During a recent Fixturlaser XA Pro training class, at a Texas petrochemical plant, we were performing an alignment on a 25 HP, 3600 RPM electric motor & water pump. At first the class was having a little trouble bringing the alignment into the 3600 tolerance due to two separate issues. The first was severe vibration…
Read MoreOne of the issues precision shaft alignment technicians face is whether a machine is alignable. There will be times that a machine cannot be aligned in its current condition. A recent Fixturlaser GO Basic training class ran into this issue when performing alignment checks on 4 small centrifugal pumps. All pumps had 10 HP electric…
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VibrAlign’s Shaft Alignment Training is the best in the industry. We not only train maintenance personnel on how to use our tools – we teach alignment! Lots of it! We teach correcting soft foot, bolt bound problems, pipe strain, coupling problems – real world stuff. Our training staff has about one hundred combined years of…
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Soft foot is undoubtedly the number one challenge faced on an everyday basis in precision shaft alignment. The concept is simple enough; make sure the machine feet rest flat on the base. Unfortunately, it is not always so simple to solve. Before sitting down to write this, I noted there are 17 articles posted on…
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VibrAlign, Inc. has released a new video entitled “Concepts of Shaft Alignment: Offset and Angularity”. The video describes and depicts how shaft alignment is quantified in the measures of offset and angularity. 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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During the field alignment portion of a Fixturlaser GO Basic shaft alignment training class, we were attempting to align a 100 H.P., 3600 RPM motor to a double suction pump. Sounds easy enough! Here’s the skinny… The pump and motor were the top set in a vertical, two unit skid made of I-beams and very…
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A recent Fixturlaser GO Basic Training class performed a field alignment on a 100 HP, 3 Phase, 5600 RPM electric motor coupled to a crude oil pump in a refinery. The class decided it would be permissible to use the 3600 RPM setting in GO Basic active tolerance table, which is +/- 0.5 mils/1” angular…
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One of my co-workers recently fielded a call from a customer, asking, “What is the proper way to size shims under motor feet?” In other words, if the foot is 6 by 4 inches square, how big should the shim be? Excellent question! And one I wasn’t sure how to answer. I have always tried…
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Previous blogs have discussed several different solutions for solving Base Bound & Bolt Bound conditions when preforming precision laser shaft alignment (Base/Bound Math and Solving Base/Bound Alignment Alignment Problems). Sometimes though, the solution for a Bolt Bound issue is fairly straight forward and what you need to do is right in front of your eyes…
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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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The Realigning America Tour 2013 will host events in 35 cities in 24 states around the United States. The free seminars will help shaft alignment practitioners hone their alignment skills and learn about new alignment innovations. The “Realigning America Tour 2013” will begin on May 2nd and end on June 13th. Tour events will take…
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During the OJT portion of a Fixturlaser GO Basic Training class, with the Army Corp of Engineers, the class aligned two electric motors driving large winch gearboxes on a dredging barge. These winches are used to move the barge into position during dredging operations. The class wanted to rotate both shafts to perform the alignments,…
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VibrAlign, Inc. has released a new video entitled “Concepts of Shaft Alignment Part One: The Basics.” The video describes and depicts what happens when perfectly aligned, or “collinear” shafts move out of alignment, and the challenges of correcting the misalignment. The video was based on ideas for visualizing alignment created by David Zdrojewski, CEO of…
Read MoreSometimes precision laser shaft alignment is a quick, neat, orderly maintenance task. And sometimes, it is not! Occasionally, everything that can be wrong IS wrong. While teaching a Fixturlaser Go Pro training class in Illinois, the class went into the plant for some “hands on” shaft alignment work. The machine chosen was a 25 HP…
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Stainless steel shims are now the standard for use in shimming machinery when preforming a precision laser or dial indicator shaft alignment. They are clean, corrosion resistant, flat, and most importantly, pre-cut. Their use speeds up the alignment process significantly. However, it is very important to measure the thickness of a shim before using it.…
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