CAT-I Course Overview

The Mobius Institute Category I course is the ideal starting place for new vibration analysts, people collecting vibration data, and those who want a better understanding of vibration analysis and condition monitoring. If you are ready to get started in vibration analysis and condition monitoring, this course is for you.

You will come away with a solid understanding of why we monitor the condition of rotating machinery (and other critical assets), the importance of improved reliability, and how vibration can be successfully measured and analyzed to provide an early warning of a wide range of fault conditions. You won’t come away as an expert; that’s what our more advanced courses are for.

Mobius makes learning about vibration analysis unique. We use 3D animations, Flash simulations, and numerous software simulators that completely demystify vibration analysis. While vibration training courses have traditionally been very theoretical, difficult to understand (and boring), you will be captivated by the Mobius training methods, and you will enjoy our practical approach. You will take away skills that you can immediately apply to your job, and you will truly understand what you are doing. When senior vibration analysts attend our classes they often say “if only I could have learned this way when I got started”. You have the opportunity to do just that.

You will come away from the course with a solid understanding of:

  • The benefits of performing condition monitoring and improving reliability
  • The condition monitoring technologies: acoustic emission, infrared analysis (thermography), oil analysis, wear particle analysis, motor testing
  • How machines work – via supplementary self-study using the “Equipment Knowledge” section
  • How vibration measurements can tell you about the condition of the machine
  • How to collect good, repeatable measurements
  • What the Fmax, resolution, averaging and other analyzer settings mean
  • How to analyze vibration spectra, and the basics of fault diagnosis for unbalance, misalignment, looseness, rolling element bearings faults, resonance, and other conditions
  • An introduction to setting alarm limits

Our public courses are conducted by an experienced, certified Mobius Institute instructor

CAT-I Course Description

Duration: 3 ½ days Cat I / Level I

Optional: ½ day Review & certification examination, 2 hours, 70% passing grade

Compliance: ISO 18436 Category I –Vibration Analyst, ASNT SNT-TC-1A Recommended Practice

Course Pre-Study: Registered students are given access to the online version of the course via the Mobius Institute Learning Zone before the class and for six months after course completion to assist them with converting the course information into practice

Online Learning: Registered students are given access to the Mobius Institute Learning Management System for a period of 6 months to provide ample time to learn the material and prepare for the optional certification examination

Certification Prerequisite: Prior experience is not required for attending the training course, but 6 months of experience is required for certification.

Outcome: You will come away from this course with a very good understanding of vibration analysis fundamentals, you will understand how to take good measurements, and you will be ready to begin analyzing vibration spectra.

Topics covered:

  • Maintenance practices
  • Condition monitoring
  • Principles of vibration
  • Introduction to vibration measurement
  • An introduction to the time waveform
  • An introduction to the spectrum
  • An introduction to forcing frequencies
  • Explaining the different vibration units
  • A brief introduction to phase
  • Data acquisition
  • A quick review of data acquisition
  • How do we measure vibration?
  • Where to place the sensor on the machine
  • Understanding axial, radial, vertical, and horizontal readings
  • A quick introduction to mounting the accelerometer and surface preparation
  • Naming conventions
  • What are “routes” and how do you create them?
  • Signal processing
  • A quick tour of your analyzer
  • Spectral averaging
  • Vibration analysis
  • The spectrum analysis process
  • What is resonance – a quick introduction
  • Diagnosing common fault conditions
  • Setting alarm limits

CAT-I Certification

All Mobius certified analysts receive personalized logos with their certification number and name for their own professional use. Mobius Institute also maintains a listing of all certified analysts on our website and provides each analyst with a certification confirmation webpage. For more information about Mobius Institute’s accreditation, and the recognition of your certification by the ISO 18436 standard, please visit www.mobiusinstitute.com/certification.