When performing precision shaft alignment, regardless of the measuring tools being used, size matters. Many coupled machines have obstructions around the couplings, such as transmitters, oil or cooling lines, conduit clamps, and many other components which can make precision laser shaft alignment challenging. Fixturlaser’s new generation Bluetooth sensors (pictured on the left above) are the…
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The new Fixturlaser EVO laser shaft alignment system is designed to put the power of alignment in the aligner’s hands. The computational display unit is especially compact, able to fit in one hand like a tablet, leaving the other hand free to rotate the sensors on the shafts and enter data on the touchscreen, while…
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In shaft alignment, the terms Spacer Shaft, Jack Shaft, and Spool-piece are often interchanged. They refer to a shaft which connects the driving machine to the driven machine. While the name is not so important, the type of configuration must be known, because the method of alignment can be different depending upon the type. They…
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There is an ongoing debate on what tolerances are acceptable when aligning your rotating equipment. The debate falls on the “published tolerances” provided by the coupling manufacturers and the tolerances “recommended” by alignment equipment companies, reliability associations and rotating equipment OEM’s. The offset and angularity tolerances are much more permissive from the coupling manufactures than…
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The Fixturlaser NXA and VibrAlign have been named the Bronze 2013 Product of the Year in the Maintenance Tools and Equipment category. The NXA won out over other nominees based on voting by readers of Plant Engineering magazine. Fixturlaser and VibrAlign have previously won Product of the Year Gold awards in 1992 (CombiLaser) and in…
Read MoreA shaft alignment tolerance is simply that – an allowable, minimal amount of misalignment. There are many different tolerance tables for shaft alignment. At VibrAlign, we have a good alignment tolerance, based on many years of experience and engineering. Other alignment tools have their own tolerance tables. Many technical and trade organizations have their alignment…
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In my previous blog entry “Why do people struggle with alignment? Part 1”, we discussed the importance of not only micing, cleaning, and consolidating shims but also noting the total amount of shims under each foot of the movable machine. The motor-pump set we performed an alignment check on, had the following amount of shims…
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The Realigning America Tour 2014 follows VibrAlign’s successful 2013 Realigning America Tours. The upcoming Tour will again be hosted by VibrAlign along with industry experts from Lovejoy. The “Realigning America Tour 2014” will begin on April 24th in Appleton, WI and end on October 16th in Sacramento. Tour events will take place in twenty four cities…
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After a shaft alignment check, if it’s out of tolerance, some maintenance personnel will skip the pre-alignment checks and proceed directly to correcting the vertical and horizontal misalignment. Frustration begins to set in as the alignment results go back and forth and seem inconsistent. The laser shaft alignment instrument says to add 20 mils to the…
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VibrAlign, Inc. is committed to helping businesses use their resources more efficiently and effectively through the precise alignment of the shafts of rotating equipment. As leading innovators in alignment processes, VibrAlign has teamed with Fixturlaser to revolutionize dial indicator shaft alignment with the launch of a new app called Fixturlaser Dials. The Fixturlaser Dials App…
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VibrAlign, Inc. has released a new video entitled “Concepts of Shaft Alignment: Backlash”. The video describes and depicts how coupling backlash can cause measurement errors and illustrates two guidelines for controlling backlash. The video series was based on ideas for visualizing alignment created by David Zdrojewski, CEO of VibrAlign. According to Zdrojewski, “Our research shows…
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Any aligner knows that not properly correcting soft foot during a precision shaft alignment leads to frustration and anguish, not to mention wasted time. Soft foot is such a problem there has been numerous articles on The Alignment Blog the past few years about the subject. The articles discuss the many causes of soft foot…
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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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While at facilities across the country I noticed a lack of understanding regarding the need for precision alignment of offset shaft driven rotating equipment. I myself have seen electricians and mechanics alike becoming frustrated trying to determine the cause of speed fluctuations and vibration in offset shaft driven equipment. Typical response is that the cause…
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During the classroom portion of a Fixturlaser GO Pro training class, at a sheet metal processing plant, one mechanic insisted the GO Pro alignment results were not repeatable in the field. The mechanic had the opportunity to use their GO Pro once before the training class and was convinced it would not repeat For the…
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