Is it really Bolt Bound?

In a recent RT300 class during the field portion of the training, the team made the decision to take vibration readings on a motor/pump assembly that was very noisy and had frequent coupling failures. The RT300 diagnosed misalignment, cavitation and shock modulation. Then using the same RT300, they checked the alignment and it was indeed…

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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…

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Pipe Strain/Stress

Not only do we write blog articles at VibrAlign, we also read them. Nearly every training session I conduct, pipe strain as a source of alignment frustration, comes up. I recently came across an excellent blog written by Ricky Smith CRL CMRP CMRT that I would like to share. There is some really good information…

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What is Misalignment Costing You?

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…

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Why Your Maintenance and Reliability Team Needs a Hype Man

A hype man in rap and hip hop supports the primary rappers with exclamations and interjections, and attempts to increase the audience’s excitement. Emmanuel C. M. says, “the hype man is essential to a live performance. He is an integral piece to the whole show.  It’s his job to be the support for the performer, give the performer energy…

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OEM Specifications

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…

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Does Improved Reliability Translate to a Safer Plant?

As a technical trainer for VibrAlign, I do a lot of reading in order to hopefully continuously improve. I am also very curious.  Quite often I run across articles I believe are worth sharing. This article was on LinkedIn, an IDCON reliability and maintenance discussion written by Mr. Ken Latino. In case you have not…

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“5 Effects of Misalignment”

One of the common misconceptions in industry is that precision shaft alignment is not needed when using flexible couplings. Studies have show that nearly 50% of all machine breakdowns is due to misalignment. So what happens to misaligned machines? Check out the recently added video to the VibrAlign You Tube Channel titled “5 Effects of…

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