Track 02 · Machinery Diagnostics

Bearing & Gear Analysis 101

Catch a bearing months before it seizes.

15 lessons Self-paced 25-question exam Badge: Machinery Diagnostics

Releasing 16 Aug 2026 Back to catalog

Releasing 16 Aug 2026 — the lesson opens on release day.

What you'll leave knowing

Outcomes for this primer.

Short, interactive and self-paced. Every idea is shown with a live instrument, then checked in the exam.

Read the four bearing tones — BPFO, BPFI, BSF and FTF.

Use envelope demodulation to catch a defect months early.

Follow the four stages of bearing failure.

Read gear mesh and sidebands to tell one bad tooth from all-over wear.

The curriculum

15 lessons, in order.

Each lesson is one focused screen — a concept, an interactive graphic, and a plain-language read. Climb the chain, then sit the exam.

A quick re-anchor · spectrum, orders, harmonics, sidebands

Four words we will lean on: spectrum, orders, harmonics and sidebands.

Meet the part

A bearing, exploded — outer race, inner race, balls and cage.

Why it taps

Every defect is a tap — one sharp impact each time a ball rolls over it.

Odd on purpose

Why the four tones sit at odd, non-round rhythms.

The four fingerprints

BPFO, BPFI, BSF and FTF — each part taps at its own rate.

A deeper picture

Bearing natural frequency — the high-pitched ring behind each tap.

The early-warning trick

Envelope demodulation — trace the ring, reveal the hidden tap early.

See it work

Flip on the envelope — the hidden bearing tone jumps out.

Hear it

You can literally hear a bad bearing.

It gets worse in stages

The four stages of bearing failure — crest factor first, broadband last.

Now the gears

Now the gears — the gear mesh frequency (GMF = teeth × speed).

The tell-tale

Sidebands — a cracked tooth modulates the mesh once per turn (1× modulation).

Which kind of wear?

One bad tooth versus all-over wear — read which it is.

A designer's trick

The hunting-tooth idea — spreading the wear on purpose.

Recap

Bearing & gear analysis, in one place.

Finish all 15 lessons and pass the 25-question exam to earn your completion certificate — issued on the spot.

Where it fits

Part of the Machinery Diagnostics badge.

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Machinery Diagnostics

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A primer — not ISO 18436 certification

TIERA 101 gives you working fundamentals. It is not equivalent to, nor a substitute for, ISO 18436 Category I–IV vibration-analyst certification.

TIERA's formal ISO 18436 Category I–IV programme is separate and paid. Ask us about the certified track when you're ready to go pro.