Vibralign Blog

machinery health| machinery diagnostics| condition monitoring| OneProd Nest

By Chris Troutt on January 28, 2020

Once you have moved your data back into the Nest, after a Route has been collected, you may want to provide a report or reports to different parts of an organization. The Nest has several ways of generating a couple different types of custom reports. For your discussion we will focus on a global report […]

condition monitoring| OneProd Nest| data collection

By Chris Troutt on December 9, 2019

Setting up routes is a very easy process in the ONEPROD NEST software and allows you to move machines into any order to allow for expeditious data collection. However, sometimes points need to be rearranged within the machine. Take the gearbox below for example.  Due to its size you don’t want to have to walk […]

machinery diagnostics| Vibration Analysis| Precision Shaft Alignment| condition monitoring

By VibrAlign Author on July 16, 2019

I read that Albert Einstein once said, “I don’t need to know everything, I just need to know where to find it when I need it.” If one did some research, that may not necessarily be true. However, if a question comes up, it’s always helpful to have resources to refer to. When it comes […]

condition monitoring| OneProd Falcon| OneProd Nest| Vibration Analysis

By Chris Troutt on June 26, 2019

One key bit of data required when collecting data or analyzing it is accurately pinpointing the RPM. When we set up schematics in the Machine Set Up module  we tell the software what the RPM is here. When setting up a machine in the Nest you can choose either fixed speed, variable speed with keyboard, […]

Machinery maintenance| condition monitoring| "shaft alignment"| data centers

By VibrAlign Author on May 3, 2019

  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 […]

Vibration Analysis| condition monitoring| OneProd Falcon| OneProd Nest

By Chris Troutt on February 28, 2019

Sometimes machines need to be added to a route that is already established. This is quite easy to do in the Nest. After you have collected all the pertinent information including machine name, RPM and horsepower (at a minimum) go into your Nest home screen and select “set up machine”. Once into machine set up […]

pump vibration| seal failures| Vibration Analysis| condition monitoring| OneProd Falcon

By Chris Troutt on December 13, 2018

Taking the ONEPROD Falcon to the field is a big part of the 2-day training we provide on our entire Falcon line of condition monitoring tools. When we go to the field we always find interesting issues to analyze and discuss. A recent check of a centrifugal pump yielded one of those issues. The pump […]

Vibration Analysis| OneProd Falcon| looseness| machinery diagnostics| machinery vibration| condition monitoring

By Chris Troutt on November 2, 2018

A common vibration signature on equipment is looseness. There are two types of looseness: structural/fastener, fit between rotating components. For this discussion, we will focus on structural and fastener looseness.  Typically, it is highly directional, occurs at 1xRPM, and will look similar to this spectrum. In this case, the vibration was confined to the vertical […]

machinery vibration| maintenance reliability| Vibration Analysis| condition monitoring

By Chris Troutt on September 13, 2018

Accelerometers by nature are sensitive tools. This sensitivity is heavily influenced by how the sensor is mounted. Standard accelerometers are mounted several ways based on need and application. Typical route-based data collecting will be done with a rare earth magnet. The magnet can be either flat or a two-pole type. This provides good data with […]

unbalance| condition monitoring| rotating machinery

By VibrAlign Author on September 4, 2018

We often hear about how to correct unbalance in rotating machinery, but to correct unbalance, it is first necessary to accurately diagnose what type of unbalance your machine is experiencing so that you can take the proper action to correct the problem. In this post, we will go over the three types of unbalance you […]

condition monitoring| predictive maintenance| efficiency

By VibrAlign Author on September 4, 2018

As the resurgence of manufacturing and processing in America continues, the requirements on all of us to do more with less will only grow more important in order to reach the needed profitability goals. Combine this downward pressure with the diversity of today’s plants and their mechanical components, and the overwhelming gap of skilled workers […]

condition monitoring| RPM| stroboscopes| tachometers

By VibrAlign Author on September 4, 2018

Determining the RPM (revolutions per minute) of your machine is an important part of conscientious condition monitoring. Significant loss of time and productivity can occur if your machinery is not operating at the correct RPM. That’s why it is imperative to be able to quickly and accurately determine the RPM. In this post we will […]

vibration sensor| machinery diagnostics| ONEPROD| Vibration Analysis| condition monitoring| machinery vibration| SMC| OneProd MVX| OneProd Eagle

By Chris Troutt on June 20, 2018

At the wrap up of a recent Hawk/SMC class the discussion was around what rotating assets to collect vibration data on going forward. The conversation quickly turned to a few keys assets that had the ability to impact large percentages of the downstream processes. The area technicians said that even though the machine was very […]

machinery diagnostics| machinery vibration| Fixturlaser Smart Machine Checker| SMC| condition monitoring

By James Pekarek on March 13, 2018

When using the Fixturlaser Smart Machine Checker (SMC) or any of VibrAlign’s Condition Monitoring Tools, there are typically only two variables you need to know for an accurate diagnosis of your machine.  You need the horsepower of the motor and the correct rotating speed.  This information will usually be stamped on the motor data plate.  […]

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

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 […]