OptoTech uses power monitor for remote diagnosis

Optotech is a leader in optical machinery equipment and has a range of machinery and process technology for precision and ophthalmic optics. John Marhefka, a field service engineer for OptoTech, explains that OptoTech’s customer base includes the people who order the equipment to make lenses.

According to Marhefka, one of OptoTech’s servicing generators—located at their customer’s independent lab in Phoenix, Arizona—started having problems during September 2017 through November 2017. The servicing generator cuts lenses to the given prescription.

Marhefka says the problem was either a bad PC, or the AC voltage was dropping out causing the PC to reset or shutdown and come back on. This problem would normally be solved by either shopping the part to replace parts not knowing the full issue or have someone watch a monitor or small data logger that would only capture so much during the time the person could be onsite.

Marhefka knew they needed a remote diagnosis. Because of his familiarity with Fluke products, he believed Fluke’s 3540 FC Three-Phase Power Monitor would offer a solution. The Fluke 3540 FC monitors equipment for changes in key electrical variables, and the Fluke Connect™ Condition Monitoring (FCCM) software provides measurement data available on any connected device using the Fluke Connect App on a smart device or web interface.

It was installed in early February 2018, and it took about two months of using the power monitor on their generator to properly diagnose it since it was such an intermittent issue. They ultimately discovered a bad PC was causing the problem.

The power monitor helped them save a significant amount of hours of manpower, resulting in cost savings.

Read the full case study here to learn how Fluke’s 3540 FC Three-Phase Power Monitor solved the problem and will be strategic for future power issues that OptoTech faces.