SKF TLGU 10 User manual

SKF TLGU 10
Instructions for use

2 EN
Safety recommendations................................................................................................................. 3
EU Declaration of Conformity .......................................................................................................... 3
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 Intended use .................................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Principle of operation...................................................................................................................................4
2. Operating ................................................................................................................................. 5
2.1 Using the headphones:................................................................................................................................6
2.2 Graphical streaming screen ........................................................................................................................6
2.3 Accessories to hold the sensor, the handset and grease gun ................................................................7
3. Technical data........................................................................................................................... 8
4. Spare parts .............................................................................................................................. 8
5. Appendix: FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): ............................................................................ 9
Table of contents
Original instructions

3EN
Safety recommendations
Read this instruction for use fully. Follow all safety
precautions to avoid personal injury or property
damage during equipment operation. SKF cannot
be responsible for damage or injury resulting from
unsafe product use, lack of maintenance or incorrect
equipment operation. In case of any uncertainties as
regards the use of the equipment contact SKF.
Failure to comply with the following could cause
equipment damage and personal injury.
• Do not expose the equipment to rough handling
or heavy impacts.
• Always read and follow the operating
instructions.
• Opening the housing of the instrument may
result in hazardous mishandling and voids
warranty.
• The equipment should not be used in areas
where there is a risk for explosion.
• Do not expose the equipment to high humidity
or direct contact with water.
• All repair work should be performed by an SKF
repair shop.
• Using any other headset than the one supplied
with the instrument can cause internal damage
to the checker.
EU Declaration of Conformity
TLGU 10
We, SKF MPT, Meidoornkade 14, 3992 AE Houten,
The Netherlands herewith declare
under our sole responsibility that the products
described in these instructions for use, are in
accordance with the conditions of the following
Directive(s):
EMC DIRECTIVE 2014/30/EU
RoHS DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/863
and are in conformity with the following standards:
EN 61326-1:2013:
Electrical equipment for measurement, control
and laboratory use - EMC requirements -
Part 1: General requirements.
EN 55011: 2016 + A1:2017:
Industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio-
frequency equipment - Electromagnetic
disturbance characteristics - Limits and
methods of measurement.
EN 61000-4-2:2009:
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) -
Part 4: Testing and measurement techniques.
Section 2: Electrostatic discharge immunity test.
EN 61000-4-3:2006 + A1:2008 + IS1:2009
+ A2:2010:
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) -
Part 4: Testing and measurement techniques.
Section 3: Radiated, radio-frequency,
electromagnetic field immunity test.
Houten, The Netherlands, December 2020
Mrs. Andrea Gondová
Manager Quality and Compliance

4 EN
1. Introduction
The SKF Ultrasonic Lubrication Checker TLGU 10 is
designed to help improving relubrication practices,
based on machinery condition.
Fig. 1 – SKF TLGU 10 on a grease gun
1.1 Intended use
It can be used to verify that a lubricant is effectively
reaching the lubricated component as well as
adjusting a relubrication route, based on initial
OEM recommendations for example. TLGU 10
can be used to have a condition based approach
of relubrication practices, as a complement to
theoretical calculations. TLGU 10 can not determine
the machine condition nor its bearings. TLGU 10
will not detect over-greasing situations. If your
machine shows some unusual acoustic patterns
when using TLGU 10, some more investigations are
recommended, using other condition diagnosis tools
like vibration analysis and/or lubricant analysis.
1.2 Principle of operation
The principle of operation of the TLGU 10 can be
compared to a special microphone, sensitive only to
high frequency ultrasounds. A sensitive piezoelectric
crystal is used as a sensor element.
Minute sound waves excite the crystal, creating an
electrical pulse that is amplified and then
“heterodyned” or translated into an audible
frequency that the user can hear through a pair of
noise reduction headphones.

