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Precision Alignment and Balance isn’t Important – Unless you care about budgets and the reliability of your rotating assets.

I read an interesting article in the June/July 17 issue of Uptime Magazine. It was titled “The Reliability Impact Within the P-F Curve” by Randy Riddell. Randy is the Reliability Manager for the SCA Barton Mill in Alabama. I encourage you to read the full article (https://reliabilityweb.com/articles/entry/the-reliability-impact-within-the-p-f-curve). The article includes the following graphic that I…

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Calculating Output Speed Using Pulley Diameters and Input Speed

Knowing the correct shaft speed of both shafts on a belt-driven machine is important when performing machinery diagnostics. Ideally you would do this by first identifying the input and output speeds using a strobe light, photo tach or laser tach. Once you know the accurate speed of both components, use this formula to determine the…

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Determining Cold Alignment Targets from OEM Dial Indicator Specifications

A client was aligning a motor-compressor set and wanted to use the OEM specifications for thermal growth (OL2R) compensation. The manual gave the target values as rim and face dial indicator numbers for either the motor hub or compressor hub. In this case the motor hub specifications were used. He was using the Fixturlaser NXA…

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Precision Shaft Alignment Training – Should You Learn Dials First?

Proper training is a critical component to success when using precision shaft alignment tools. This is true regardless of the measurement methodology. I often hear people say that it is important to learn dial indicator shaft alignment first to gain a better understanding of the alignment process. Really? After all, you don’t need to learn…

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Understanding Alignment Target Data from the VibrAlign ThermAlign App

Dynamic Movement, often thought of as thermal growth, is a hot topic among alignment professionals (I’ll be here all week!). Plant Services Magazine in conjunction with VibrAlign recently hosted a webinar on this subject (details below). One of the more popular ways to compensate for thermal growth is through the use of a thermal growth…

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Setting up OL2R (Offline To Running) and Offset (Cardan) Brackets

OL2R Measurements (Offline To Running) are used to collect very accurate (and actual) Thermal Growth Values and Targets for critical rotating machinery. Offset Measurements (Cardan Shaft) are critical for offset drives to ensure there is no angular misalignment causing lead/lag issues with the drive shafts resulting in production related quality problems. Both the OL2R and…

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Using a Laser Shaft Alignment System to Check for Pipe Strain

Pipe strain is a relatively common problem seen in pump installations. It is a cause of premature bearing and seal failure. Here is a link to an excellent article from Pumps and Systems magazine that discusses the detrimental effects of pump strain. http://www.pump-zone.com/topics/seals/how-do-plant-pipe-strain-problems-affect-my-pumping-systems You can easily measure the effects of pipe strain using dial indicators…

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Converting Laser Alignment System Readings to Rim and Face Dial Readings

VibrAlign released the free Laser-Dials App to aid laser system users who need/want to convert their laser shaft alignment system results to rim and face dial indicator readings. You can also use the App to convert dial indicator readings to laser readings. Most are interested in converting laser results to dials so that is what…

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How to convert angularity in mils/inch to angles in degrees

Occasionally we get asked how to convert shaft alignment angularity values expressed as mils (thousandths) per inch to degrees. Since mils per inch is the rise over run that means that the conversion to an angle is the arctangent. Or the conversion from an angle is the tangent of that angle. Remember to include the…

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How to Read an Alignment Report

Most maintenance personnel understand that documenting a precision shaft alignment is a good idea, but don’t always understand how to interpret the data. Here is a quick primer on how to read a typical alignment report. This shaft alignment report happens to be from a Fixturlaser NXA Professional but all alignment reports should contain similar…

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A Vertical Shaft Alignment Process

The inclinometers in a laser alignment system work against gravity in the horizontal plane for a typical horizontal shaft alignment. When performing a vertical shaft alignment, the process will be different. Here is the process for aligning a vertically-mounted C-faced motor as shown on a vertical alignment demonstrator: Mount the sensors across the coupling. Special…

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Return on Alignment–Energy Savings

Although the benefits of precision shaft alignment are well known to companies that do have a good shaft alignment program, it remains a fact that many machines are still not precision aligned. This can be attributed to difficulty in figuring out the return on investment. It is difficult because good alignment practices lead to cost…

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