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Roughing In Before Precision Shaft Alignment

Some people believe that precision laser shaft alignment has evolved to the point where pre-alignment steps, such as roughing in the alignment with a straightedge, are no longer needed.  Well, quite frankly, those people are wrong! The reason for roughing in the alignment has little to do with how accurately the lasers/sensors measure.  It has…

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Precision Shaft Alignment with Adjustable Chocks

We have written, here on the VibrAlign blog, about adjustable chocks used in place of shims for vertical adjustment and machine support. A recent experience at a customer site prompted this article, to share a simple tip that could save valuable time and effort. The customer was using vertical jack bolts while viewing live alignment…

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Save Time. Save Money.

Time is a commodity maintenance personnel typically have in short supply. We hear quite often, in our on-site Shaft Alignment Best Practices training classes, “………. doesn’t give us enough time for a proper shaft alignment”. So how can maintenance personnel get more time for shaft alignment? Stop wasting it! I had the pleasure of working…

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Base Bound Machinery Corrections

Most aligners are familiar with a bolt bound situation, which occurs when the motor cannot be moved enough to achieve proper horizontal alignment.  A base bound condition occurs when a motor cannot be lowered sufficiently to achieve proper vertical alignment.  Here is an example.  During a customer’s recent pump replacement, the motor was left in…

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If It Moves Your Laser Will See It

Laser Shaft Alignment tools are a great asset for today’s maintenance professional, enabling them to perform precision shaft alignments to very tight tolerances; and do so quickly when using the VibrAlign Verti-Zontal Process. Laser alignment systems are a tool and as such show the user what is occurring “mechanically” during the alignment process, including if…

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UNBALANCE

Unbalance is another common machinery vibration problem.  Unbalance is the uneven distribution of mass around a rotating axis. Any rotating machine can have an unbalance problem, not just fans.  It is important to note that once rotating machinery components are balanced, they should stay balanced until something changes.  These changes are normally: Dirt, paint, or…

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MACHINERY VIBRATION PROBLEMS-CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS, PART 1

Machines vibrate for lots of different reasons-some good, others not so good. Over the next few months, we are going to write about some of the most common machinery vibration causes, and possible solutions. COUPLING MISALIGNMENT One of the most common problems in coupled rotating equipment is misalignment. Simply stated, misalignment is when the driving…

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Wind Turbine Alignment in High Winds

Precision alignment of the generator to the gearbox in a wind turbine (the high speed shaft) is critical to proper operation. 60 percent of wind turbine downtime is related to drive train failure: gearbox, generator, main shaft, and their associated bearings. We also know from industry studies that misalignment of rotating machinery is responsible for…

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Short-cuts, a way to make Precision Shaft Alignment take longer.

I love my job, I love conducting precision shaft alignment training at various facilities across this great country and interacting with industrial maintenance technicians that have suffered through or are suffering through the same issues I did. I love proving over and over again that the VibrAlign method of precision shaft alignment is the best…

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Got Alignment Questions? We Are Here To Help!

VibrAlign’s Team of 6 dedicated Technical Trainers conducted over 200 “Shaft Alignment Best Practices” Classes across America in 2015. Our classes were conducted in all types of industry including but not limited to: Food and Beverage Power Generation (fossil fuel, nuclear, & wind) Gas Compression Petro-Chemical Mining Water/Waste Water HVAC (facilities maintenance) Construction/Contracting Various Types…

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Repeatability vs. Desired Outcome in Shaft Alignment, Part 2

In my last post, we looked some reasons for non repeatable, or when “two plus two doesn’t equal four”. This time, let’s think about when we don’t get an expected or desired outcome when we shim and move. Think of it as when “two minus two doesn’t equal zero.” You may perform an alignment measurement,…

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Proper Installation is Essential to Equipment Reliability

Performing precision shaft alignment correctly the first time is crucial to the longevity of your equipment and your long term cost savings. New installations suffer greatly from infant mortality rates if the proper installation procedures are not followed. Most common causes are lack of follow up on the essentials, such as proper foundation work, elevations,…

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Repeatability vs. Desired Outcome in Precision Shaft Alignment, Part 1

When mechanics align rotating machinery, they expect two outcomes. One, they expect their alignment values to be repeatable. Two, they expect shimming and moving machinery to produce a desired outcome-namely, to be in tolerance. In this paper, we’ll discuss repeatability, which is, performing the same measurement twice, and getting the same results. If alignment results…

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Precision Troubleshooting

In my nearly 38 years of industrial maintenance, I have had the opportunity to work on high speed precision machinery. Most often this is highly automated equipment with photo eyes that determine which function needs to occur for the next sequence. After a few instances of frustration, I found that most often when a particular…

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Why Can’t I Just Use My Straight Edge?!

Recently, I was at NC State University observing one of our training classes. This question came up in the beginning of the class by one of the students, and I’m sure this question comes across a lot of people’s minds when they consider making an investment in laser or dial indicator precision shaft alignment tools.…

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