Vibralign Blog

looseness| "c-face motor"| Alignment tolerances| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Tom Shelton on November 20, 2018

This is as much a title for a blog as it is a question. One our Technical Trainers once stated that to align rotating machinery, they must first be alignable. What is meant in part by this is that when we have a collinear tolerance of 0.5mil /1” angularity and 2.0 mils offset, the machines […]

tolerances| Alignment tolerances| Precision Shaft Alignment| shaft alignment tolerances

By Tom Shelton on October 15, 2018

VibrAlign and Fixturlaser have done what we can to make the precision shaft alignment process quicker and easier for the end user of our tools. To assist maintenance personnel during an alignment a tolerance table “pops up” on the display unit screen (of our tools) when entering dimensions for the machines being aligned. The tolerances […]

TIR| dial vs laser| dial indicator alignment| tolerances| rim and face| Alignment tolerances| shaft alignment tolerances

By Steve Gordon on July 30, 2018

Fixturlaser Shaft Alignment Tools come pre-programmed with generally accepted industry tolerances for electric motor driven machinery.  These tolerances are based on the motor RPM and will give you an “endpoint” in the alignment process (based on the measured offset and angular misalignment at the center point of the coupling in both the vertical and horizontal […]

"bolt bound"| base-bound/bolt-bound solutions| Alignment tolerances| Fixturlaser NXA Pro| Verti-Zontal Process| coupling failures| "alignment training"

By Mac MacCormack on June 13, 2018

  Sound familiar? I can’t tell you how many times I personally have heard this over the years. I am sure many of you have as well. The issue is, scheduled downtime seems to be put on the back burner so to speak, to meet production goals. And as it has become all too familiar, […]

"shaft alignment"| Pre-Alignment| Alignment tolerances| Precision Shaft Alignment| soft foot| troubleshooting

By Mac MacCormack on May 15, 2018

One of the many things I love about my job is the numerous challenges we face during the field alignment portion of our Precision Shaft Alignment Training. Prior to the training, there were some repeatability issues when attempting to perform a precision alignment on this piece of equipment. One of the main causes of non-repeatability […]

"jacking bolts"| "shaft alignment"| Laser Alignment tools| Laser Shaft Alignment| Alignment tolerances| "shaft alignment tools"| soft foot| troubleshooting

By Stan Riddle on May 11, 2018

Alan Garbers with Johnson Controls International contacted me regarding an alignment problem, and asked for my advice.  Here is a condensed version of his email. A client rents portable chillers, and related equipment. They built a 125HP portable pump skid with a Bell & Gossett pump on a VFD. I was there to commission the […]

spacer shaft| spacer shaft alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment| Cooling Towers| offset and angularity| "cooling tower alignment"| Alignment tolerances

By Michael Keohane on April 25, 2018

The majority of precision shaft alignments are relatively close coupled where there are only a couple of inches between the shaft ends of the driver and driven elements. Close coupled alignment quality is traditionally displayed as angle (driver to driven) and offset (at the center of the coupling). The question is what do you do […]

machinery diagnostics| "shaft alignment"| "coupling tolerance"| "foot tolerance"| Alignment tolerances| 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, […]

Laser Shaft Alignment| maintenance reliability| tolerances| Alignment tolerances| Precision Shaft Alignment| equipment reliability| compressor frame flatness| geometric measurement| specifications

By Tom Shelton on September 7, 2017

Whether instructing a training class for precision shaft alignment or geometric measurements, the topic of machine specifications frequently comes up. Specifications such as shaft alignment tolerances, bolt torque values, frame or base flatness requirements and the frequency of verification of these specifications are typical of what is asked. There are general industry specifications such as […]

Alignment tolerances| Fixturlaser GO Basic| Precision Shaft Alignment| ONEPROD Hawk| condition monitoring

By Wills LaCrosse on August 30, 2017

Fire Pumps are a critical safety item in facilities across the world. Their purpose is to make sure a building has enough water pressure in case of a fire emergency. Of course, the hope is that they are never needed but if they are they need to perform reliably. Fire Pumps are typically tested on […]

pipe Strain| Alignment tolerances| Fixturlaser EVO| Verti-Zontal Process| Laser Shaft Alignment

By Brad Case on July 13, 2017

Have you ever struggled with a precision shaft alignment, even though you did everything right? (Preformed the pre-alignment steps, controlled backlash, etc., etc.) So, what was different? Maybe it was pipe strain. An alignment check of a new installation of a 40 HP, 3600 RPM motor/pump  revealed the vertical angular misalignment was 3.2 times the […]

"precision alignment"| Alignment tolerances| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Tom Shelton on April 6, 2017

This question comes up frequently in our Shaft Alignment Best Practices training classes. The result screens below both show two different aligned machines meeting 3600 tolerances.   The question is; is one better than the other? There has been a lot of discussion about this very topic. The theories are abundant and points of view […]

Alignment tolerances| Precision Shaft Alignment| offset and angularity| shaft alignment tolerances| "coupling tolerance"

By Brad Case on June 24, 2016

Plenty! This question still comes up fairly often in our training classes. If you look any of the coupling manufactures installation instructions there is a chart for the maximum allowable misalignment based on the coupling size. These tolerances are for the coupling, what about the machines the coupling connects? Shaft alignment tolerances are more about […]

Laser Shaft Alignment| "precision alignment"| "Realign America"| Alignment tolerances| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Stan Riddle on December 2, 2015

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, […]

Laser Shaft Alignment| "precision alignment"| "Realign America"| Alignment tolerances| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Stan Riddle on October 14, 2015

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 […]