Vibration Meters are used to monitor vibration in rotating machinery. This can be done with simple touch probes and a portable meter, or with multiple probes attached to multi-channel vibration analyzers. Which measuring system to use depends on the complexity of the process to be measured, the most likely cause of excessive vibration, and the degree of process downtime and its effect on the overall manufacturing process.

A facility that has a number of air compressor stations may well get along with a portable meter and a hand held vibration sensor. A rotary frequency converter supplying a special alternating frequency current to a manufacturing process may require measuring vibration at more than one point of the converter and have a fixed instrument, perhaps with an alarm to monitor the process. A vibration meter will determine the amount of vibration detected.

A set point can be selected to obtain an alarm or corrective action when the signal exceeds the set point. An analyzer will take the signal(s) and determine the nature and cause of the vibration. This is important in equipment where the source of vibration may come from more than one point.

Vibration is the displacements of a rotary element either axially, radially or tangentially. The vibration can be measured as the amount of displacement peak to peak) in inches or mm. It can also be measured as velocity (max inches or mm per sec) or acceleration as peak g's. (g is gravity and unit value is 32 ft/sec²).

When measuring vibration, values of good, fair and bad performance have to be known. ISO 2372 and 10816 are the best reference at this time. MIL specs and some industry standards address specific applications.