A Pump Tale: Misalignment Exposed

Angular Misalignment from video by Acoem USA Offset & Angularity

Vibration data was taken on a motor/pump during initial training on the Acoem Falcon. This pump was chosen based on history and a visual inspection. The visual inspection pointed towards a potential misalignment issue.   Misalignment Diagnosis The Accurex software in the Falcon diagnosed misalignment. This was confirmed by the Acoem EVO laser alignment tool.…

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What is Frequency in Vibration Analysis?

The bearing defender screen that shows frequencies.

Frequency is as simple as the name implies, it is the number of times an event occurs in a set amount of time. In vibration analysis, we reference frequency to either cycles per second (Hz) or cycles per minute (CPM).   Calculating Frequency & Cycles Per Minute (CPM) The frequency can be expressed mathematically as…

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Let’s Have a Talk About Communication

All successful reliability programs have one thing in common – strong communication between all plant resources. Although this concept does not have any direct relevance to maintenance, it is an important topic to reflect on. Keeping a constant line of communication with operations, maintenance teams, management, and everybody else at your facility will provide feedback…

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2 Channel Measurements

There are times when it is useful to take 2 simultaneous measurements and compare the phase (or position of the shaft) from one position relative to the other.  This is most commonly used with displacement probes on journal bearings and is a powerful diagnostic tool on this type of equipment, as well as provides you…

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Exploring Vibration Analysis Technologies

In the realm of industrial maintenance, understanding the health of machinery is paramount. One of the most effective tools in this pursuit is Vibration Analysis technology. By examining the oscillations and vibrations of machinery, it’s possible to detect early signs of wear, misalignment, and other issues before they escalate into costly failures. In this article,…

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Gearboxes – Know your Machines

Gearboxes are used in numerous applications, including machine tools, industrial equipment, conveyor belt drives, and just about any power transmission application with rotary motion that requires a change in torque and/or speed. Output speed and torque are always going to be in contrast to each other – if you use a gearbox to increase the…

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The Silver Tsunami and What You Can Do About It

I recently heard the term “silver tsunami” at a conference in Florida. It has been around since the 1980s. It refers to the current and pending retirements of Baby Boomers (Gen X is not far behind), and the void it will create in the workplace. Not as much a void of people but a void…

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Is It Mechanical or Electrical?

Analyzing vibration data can be a difficult job. Using VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) motors can make it even more difficult. Pattern recognition is a huge part of this process. However, diagnosing between electrical and mechanical vibration patterns can be challenging.   Is it a Mechanical or Electrical Problem? First, a straightforward way to distinguish between…

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Closing the Loop in Reliability

The Journey of Reliability A machine is identified by the vibration analyst and recommendations are made for repair, the planner orders the parts, management gets together and determines when the repairs are made, and the maintenance team carries out the plan to replace the defective component. Success! We averted disaster once again! … And the…

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Keep It Simple: Common Vibration Problems to Master

Over the years when training “new” vibration analysts, I stress for them to keep it simple. Many analysts believe that you must review time waveform data to analyze all machinery problems. This is not true. However, some problems are impossible to diagnose without it.   Common Machinery Problems in Industry A majority of plant machinery…

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Does Your Maintenance Program Need Maintenance?

An isometric illustration of a plant depicts machines that are experiencing problems, confused workers, and machine parts strewn across the facility floor.

Does your maintenance program need some… well, maintenance? A “good” maintenance program involves keeping equipment in peak condition and mitigating failure. Getting to this result takes the proper balance of strategies, people, and resources. Between changes in management, the revolving door of employees, and unreliable contractors, it can be relatively easy for an organization’s program…

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Good Vibration Data vs Bad Vibration Data

Good and bad data from an industrial machine.

It is important in vibration analysis to know whether the vibration data you are looking at is actually “good data”. Below is a review of the causes and symptoms of junk data, as well as some tips to improve data quality overall in the future.   Reasons for Bad Data A poor electrical connection is…

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The 5 Questions No Maintenance Supervisor Should Ask

I’ve never been a maintenance supervisor, but I have worked for several.  And when a machine has had problems, most maintenance supervisors have 5 questions: What’s wrong with it? How bad is it? How much longer can we run it? What do we have to do to fix it? What can we do to prevent…

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Perspective

I don’t know about you, but in my nearly 45 years in industrial maintenance, there have been times when I felt stumped when trying to solve a problem. Sometimes you can just walk away and the solution comes to you while performing another task. Other times, a colleague or coworker may come along and have…

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Vibration Analysis Routes – Setup Considerations

A long row of centrifugal pumps are lined up in an industrial setting, such as what you would see when building a vibration analysis route.

There are numerous items to be considered when performing an initial inspection while setting up vibration analysis routes. All things from safety considerations to machine information, smells, and sounds need to be observed and documented.   Safety The first and most important thing to consider when inspecting for a route is safety. Here are some…

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