Stan de Peffer
Last pre-year, I lived in Munich Germany for four months to complete my internship part of my master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. I was part of the R&D team of the roller coaster company Maurer Rides.
Predictive maintenance
This thesis investigates the feasibility of using vibration-based Predictive Maintenance (PdM) methods to monitor the condition of drive sleeves in Maurer Rides GmbH's Spike Coaster system. The Spike Coaster's motor system is based on friction-driven sleeves, which wear out quickly and unexpectedly, leading to costly maintenance and downtime. Given the limitations of acoustic and electro-optical condition monitoring in this application, vibration analysis was chosen as a possible PdM method. Using micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometers and high-frequency data collection techniques, a series of experiments were conducted on a test rig to simulate sleeve vibrations. The study used time-domain and frequency-domain methods, as well as Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Although vibration signals could distinguish between new and used sleeves, the results showed limited potential for predictive maintenance due to the abrupt nature of failures and a difference in failure modes between the test rig and actual coaster operations. My research concludes that although vibration analysis has potential for condition monitoring, further refinement of the test setup and data collection on actual coasters is needed to enable accurate PdM application. Recommendations include upgrading the test setup to improve accuracy and integrating real-time monitoring equipment into operational vehicles.
Foreign experience
This internship was a great opportunity for me to develop myself both professionally and personally. I am a fairly introverted person and I generally like to stay very much in my comfort zone. Yet I was keen to do this internship precisely to break out of that comfort zone. That you gain the best experiences by breaking out of your comfort zone is a cliché, but it is true.
Growth
This internship taught me how to work efficiently in a small-scale German company. It is a lot of switching between the English language and the German language, but I have made this my own. Unfortunately, I was not able to apply PdM as I had so hoped, but I was able to make very valuable recommendations on how my internship company can build a better test system that does simulate the same wear and tear as occurs in reality. I will also always remember living in Munich. It is a big city, but its good living conditions, culture and traditions make it feel as cosy and safe as a village. All in all, a great and educational life experience!
