Maintenance technician – fault-finding on a conveyor line
Design & TechnologyCareers in TechnologyAges 16–17
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Sign in to playStudents act as the maintenance technician for a conveyor line with a motor, a belt, two photoelectric sensors, a terminal box and a PLC indicator panel. A random fault appears (a dirty sensor, a worn slipping belt, an overheating motor bearing or a loose wire in a terminal block); students read the symptoms (fault code, indicator LEDs, output, vibration), select a component and test it with a multimeter, infrared thermometer, vibration meter or tachometer, lock out the machine before adjusting or replacing a part, and restart. The score is the downtime and the cost; a one-year simulation then compares preventive maintenance with run-to-failure, and a job-profile card ends the session.
Lesson: Careers in mechanical engineering: the work of a maintenance technician – fault diagnosis, lock-out/tag-out safety, preventive and reactive maintenance
What it shows
Maintenance technicians keep production lines running. When a line stops, every minute of downtime costs lost output, so they work systematically: read the symptoms, make quick and cheap measurements, narrow down the cause and only then replace parts, always isolating and locking out the machine first. Many faults give warning signs such as heat, vibration or slipping before a complete failure; the time between the first detectable sign and the failure is called the P–F interval. Regular inspections can catch faults in that window, but inspecting too often also costs time and money. All lifetimes, repair times and prices in the model are illustrative.
How to use
Watch the line run normally, then read the HMI when a fault appears. Select a component on the picture or with the buttons, then use Visual check, Multimeter, IR thermometer, Vibration or Tachometer; each test takes plant time. Press Lock out (LOTO) before any adjustment or Replace part, then Remove lock & restart. In the chart below, drag the Inspect every slider and compare the annual cost with run-to-failure.
Parameters you can change
- Fault that will occur Random, Sensor S1 dirty or blocked, Worn belt slipping, Motor bearing overheating, Loose wire in terminal box X1
- Value of lost output per minute of downtime 5–100 USD/min
- Simulation clock speed 0.5–4 min/s
- Inspection interval 1–12 weeks
- Show normal values and diagnosis tips
Questions to explore
- Why must the machine be isolated and locked out before a part is adjusted or replaced?
- What does it cost to replace an expensive part straight away instead of measuring first?
- Why are both very frequent and very rare inspections expensive in the one-year comparison?
