What is a Tachometer?

A Tachometer is a measurement device used to measure the speed of rotating objects such as motor or car engine.  The tachometer will provide the motor speed measurement by recording the revolutions per minute (RPM) of the moving part.  Tachometers are widely used in the Automotive Industry and by production line engineers for testing the speed of car engines, shaft or discs and are also used in quality and testing instrumentation for research and development (R&D).   Tachometers are not only used in the Automotive Industry but also in shipbuilding, aeronautical, machinery and electronics industries.  Tachometers are often referred to as Rev Counters, RPM Gauges or simply called Tachos!

What are Different Types of Tachometers Used For?

There are a number of different types of tachometers that can be used in a wide range of rotating objects such as:

• Handheld Tachometers
• Panel Mount Tachometers
• Engine/Car Motor Tachometers
• Advanced FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) Tachometers

Handheld Tachometers

Handheld tachometers are available in Non Contact or Contact versions and measure the revolutions per minute (RPM) of moving objects and are widely used in the automotive industry.  The Contact Tachometers measure speed of moving objects by making direct contact with the moving part.  Non Contact Tachometers measure RPM without the need for direct contact.  Non Contact Tachometers  use lasers or infra red beams pointed at reflective markers placed on the moving object such as a car engine, shaft or disc.

Panel Mount Tachometers

Panel mount tachometers can be permanently installed on control panels or installed in control rooms to measure RPM.  The standard measurement functions are rotational speed, line speed, moving speed, frequency, flow and passing time with optional functions such as rotational change rate and acceleration. 

Panel mounted tachometers can often be customised with added functions to match particular applications and are very compatible with PCs and controllers for data management.  Measurements can be easily sent to a printer or loaded onto a PLC.  They have the ability to measure and display the shafts rotational speed as well as record and view changes in rotation on a recorder, using analogue output.

The mounted tachometers can also monitor production line speeds by measuring and displaying the line speed of a conveyor or production line in the unit of m/min, when the set up speed has been exceeded, an alarm will sound or by using a comparator output, it can stop any operated machinery.

The Panel Mount Tachometers can provide rotational measurement of very small shafts that cannot be accessed with handheld tachometers.

Engine/Car Tachometers

The Handheld Digital Engine Tachometers offer multiple detectors for use with petrol or diesel engines, EV/HEV motors or any rotating objects. Three types of outputs:

• analogue output for recording rotational speed
• pulse output for synchronous signal with rotation
• monitor output for checking detected signals

Advanced FFT Tachometers

Advanced Tachometers use FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) technology to enable the tachometer to perform frequency analysis of rotational speed via sound and vibration. 

Advanced Tachometers allow measurement of rotational speeds of car engines, construction machinery and other engines. The rotational speed of engines can be measured from noise and vibration caused by the movement of the engine pistons, from the noise and intake of exhausts or mufflers or by clamping sensors to a car's primary low voltage and secondary high voltage conductors. They can also provide measurement of DC motors by detecting the magnetic flux leakage and calculating the frequency signal in proportion to rotational speed. These tachometers can measure the rotational speeds of motors in finished products where motors are not visible such as power drills, vacuum cleaners, measurement is performed with a microphone making it possible to perform measurement without modifying the measurement object.  Advanced Tachometers can measure the rotational speed of fans and compressors - the vibration of a rotating object depends on the rotation movement.  The rotation speed of a rotating object can be recorded by measuring the vibration frequency.

If you would like a free consultation to discuss your measurement needs or advice or choosing the correct tachometer, call us on 042 9743150 or sales@techrissystems.com

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