HCP Sense GmbH
About us
Prevent bearing damage instead of ‘just’ predicting it!
Predictive maintenance becomes resilient maintenance. With our measurement technology, bearings can be operated with optimum energy efficiency without risking damage, and the lubricant can be used until its actual end of life. Our vision is to enable our customers to build “even better” - i.e. more efficient and reliable – equipment and to operate them at their optimum.
HCP Sense, a spin-off from TU Darmstadt, offers a simple and economical solution for measuring bearing loads and monitoring lubrication. This information opens up new opportunities for equipment manufacturers and operators, e.g. for digital business models.
Load and lubrication data are essential for predictive maintenance and for optimizing manufacturing processes. In discussions with equipment manufacturers and plant operators, we have recognized that the effort required for adaptation designs is a major obstacle to the integration of sensors. For this reason, we have developed a patented measuring method that turns conventional bearings into sensors and requires only minimal design adjustments. For the user, it is therefore very easy and economical to integrate our sensor technology into existing designs.
We would be happy to advise you on the beneficial options for using our sensor bearing in your applications. For plain and roller bearings!
Products & services
Prevent plain and rolling bearing failures instead of “only” predicting them!
Real-time insights into bearing loads and lubrication enable energy-efficient operation and reduce failures. This ensures reliable protection of plain and rolling bearings and targeted maintenance.
Bearing test rigs / tribometers Get more from your test rigs with bearing sensor technology
Rolling bearings of all sizes are critical machine elements whose reliable operation directly affects the performance, longevity, and safety of entire machines and systems. Consequently, it is essential to evaluate the performance of lubricants under conditions that closely resemble actual applications. A variety of standardized and custom tests are available for this purpose. Among the most established are the FE8 test (DIN 51819) and the FE9 test (DIN 51821). Despite the complexity and cost of these tests, the number of recorded parameters is often limited. For instance, the FE8 test typically measures only torque over time (including mean friction torque during start-up and steady-state operation), mass wear, and possibly the time to failure. This limited data collection hampers the extraction of deeper scientific insights that could drive targeted lubricant or system development. Modern, application-oriented tribometry – referred to as "Tribometry 4.0" – aims to overcome these limitations using advanced sensor technologies, intelligent test protocols, and comprehensive data analytics including AI. Our high-frequency impedance measurement provides valuable information on surface conditions and the lubrication film in both mixed and (elasto-)hydrodynamic friction regimes. In various applications it could be shown, that valuable information for lubricant development is achieved: • Stribeck curve in real application, especially transitions from boundary to mixed and to hydrodynamic lubrication • Pitting development from initiation to particle release • Development of surface layers, protective reaction layers or varnish • Development of oil ageing: particle generation, contamination. Thus, equipping your bearing test rigs and tribometers with our sensor technology will open the avenue for gaining deep scientific insights into tribological and lubrication phenomena.
R&D, test benches / prototypes: New bearing sensor technology makes your development more efficient
Bearings are the central components of every machine and offer many opportunities to have a positive or negative effect on properties such as service life or energy consumption. Give us the opportunity to integrate our sensor technology into your test setups and provide you with information about lubrication, bearing currents and other factors influencing the bearing. Bearing currents wear out bearings in a very short time. With our sensor technology, we measure the currents that flow through the shaft and the bearings and enable you to understand which electrical loads your bearings see. Lubrication is an important lever for optimizing the service life and energy consumption of machines. With our technology, you can monitor lubrication directly in your products, prototypes and test benches during operation and thus understand ways to optimize load capacity and service life. Our service includes project planning, installation, as well as carrying out and evaluating the measurements. The optimum choice of lubricant and operating strategy reduces friction and thus energy consumption and extends service life. In addition, it is possible to identify the first surface changes that are the early signs of upcoming damage and to monitor these during operation. If you want to optimize the lubrication of your equipment, please contact us directly. Your benefits • Increase efficiency through optimal lubrication design • Optimization of lubricant selection • Qualification of lubricants • Optimization of the operating strategy • Monitoring initiation of surface changes • Understanding the causes of damage • Quantifying electrical bearing loads Our approach 1. joint analysis of the tribological system, objectives 2. constructive integration after consultation 3. commissioning and evaluation of the data 4. presentation of the measurement results, development of optimization options
