Optical mouse sensor used to predict mechanical damages in the rotation parts of an electrical motor

The built-in digital signal processor in a optical mouse is a reliable tool to measure the movements in a plane, by means of fast correlation between images. The additional adoption of a laser mouse as a sensor of movements such as the pumping of a radial artery of a human being is known, and its contactless ability can be useful in other applications. This work aimed to prove the feasibility of this adapted device to predict mechanical damages in electrical motors. The electrical motor was illuminated by a laser beam when it was working with and without the introduced problem in his bearings, with the adapted optical mouse working as a sensor. The built-in laser source was disabled and the mouse was connected to a computer with a particular software to assemble the signal. The setup was adjusted and the best position of the equipments with respect to the motor identified. Many replications of the assembled data were processed and the results presented the reliability of the method to separate the electrical motor with damaged bearings from the motor with new bearings, proving that the DSP device is able to measure besides movements, but also periodic phenomena.