5EN
2. Operating
Red: too high
Green: correct
‘’-.-‘’: too low
: increase
: correct
: decrease
1
2
3
4
5
78
9
5
6
10
Fig. 2 – General aspect
Quick Start:
• (1) battery level
• (2) USB port for external power
• (3) Headset plug; (9) Sensor plug
• (4) A long press on ON/OFF will switch the
unit ON/OFF; A short press on ON/OFF
will toggle between the graph mode and
numbers mode.
• (5) Up and down arrows will help choosing
the correct amplification of the signal.
• (5) Left and right arrows will help adjusting
the volume in the headset.
• (6) (7) It is important to settle the
amplification level before taking any stand
on diagnosis: following the amplification
guidance icons
(5): when the RMS measurement
(6) is displayed in green,
the amplification is correctly set.
When red, the amplification is too high.
When ‘’-.-‘’ is displayed, the amplification is
too low. The current amplification setting is
displayed here (7).
• (8) Volume level on headset
• (10) ID and Sensor?
Open the battery compartment with a screwdriver.
Correctly insert (+/-) two AA alkaline or rechargeable
batteries. The remaining battery level is displayed
here (1).
The device can be powered through its USB port (2)
with an external power source (not provided).
It turns off automatically when the battery power
is insufficient to ensure proper operation, or after
10 minutes of inactivity.
Connect the cable to the device by lining up the red
dot on the plug with the red mark on the connector
(9) and then inserting the plug into the connector.
To unplug them, move-up the knurled barrel of the
plug without any rotating movement.
Proceed in the same way to connect and unplug the
sensor to the cable.
The ‘(x) ID’ and ‘Sensor ?’ messages (10) indicate
that no or an incompatible probe is connected.
The “x”-“sensor” indication will only disappear when
the TLGU 10 is correctly wired up and connected to
the correct probe.
When pressing the on/off switch (4), the equipment
will switch on immediately. To switch off, the on/off
button needs to be pressed for approx. 2 seconds.
To take a correct measurement, the amplification
needs to be adjusted for every reading in the default
screen. This is done by using the up and down
arrows (5) and following the triangular amplification
guidance icons (5) in the top left hand corner of the
display.
The current amplification setting is displayed
here (7).

6 EN
Once the correct amplification level is reached, the
reading (measurement) will be displayed in green
and a “smiley” :-) will appear in the place where
previously the triangular amplification guidance icon
was shown.
When the reading (measurement) is displayed in
red, the amplification is too high and will need to be
reduced by pressing the “arrow down” button.
When ‘’-.-‘’ is displayed on the default screen or in
orange in the streaming mode, the amplification
is too low and will require increasing by pressing
the “arrow up” button. In both cases, i.e. when the
amplification is too low or too high, the amplification
should be adjusted until the reading (measurement)
is displayed in green and the smiley :-) appears in
the left hand top corner.
To switch between the default screen and the
streaming screen press the on/off button (4)
once. An histogram giving a brief history of the
measurement is dynamically displayed. The
amplification adjustment is not available anymore.
2.1 Using the headphones:
To enhance the hearing experience, the audio
volume of the headset can be adjusted by pressing
the left and right arrows (5) until the sound level is
comfortable.
Avoid setting the sound too low as otherwise some
signals may not be heard and possible leaky spots
overlooked. Connect the headphones here (3).
The current volume setting is displayed (8) only
when a headset is connected.
2.2 Graphical streaming screen
Press the ON/OFF button once to toggle between
the default screen and the graphical streaming
screen.
❺
▲
▼
Red: too high
White: correct
Orange: too low
❺
❶
❼
❽
❻
❾
❿
Initial RMS value as reference
Last RMS value
Live streaming RMS values
showing a brief history of
RMS values ( a few seconds)
Fig. 3 – Example

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2.3 Accessories to hold the sensor,
the handset and grease gun
The SKF Ultrasonic Lubrication Checker TLGU 10
comes with a set of accessories to help the user in
operation: please see photos below to see how to
use them.
Example of usage and configurations:

