Questions About our Products?
Call Customer Service at 1-804-379-2250 (Toll free)
Monday - Friday: 9AM TO 6PM
Current Topics
The Importance of Mechanical Skills in the Data Center: Precision Shaft Alignment
Knowing how to perform a precision shaft alignment is important when it comes to maintenance skills. Whether you are using dial indicators or a laser alignment tool (if you are in the market for either, we have several options here), being able to achieve an accurate, repeatable alignment is key. A few reminders: The […]
Read More
The Remarkable Power of a Positive Customer Experience
Have you ever had a remarkable customer experience, a time when a company representative went above and beyond and made your day? These kinds of experiences are rare, which is unfortunate, but this is likely why we remember them and want to share them with others. Recently, VibrAlign’s COO experienced an example of this. While […]
Read More
The Importance of Mechanical Skills in the Data Center: Lubrication
Another important skill a data center maintenance worker needs is an understanding of the fundamentals of lubrication. Although lubrication may seem simple, there is a good deal of skill behind knowing proper lubrication methods, quantities, and the difference between over and under lubrication. And because under or over lubrication can cause serious problems such as […]
Read More
The Importance of Mechanical Skills in the Data Center: Precision Measurement
We have been privileged to both sell tools and shaft alignment, vibration testing, and precision maintenance training for several different data centers throughout the US. Most of the maintenance technicians we encounter have solid electronics and computer skills, but some are less experienced with mechanical skills. Thus, some of the challenges faced by these maintenance […]
Read More
It’s the Little Things Revisited
During a recent training class at the facility of a client who had their initial Shaft Alignment Best Practices training class 5 years prior, I found out none of the previous class attendees were still in maintenance. The “new” guys never had anyone show them the proper use of their laser and most had no […]
Read More
Emergency Generators: Making it Possible for the Show to Go On
Just like for any plant, it is critical for the data center to sustain minimal to no interruptions to normal processes. The amount of (often sensitive) data housed in the data center servers makes it imperative that data centers continue to run, no matter the conditions. This is why backup generators are so important. In the […]
Read More
Data Center Fans: Blowing More Than Hot Air
In this installment of our data center maintenance series, we will discuss fans. While HVAC chillers ensure cool water supplied to fans for cool air is pumped into the servers in a data center, fans ensure that the hot air from the servers is removed efficiently and redirected to the Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) […]
Read More
Cooling Towers: Moving the Heat Away from Where it Isn’t Wanted
Cooling towers and related components such as chilled water and condenser water pumps are another common type of data center equipment. On a basic level, cooling systems in data centers remove heat from one element and redirect it to another. A cooling tower is the depository for the excess heat given off by data center […]
Read More
HVAC Chillers: Keeping Things Cool in the Data Center
This is the second installment of our series on data center equipment and maintenance. Among the types of equipment that require mechanical maintenance in a data center are HVAC chillers. HVAC chillers are widely used in data centers to cool the water used for heating, ventilation, and AC units. Since these chillers often run nonstop, […]
Read More
Precision Maintenance in Data Centers
The emergence of portable computers, the internet, and the ubiquity of portable smart devices has given rise to a new type of industry–the data center. A data center is simply a building used to house computer servers. While these servers may be used for many different types of data storage, their requirements for in-house […]
Read More
Training or No Training, It’s a Leadership Question
It’s no secret that there is a shortage of skilled labor in manufacturing, specifically in machinery maintenance. Therefore, those in leadership positions must answer the question “training or no training?”. Another way to look at it is, am I willing to invest in the workforce to better insure a more reliable operation? I wrote a […]
Read More
Balancing How To #3-Where and How to Place and Affix a Trial Weight
Once unbalance is determined, the original unbalance run (amplitude and phase) is measured, and a trial weight size is determined, the next step is where to place the trial weight. If you have no balancing record for this rotor, where to place the weight is little more than a guess. But there are some things […]
Read More
Changing ONEPROD FALCON Settings for Hard-Wire Sensors
From time to time, when performing route-based vibration analysis, you run across situations where access is limited to a data collection point. For example, this large pump below. Climbing up a structure to collect vibration data is unsafe and keeping a ladder stationed nearby can cause headaches as well. A simple solution is to permanently […]
Read More
Working at High Altitude
Over the past few years I have had training classes for the maintenance personnel at several ski resorts in the Rocky Mountains. These are some of the most memorable training trips I have had. But apart from the beauty of these areas, there is one downside for some: the high altitude. These resorts are typically […]
Read More
Visual Inspection of Couplings and Machinery Components
Some things just don’t pass the “eye test”. Your eyes are actually great tools for seeing things that are not straight, not plumb, not level (pictures hanging on a wall for example), not right. Many times, just by looking at a coupling you can tell “it’s not aligned”, and you are usually correct. Visual Inspection: […]
Read More