SQL-based data 

management server allows you to communicate with any 

other SQL-based database.

The VM600 CMS Software can run on a single host 

computer or on a number of systems connected to the 

VM600 rack by network connections. This lets you 

decide whether you need to perform the entire 

configuration, acquisition, data analysis and 

troubleshooting tasks from one location or distribute 

them among several workstations. In a distributed 

configuration, all specific functions can be performed on 

dedicated computers by appropriate personnel. This 

classification also enables remote data collection and/or 

analysis, and means that configuration and 

troubleshooting tasks can be performed via remote 

access if necessary. 

For further applications, the VM600 CMS Software 

provides a suite of standard import/export interfaces, 

enabling you to transfer data to/from any third-party 

system. Your installation benefits are thus the full 

flexibility and scalability of the system, because it 

enables the correlation of vibration data with other 

parameters that are already available from other 

devices, so there is no need to re-measure. The 

available interfaces are Modbus and OPC (open 

connectivity) for communication with field devices such 

as PLDs (programmable logic devices) and DCSs 

(distributed control systems). The Microsoft ® DDE 

(dynamic data exchange) standard is used to exchange 

data between the VM600 CMS Software and external 

devices. Finally, the ODBC (open database connectivity) 

allows your VM600 CMS database to import data from 

any ODBC database.

On top of these modules, the Diagnostics Rule Box 

enables the user to integrate his machinery knowledge 

within the program rules, set conditions on real-time 

values, create alarms and alerts, and ultimately generate 

automatic actions to adequately warn the user if an 

event occurs.

Figure 1: VM600 CMS system architecture – the relationship between the computers running VM600 CMS

and the underlying VM600 hardwar

Figure 2: VM600 CMS Software architecture – the relationship between the VM600 CMS Software application modules, 

external interfaces and the underlying VM600 hardware

VM600 condition monitoring system software

CMS

4 / 12 © Meggitt SA / 268-106 / Version 4 / 02.10.2012 / E

SOFTWARE MODULES

The software application modules that make up the VM600 CMS Software client-server architecture are as shown in 

Table 1 (below).

VM600 Administrator The VM600 Administrator program is a portal (window) that provides quick and convenient 

access to all of the VM600 CMS Software tools, as well as to a number of useful Windows 

system tools.

Mimic The Mimic provides the operator with a customised, graphical view of the machinery being 

monitored by the VM600 CMS Software system.

The types of data you can visualise directly from the Mimic are "live" data, that is, current 

values and current status of both the VM600 hardware and the "offline" systems, as well as 

user-requested high-resolution data such as waveforms, spectra and orbit plots. 

Configuration Editor The Configuration Editor is used to set up the required configuration of all parameters of the 

system, including the configuration details of each single output band, machine-specific 

parameters for data logging or transient data and complete VM600 rack configurations. 

It stores the system configuration inside the SQL database, from where it can be viewed or 

changed by users with sufficient access rights. 

It is also a starting point for the advanced configuration of the database, such as preparing 

the database to accept "offline" data imported from external systems.

Data Analyser The Data Analyser is used to display measurement data from the SQL database. 

It takes data from selected data points defined in the database, applies user- or systemdefined filters to the data, and displays the data as a variety of graphs, plots and charts.

Typical filters that can be applied to data are time, alarm status, machine status, or a userconfigurable filter based on any speed, analog or digital data.

Database Browser The Database Browser is used to display the content of the SQL database in graphical 

form. 

It can display stored datasets, such as events, spectra, waveforms and orbits as intuitive 

time-line representations, thus providing an effective overview of the measurement data 

that have been collected. You can then quickly navigate to the dataset of interest using a set 

of independent criteria (by point, type of data set, time or alarm state).

Event Viewer The Event Viewer is used to view the events in the SQL database that may have been 

created automatically by the system or as defined by users. It displays the available events 

in list form, using colour coded, intuitive icons. The window shows either all events present 

in the database, or you can choose to set and activate filter criteria in order to limit the 

displayed events. 

VMCom

Communications Handler

The VMCom program handles the flow of data between VM600 racks and SQL databases. 

It communicates with the VM600 CMS hardware and the SQL database. 

This program can either be launched manually or configured as a system service, for which 

purpose a special service setup utility is included that allows you to configure, create or 

delete a Windows service. This is the preferred way of communicating with VM600 

hardware for permanent system installations and dedicated on-line condition monitoring 

applications.

Table 1: VM600 CMS Software application modules