Vibralign Blog

angled soft foot| machinery diagnostics| Obvious soft foot| Precision Shaft Alignment| soft foot| Vibration Analysis

By Stan Riddle on February 26, 2018

Most industrial maintenance mechanics who are involved with precision shaft alignment are familiar with the phenomenon of soft foot.  From an alignment standpoint, soft foot causes: Changes in alignment values, between when the hold down bolts are loose, and when they are tight. Non-repeatability in alignment measurements, especially if the bolts are not tightened in […]

angled soft foot| Fixturlaser NXA Pro| Laser Shaft Alignment| Obvious soft foot| soft foot

By Stan Riddle on February 19, 2018

Most laser alignment tools include a soft foot function. However, in truth these tools haven’t measured ACTUAL soft foot, instead they have measured the EFFECT of soft foot at the shaft or coupling as that is where the laser heads or sensors are mounted.  While the EFFECT of soft foot is important, correcting the ACTUAL […]

"soft foot"| angled soft foot| bearing failures| condition monitoring| Machinery Bases| machinery vibration| Pump Bases

By Tim Sorensen on February 12, 2018

It’s no joke that many machines operate with high levels of vibration due to soft foot.  These same machines often have a decreased life span due to this condition. Soft foot is a condition that should be eliminated during the precision shaft alignment process, if you’re performing proper alignments at all.  This condition can manifest […]

"coupling tolerance"| "foot tolerance"| "shaft alignment"| Alignment tolerances| machinery diagnostics| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Mac MacCormack on February 8, 2018

While on the road conducting precision shaft alignment training I run across a wide range of skill level. It is not uncommon to have a lot of questions. I like it when there are questions, that is usually an indication that the trainees are engaged. It is also not uncommon that a question starts with, […]

accelerometer| axis of rotation| Fixturlaser Smart Machine Checker| machinery diagnostics| machinery vibration| Precision Shaft Alignment| rotational axis

By Tom Shelton on February 1, 2018

Everything must have perspective, a point of view, to be communicated. To communicate the three spatial dimensions, we use the X,Y, Z coordinates. These denote height, width and depth. In referring to machinery we use the same X,Y, Z denotations, but we give them different values or meanings. To make it even more interesting, there […]

"bolt bound"| aligning machinery| cupped washers| hold down bolts| Precision Shaft Alignment| undercut bolts

By Stan Riddle on January 24, 2018

Fasteners are a critical component of the precision shaft alignment process, yet the importance of fasteners is many times overlooked.  If bolting is not selected, assembled, and torqued correctly, it can make the precision shaft alignment process less accurate, more difficult to achieve, and potentially harmful to the machines. While there are always unusual circumstances, […]

Fixturlaser Smart Machine Checker| machinery diagnostics| machinery vibration| maintenance reliability| Smart Machine Checker

By Doug Burdsall on January 16, 2018

With the introduction of the OneProd Hawk in April of 2015, VibrAlign shed light on the idea that the future of Machinery Diagnostics was about to get easier; That you can achieve a second level diagnosis on any machine without help from a professional vibration analyst. It just took a tool that empowers mechanics to […]

"soft foot"| Fixturlaser GO Basic| Obvious soft foot| Pre-Alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Brad Case on January 4, 2018

We have been teaching maintenance personnel to use the Verti-Zontal Process to perform precision shaft alignments quickly for years. The key to quick alignments is to follow the Verti-Zontal plan which includes the pre-alignment steps Obviously when alignment checks are done, the pre-alignment steps aren’t performed on the “front end” of the alignment however they […]

PM| Precision Shaft Alignment| predictive maintenance| Preventive maintance

By Stan Riddle on December 27, 2017

James Pekarek, one of our trainers, wrote a blog entitled “Performing Alignment Checks as Part of Your Preventive Maintenance”. https://vibralign.com/shaft-alignment/performing-alignment-checks-part-preventive-maintenance/ It is a great article, and good advice.  I recently shared this blog post, and the advice, with a customer of ours.  Here’s why. I taught a training class at a large water plant in […]

bearing defect detecion| Bearing Fluting| Capacitive EDM| eletric motor bearing failure| VFD| Vibration Testing

By Tim Sorensen on December 20, 2017

When performing vibration analysis, it is observed that machines with VFD drives have a more frequent occurrence for changing motor bearings.  If you’ve been diligent in the installation and maintenance of these machines, ensuring the alignment and balance are within specification and the bearings are properly lubricated, but still have frequent bearing failures, it may […]

calibration| Dial Indicators| precut shims| shims| training

By Tom Shelton on December 14, 2017

SHIM STORAGE & USAGE: Shims are an integral part of obtaining precision shaft alignment in an efficient manner. Only new, clean shims should be used. The cost of new shims is minimal when compared to the cost of extra downtime caused by an inefficient precision alignment process. Proper choice, use and storage of shims is […]

aligning machinery| Dial Indicators| Fixturlaser| Fixturlaser NXA Pro| mils

By Stan Riddle on December 1, 2017

On occasion, we are asked, “What are these numbers on the screen?”  All our alignment tools (and most others) can be configured in Imperial or Metric.  Most US users use Imperial (inches, feet, and so on). When we say, “Your laser displays in mils”, we’re asked, “What’s a mil?” Definition – [mil] noun. 1. a […]

"shaft alignment training"| equipment reliability| Fixturlaser NXA Pro| Laser Shaft Alignment| misalignment| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Mac MacCormack on November 16, 2017

I recently received a support call from a nearby client, the issue was that the precision shaft alignment of a right-angle gear reducer to a line shaft was taking up to 12 hours (using another brand alignment tool) with little to no success. There are about a dozen of these units in this facility. This […]

bearing clearances| coupling runout| Dynamic Movement| Gearbox Thrust| pipe Strain| Pre-Alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment| runout

By Stan Riddle on November 7, 2017

VibrAlign has introduced the Fixturlaser Runout Probe, an accessory device for the Fixturlaser NXA Professional.  I (as a jaded, grizzled old millwright-but a good “company man”) was outwardly excited.  But inside, I thought, what’s the big deal?  It’s an electronic dial indicator. That’s what I thought – until I took it for a test drive!  […]

ISO 10816-3| ISO Vibration Severity Chart| machinery diagnostics| ONEPROD| OneProd Falcon| ONEPROD Hawk

By Tim Sorensen on November 1, 2017

For years, vibration analysts have depended upon the ISO Vibration Severity Chart for the determination of machinery health.  Typically, this chart provides a level of certainty that would allow the analyst to look at the vibration levels, and if acceptable, move onto the next machine for analysis.   Some defects are determined in the waveform […]