4 Timebase Plots

The timebase plot is the most fundamental graphic presentation of machinery dynamic data. It shows how a single parameter (most often displacement, velocity, or acceleration, but also any other dynamic measurement) from a single transducer changes on a very short time scale, typically a fraction of a second. This is in contrast to trend plots, which display the value of a slowly changing parameter (for example, axial position) over a much longer time scale, typically hours to months.