8 EN
3. Technical data
Designation SKF TLGU 10
Description Ultrasound lubrication checker
General
Measurement channel 1 channel via a 7 pole LEMO connector
Display 160 × 128 pixels Color OLED
Keyboard 5 function keys
Measuring range -6 to 99.9 dBµV (reference 0 dB = 1 µV)
Resolution 0.1 dB
Measurement Bandwidth 35 to 42 kHz
Signal amplification +30 to +102 by step of 6 dB
Audio
Amplification 5 adjustable positions in steps of 6 dB
Maximum output +83 dB SPL with supplied headset
Headset 25 dB NRR Peltor HQ headset
Headset connector Stereo jack connector of 6.35 mm (1/4 in)
Power
Battery 2 AA batteries; rechargeable batteries too
Battery life 7 hours
Environmental
Operating temperature from –10 °C to +50 °C (14 °F to 122 °F)
IP rating IP42
Mechanical
Housing material ABS
Dimensions instrument 158 × 59 × 38.5 mm (6.22 × 2.32 × 1.51 in)
Flexible rod length 445 mm (17.51 in)
Weight instrument 164 g (5.78 lb)
Carrying case dimensions 530 × 110 × 360 mm (20.9 × 4.3 × 14.2 in)
Total weight (incl. case, sensor & 2 AA batteries) 3 kg (6.6 lb)
4. Spare parts
Designation Description
TLGU 10-HEADS Neckband headset for TLGU 10
TLGU 10-HANDS Ultrasonic Lubrication Checker handset
TLGU 10-PROBE Probe and its accessories
TLGU 10-CRADLE Grease gun and magnetic cradle
TLGU 10-CC Toolcase with inlay for TLGU 10
TDTC 1/C General toolcase without inlay, size C

9EN
5. Appendix:
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions):
• Q: How do I start using TLGU 10 on my
machine?
• A: Here is a typical scenario of usage of TLGU
10: after installing and turning “ON” TLGU 10,
you can hear a noise level. Then a grease gun
is connected and filled with the right lubricant,
and very slowly, some grease is pumped into
the grease nipple: then, typically, the noise level
drops; Unless it is already enough or over-
lubricated, where basically there is no change
on the noise: beware, we do not know when we
start over-greasing, and it could be understood
as grease not arriving at the bearing, and
over-grease even more, watch out! When
you pump some grease and noise level
drops, then re-grease to the recommended
quantity. Most of the time, we can hear that
the grease is reaching the bearing: very good
first valuable input. We then recommend not to
overshoot the initial quantity defined by OEM
or theoretical calculations. As long as the noise
level is going down, grease can be added to
the contact/raceways, using advised quantity
as recommended, or to be adjusted with
experience.
• Q: Why should I use TLGU 10?
• A: TLGU 10 will be an add-on to your
lubrication strategy and help improve your
lubrication practices. TLGU 10 can be especially
valuable on machinery where lubrication
issues have been already experienced, it
can help adjusting the lubrication route and
practices on those specific machines. TLGU
10 will help giving more insights on your
lubrication strategy. TLGU 10 is a simple
and comprehensive tool that will help adjust
relubrication intervals.
• Q: What do the numbers mean when
going up?
• A: Typically, as an example scenario, here is
an overview of what the displayed numbers
may relate to: + 2dB: OK ; +8dB could probably
mean that some early damage are taking
place in the bearing; +16 dB could probably
mean that some damages have occurred in the
bearing; + 24dB vibrations appear.
• Q: Should I use TLGU 10 on all my machines?
• We strongly recommend to assess criticity
of assets before changing lubrication routes
based on TLGU 10 feedback solely. We strongly
recommend not use this tool is for applications
where contamination is the typical failure
mode, then using far more grease is usually the
method to keep contamination away, by pushing
old grease when injecting fresh grease.
• Q: When should I use TLGU 10?
• A:Using TLGU 10 is a step or the beginning to
lubrication conditioning. When optimizing your
settled and good lubrication conditioning, then
TLGU 10 may not bring as much value.

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MP5500 EN · 2020/12