Digitalizing machines System monitoring on a new level
Enabling new digital business models Customers are only willing to pay regularly for a service if they recognize an additional benefit. This can be very diverse, such as extending service life, precise, needs-based maintenance planning, better process monitoring, optimization of machine settings according to requirements, reduction of energy consumption, optimization of production processes, reduction of lubricant consumption and much more. The bearings of a machine are usually the essential components for maintenance and service life. Your customers are currently still investing a lot of money in third-party companies that deal with monitoring. Integrate the latest technology for bearing monitoring and secure additional sales. The sensor bearing from HCP Sense offers the possibility of obtaining precisely the information required from standard bearings. While other sensors are usually not applicable due to the lack of installation space or require major design changes, the integration of our measurement technology is unproblematic, as the sensor bearing takes up the same installation space as a corresponding conventional bearing. Improve the customer benefits of your products: - High economic efficiency - Minimization of energy consumption - Minimization of lubricant consumption - Maximize service life - Maximize operational safety Direct benefits for you: - Unique selling point compared to competitors - Simple integration into new machine program - Simple retrofit in existing machines - Low complexity, no time-consuming training Predictive maintenance becomes resilient maintenance. Combine the information from our sensor for maximum benefit!
Process monitoring From standard bearing to sensor
Precise control is a challenge, especially in dynamic processes. This is why measuring bearing forces is of great interest to system operators. Little space for additional measurement technology According to the current state of the art, external force sensors can be used for this purpose. The biggest disadvantage of this technology is that the sensor technology must be taken into account in the design process of the system. While the lack of installation space is often a problem for new designs, it is almost always a problem for retrofits, which entails very complex design changes. The ideal solution is a load monitoring technology that offers the same functionality as conventional force sensors without the need for additional installation space. Our solution The sensor bearing from HCP Sense meets precisely these requirements. As we use the electrical properties of the roller bearing itself, no external sensors are required. Only one electrical contact, one on the rotating and one on the stationary part of the system, is sufficient. The basic functional principle Each individual contact between a rolling element and the inner or outer ring can be regarded as a plate capacitor consisting of two metal surfaces (inner or outer ring and rolling element) and the lubricant between them, which acts as a dielectric. Depending on the load, a different lubricating film thickness and a different capacitor surface are formed due to the Hertzian pressure. These variables can be recorded with our measurement technology in the form of different electrical impedances and allow direct conclusions to be drawn about the bearing forces. Your advantages • Monitor processes directly by analyzing the force flow • Understand process forces and use them for control • Condition monitoring of tools • Online monitoring of product quality • Achieve maximum efficiency • Improve design and validate simulation models
LubSecure For plain and roller bearings. Prevent failures instead of ‘only’ predicting them!
Only a properly lubricated bearing runs reliably and with low wear. This means that the metallic contact partners within the bearing are separated from each other by a fully formed lubricating film at all times. Insufficient lubrication results in direct contact, which causes the bearing to wear quickly and leads to damage. HCP Sense technology provides a view into the bearing Unfortunately, the lubrication condition cannot be adequately monitored with conventional technology; the user does not know what the dominant lubrication condition is. The HCP Sense sensor bearing provides permanent information on lubrication for the first time and enables continuous monitoring. With our impedance measurement, the electrical behavior of the rolling bearing can be monitored live at the equipment. In case of hydrodynamic lubrication, when a fully formed lubricating film is present and the metal surfaces are separated, the bearing behaves like a capacitor from an electrical point of view. This is not the case with mixed and boundary lubrication; there is metal contact and the bearing exhibits ohmic behavior as with an electrical resistor. The advantages of our technology - Early detection of damage Over 75% of all roller bearing damages can be traced back to lubrication failure. With our technology, you can detect these lubrication issues so early that you can take countermeasures before increased wear leads to bearing damage. - Increased productivity Integrating our technology into your maintenance management - the keyword here is predictive maintenance - increases productivity because you can extend maintenance intervals or even plan them variable and avoid the dreaded unplanned downtime. - Higher profits Increased productivity and lower maintenance costs increase your profits.