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Track 02 · Machinery Diagnostics

Measurement Setup 101

Good data starts before you press record.

27 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.

Build a repeatable route that trends cleanly over time.

Mount and orient a sensor so the high-frequency band stays honest.

Set Fmax, resolution, windowing and averaging for a real machine.

Kill ground loops and cable noise before they hide a fault.

The curriculum

27 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.

01
Reading the graphs
Two views of one shake: waveform and spectrum.
02
Why setup matters
A perfect analyzer cannot rescue a ruined signal.
03
The big picture
The measurement chain — every link must hold.
04
Rule number one
Mounting decides the highest frequency you can trust.
05
Why a mount has a ceiling
Every mount rings at its own natural frequency.
06
Watch the ceiling move
Stiffer mount, higher mounted resonance, wider honest band.
07
See the cost on a real spectrum
A soft mount rolls off the high-frequency ring.
08
Case study 1
A magnet on a guard — the fault that never was.
09
Where you measure
Location and orientation: H, V and A — every time.
10
The cable matters
A whipping cable makes its own noise.
11
Route it clear
Keep the signal cable away from power and drives.
12
One earth, not two
Grounding and the ground loop.
13
Watch the hum take over
A ground loop doesn’t just add a peak — it hides faults.
14
Case study 2
A ground loop hiding a real bearing fault.
15
Powering the sensor
Signal conditioning: power, gain and protection.
16
How fast is fast enough
Sample too slowly and a fast tone lies — aliasing.
17
Stop it before the sampler
The anti-alias filter must sit before the recorder.
18
Set up the recording · 1 of 4
Fmax — set the span to cover your fastest fault.
19
Set up the recording · 2 of 4
Lines of resolution — how finely you can separate peaks.
20
Set up the recording · 3 of 4
The window — tidy a peak and stop it smearing.
21
Set up the recording · 4 of 4
Averaging — calm the noise so faint faults show.
22
Put the settings together
Choosing settings for a real machine.
23
Many points, tidy wiring
Repeatable routes and the junction box.
24
Trust, but verify
Calibrate before you trust a reading.
25
Case study 3
An uncalibrated sensor that drifted — a phantom trend.
26
Put it together
Building a repeatable route, step by step.
27
Recap
Setup, in one place.
Finish all 27 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.

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.