Motor fault detection and classification
Detection and classification of motor faults for predictive maintenance.
In this use case, we show how the STM32 AI Ecosystem can help you along this journey, and how AI can provide in-depth and automated signal analysis, giving the maintenance team unparalleled reliability and confidence in managing upcoming events.
Approach
The goal was to use NanoEdge AI Studio to generate a machine learning library able to classify these faults. Here is how we proceeded:
- First, we set up the datalogger generator in NanoEdge AI Studio to continuously record motor vibration data using the STEVAL-PROTEUS1 with its built-in always-on ISM330DHCX sensor.
- We used the recorded vibration data and the Sampling finder tool provided by NanoEdge AI Studio to determine the best combination of signal length and data rate to use for the project.
- During the benchmark process, NanoEdge AI Studio identified several libraries capable of classifying the nominal state of the motor and the 4 kinds of faults with a high accuracy.
- With the validation step in NanoEdge AI Studio, we selected the library that produced the best results on new datasets generated from our tests.
- After compiling the library, we deployed it in the STEVAL-PROTEUS board by Bluetooth using the ST BLE Sensor mobile app.
You can also follow the same steps to create a similar AI model able to classify multiple levels of misalignment (0.0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mm).
Sensor
Data
- No fault
- Rotation unbalance
- Loose bearings
- Faulty bearings
- Misalignment
Signal length 1536 (512 per axis, 3 axis), approximately 1500 signals per class
Data rate 1667 Hz, full scale: 8g
Results
Fault classification:
99.80% accuracy, 12.7 Kbytes of RAM, 25.4 Kbytes of Flash memory



Resources
Model created with NanoEdge AI Studio
A free AutoML software for adding AI to embedded projects, guiding users step by step to easily find the optimal AI model for their requirements.
The STM32 family of 32-bit microcontrollers based on the Arm Cortex®-M processor is designed to offer new degrees of freedom to MCU users. It offers products combining very high performance, real-time capabilities, digital signal processing, low-power / low-voltage operation, and connectivity, while maintaining full integration and ease of development.