Co-author, Stan Riddle. Lubricating bearings on a regular PM schedule has some inherent problems-mainly, how do you know if a bearing needs lubricating or not? If the bearing seal is not compromised, grease should stay in the bearing, and provide lubrication for a long time. But if the seal is blown, the bearing will require…
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Some things just don’t pass the “eye test”. Your eyes are actually great tools for seeing things that are not straight, not plumb, not level (pictures hanging on a wall for example), not right. Many times, just by looking at a coupling you can tell “it’s not aligned”, and you are usually correct. Visual Inspection:…
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Fixturlaser Shaft Alignment Tools come pre-programmed with generally accepted industry tolerances for electric motor driven machinery. These tolerances are based on the motor RPM and will give you an “endpoint” in the alignment process (based on the measured offset and angular misalignment at the center point of the coupling in both the vertical and horizontal…
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And it just may be a lot more than you would think. While visiting a customer site to do an alignment check using the EVO laser alignment tool on a 1750 HP Electric Motor / Boiler Feed Water Pump / 3574 rpm, measurements were taken several times (x3) to make sure the values were repeatable. …
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I was asked to help a customer align a 500HP Motor / Blower. The new motor came in on a skid, was lifted into place with a crane, new electrical boxes fitted and coupling put into place. Now the easy part, the precision shaft alignment! We took two sets of measurements which repeated. Made one…
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A creative application for the VibrAlign Belt Hog sheave alignment tool has paid off for New Flyer of America and one of its customers, King County (Seattle, WA) Metro Transit Division Fleet Engineering and Vehicle Maintenance. New Flyer is a major manufacturer of heavy-duty buses in the U.S. and Canada. The Belt Hog is…
Read MoreIn this situation, there is little or no room to mount the laser sensors to the motor and pump. What would you do? You could remove the entire coupling and do an “uncoupled alignment”. Or, be creative… Remove ½ the flexible coupling. Then mount…
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Certain types of flexible couplings are designed to have looseness creating coupling backlash. Even when installed correctly! Looseness from coupling backlash, if not controlled, will have a negative effect on measurement quality by increasing measurement error and the amount of time it takes to do a precision shaft alignment. So, how can coupling backlash be…
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How does someone get really good at something? Practice! Whether in sports or your profession, people who are really good at something practice good habits over and over. Shaft alignment is no different. Learning quality measurement practices and repeating them with each shaft alignment job will increase your effectiveness with your laser alignment tool. Mechanical…
Read MoreHow do you convert dial indicator specifications to laser alignment specifications? We often ask customers “what is your alignment specification or tolerance that you are trying to achieve?” What we hear most of the time is “zero” or “two thou” or “five thou”…. What we know first is they are using dial indicator values as…
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