Laser shaft alignment

Many vibration analysts believe that misalignment is the root cause of the majority of machine breakdowns (whether in the form of bearing failures, and/or damaged seals, shafts and couplings).

Misalignment results in additional stresses and forces on machine components, thereby adding unnecessary load. Studies have shown that a 20% increase in load cuts the bearing life in half while doubling the load reduces the bearing life by more than 85%. The increased load (due to misalignment) also causes seals to fail prematurely. The vast majority of seals do not tolerate misalignment (given that it results in rubbing, increased heat / friction, and wear allowing ingress of moisture / contaminants); studies have shown that misalignment can reduce the life of a seal by 50%.

The most common cause of misalignment is simple: not practising precision alignment when installing machines i.e. if the machine has not been precision aligned, it is misaligned.

The benefits of precision alignment include: increased machine life, greater reliability and reduced downtime / machine failures.

We have years of experience and use state-of-the-art laser shaft alignment instruments to conduct precision alignment. Laser alignment systems have a number of significant advantages over dial indicator systems, including:
– Greater accuracy.
– Does not suffer from hysteresis.
– No calculation errors.
– Does not suffer from bar sag.

Having successfully conducted innumerable instances of precision alignment over the years (more than 70 in 2024 alone), we are familiar with detecting and correcting the various types of soft foot conditions (i.e. rocking, bent, squishy, and induced). Correcting a soft foot condition is crucial, because failure to do so typically results in (1) successful precision alignment becoming extremely difficult or impossible i.e. misalignment remains and cannot be resolved; (2) bearing distortion / stress; (3) shaft bend / fatigue; (4) internal distortion / misalignment; and/or (5) incorrect internal clearances (e.g. between rotor and stator).

Contact us for a no-obligation quote.

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