Rotary Bearings launches sensor parts with dashboard

Rotary Bearings has launched a new range of sensor-based parts for manufacturers, combining industrial components with monitoring technology and a customer dashboard.

The line includes bearings, motors, pumps and gearboxes fitted with sensors, with data shown through custom-built software. Customers can view real-time information on asset performance and use it to spot issues before equipment fails.

Founded in Northern Ireland in the mid-1980s as a bearings specialist, Rotary Bearings now sells products across the UK and Ireland, including belts, pulleys, adhesives and personal protective equipment. The latest launch adds digital monitoring and condition-based maintenance tools to that offering.

The software platform was developed by Storm Reply, a cloud engineering company that connected the hardware and sensors into a single dashboard. Rotary Bearings owns the system, meaning it does not face ongoing subscription or licence fees.

Michael Cunningham, General Manager at Rotary Bearings, said: "We were originally an industrial supplies company, then we discovered sensors and wanted to explore how customers could monitor their assets, get information back and take action before they have a breakdown.

"Many manufacturers have to go back to the provider that sold them the equipment, which then charges them again to analyse their own data. With our new solution, they can see the data themselves, whatever their job role or function."

Condition monitoring

Part of the offer centres on automatic lubrication. The system uses SmartLube, a condition-based lubrication product that adjusts according to factors such as equipment speed, load and temperature.

Rotary Bearings said more than 60% of bearing failures are caused by over-lubrication, and argued that condition-based systems can extend bearing life. It is also offering condition monitoring through El-Watch neuron sensors, which track temperature, flow rate, pressure, vibration and operating hours.

This gives manufacturers a way to monitor both bearings and wider machine performance through one set of tools. The approach is intended to reduce unplanned stoppages and lower maintenance spending by identifying faults earlier.

Built in weeks

Storm Reply said its engineering team worked with Rotary Bearings to move from an initial proof of concept to a production system in a short period. The company develops cloud-based systems for industrial and manufacturing customers and employs 30 technology and manufacturing specialists at its research and development lab in London.

Rachel Grunwerg, Partner at Storm Reply, said: "Our small team of engineers built the solution very quickly, in a matter of weeks, working very closely with Rotary Bearings. We created a proof of concept, then a production solution, which they are now using with their clients.

"It is easy to use and maintain, and provides significant benefits. We have built a solution that offers much more than the physical part itself: users can see a dashboard with insights into that part, how it is working, its usage, energy consumption and performance."

Storm Reply is part of the Reply Group and said its systems are built on Amazon Web Services infrastructure rather than being tied to a single hardware format or off-the-shelf software package. In this case, the work focused on linking industrial components, sensors and software into one customer-facing service.

The move reflects a wider shift among industrial suppliers as customers seek more direct access to machine data rather than relying on equipment vendors for analysis. For distributors and component specialists, that creates an opening to add software and monitoring services alongside physical products.

Rotary Bearings is positioning the system as a way for manufacturers to oversee assets across different job roles and functions through a single dashboard. It says that visibility can help customers make maintenance decisions earlier and avoid disruption on production lines.

Sam Manley, Enterprise Account Manager for AWS Northern Ireland & Ireland, added: "The solution we helped deliver will ultimately open up more customers for Rotary Bearings, allowing them to earn more trust from their customers."