Vibralign Blog

Balancing| machinery diagnostics| maintenance reliability| Precision Shaft Alignment| Vibration Analysis

By Michael Keohane on August 16, 2017

I read an interesting article in the June/July 17 issue of Uptime Magazine. It was titled “The Reliability Impact Within the P-F Curve” by Randy Riddell. Randy is the Reliability Manager for the SCA Barton Mill in Alabama. I encourage you to read the full article (https://reliabilityweb.com/articles/entry/the-reliability-impact-within-the-p-f-curve). The article includes the following graphic that I […]

Alignment Troubleshooting| Precision Shaft Alignment| soft foot| Verti-Zontal Process

By James Pekarek on August 9, 2017

In the precision shaft alignment business, we encounter all types of electric motors.  One type we come across are “Rolled Steel Frame” (RSF) motors.  These motors have a frame housing and feet that are made from mild, rolled steel.  They range from very small up to about 25hp.  They are common in many industries; however, […]

"compressor alignment"| "repeatability"| Laser Shaft Alignment| lubrication| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Mac MacCormack on July 26, 2017

We all have run into situations where things just aren’t working out the way we think they should. Kind of like not seeing the forest for the tree’s. Part of our profession as trainers at VibrAlign is fielding support calls when a client has questions or has reached the point of frustration where they just […]

"shaft alignment training"| aligning machinery| flexible couplings| misalignment| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Stan Riddle on July 20, 2017

I recently taught alignment training at a gas compression site.  These were sharp technicians, and they keep these large gas compressors in excellent shape.  We went out to check alignment between the engine and compressor.  It was great just as I expected, because compressing gas is their only product. So I asked if they had […]

"shaft alignment training"| Pre-Alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment| troubleshooting| Verti-Zontal Process

By Stan Riddle on June 28, 2017

A customer called me, extremely frustrated, because he could not get a good alignment.  “I’ve spent two hours trying to align this stupid pump!” he said.  He blamed the laser, the “cheap” pump his company had, the bad base, his bad trainer (me), and anything else that came to mind. I did not take it […]

"base bound"| "bolt bound"| base-bound/bolt-bound solutions| Fixturlaser NXA Pro| Fixturlaser NXA Ultimate| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Tom Shelton on June 12, 2017

A question often asked during our training classes is how to deal with base bound and/or bolt bound conditions when performing a precision shaft alignment on rotating machinery. Base bound is the vertical condition that occurs when the moveable machine needs to be lowered but is “bound” by the base due to an insufficient number […]

bearing failures| flexible couplings| Laser Shaft Alignment| Pre-Alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment| roughing in

By Stan Riddle on June 1, 2017

Some people believe that precision laser shaft alignment has evolved to the point where pre-alignment steps, such as roughing in the alignment with a straightedge, are no longer needed.  Well, quite frankly, those people are wrong! The reason for roughing in the alignment has little to do with how accurately the lasers/sensors measure.  It has […]

"jacking bolts"| aligning machinery| Laser Shaft Alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Steve Matthews on May 17, 2017

We have written, here on the VibrAlign blog, about adjustable chocks used in place of shims for vertical adjustment and machine support. A recent experience at a customer site prompted this article, to share a simple tip that could save valuable time and effort. The customer was using vertical jack bolts while viewing live alignment […]

"Fixturlaser Go"| aligning machinery| Laser Shaft Alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment| shims

By Brad Case on May 4, 2017

Time is a commodity maintenance personnel typically have in short supply. We hear quite often, in our on-site Shaft Alignment Best Practices training classes, “………. doesn’t give us enough time for a proper shaft alignment”. So how can maintenance personnel get more time for shaft alignment? Stop wasting it! I had the pleasure of working […]

"precision alignment"| "shaft alignment targets"| dial indicator alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment| troubleshooting

By Stan Riddle on April 27, 2017

A VibrAlign customer recently called, stating they were having repeatability problems with aligning a small motor to gearbox to pump.  After some phone conversation, I asked if they could send me photos of the machine, and the discrepancy in the measurements.  After seeing them, I knew what the problem was.   Machines with small diameter […]

"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 […]

Fixturlaser NXA Pro| Pre-Alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment| soft foot| Verti-Zontal Process

By Brad Case on March 22, 2017

A recent NXA Pro training class performed an alignment check of a winch driven by an 80 HP, 1800 RPM, DC electric motor with a gear style coupling. The initial results revealed a misaligned machine, with a vertical angularity over 13 times the tolerance of 0.7mils/1” (1.0 mil = .001”), vertical offset six times tolerance […]

belt alignment| belt hog| condition monitoring| Fixturlaser EVO| ONEPROD Hawk| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Mac MacCormack on March 16, 2017

Proactive Maintenance includes a number of maintenance strategies, such as Precision Maintenance, Reliability Based Maintenance, Reliability Centered Maintenance, and Root Cause Failure Analysis. The idea is to anticipate and solve problems before they become problems. Reliability Centered maintenance would begin with a study done on a piece of equipment to gain understanding of all its […]

bearing failures| Couplings| flexible couplings| maintenance reliability| mechanical seals| Precision Maintenance| Precision Shaft Alignment| seal failures

By Stan Riddle on March 8, 2017

    At VibrAlign, we are in the precision maintenance business.  Our tools, our training, and our people, are all about precision maintenance.  While teaching the field alignment portion of our shaft alignment training, at a customer site, we went out to align a particularly troublesome pump.  They didn’t think they were getting the life […]

aligning machinery| Extended Alignment| Fixturlaser NXA| Precision Shaft Alignment| troubleshooting

By Brad Case on January 25, 2017

When training clients to use VibrAlign’s Verti-Zontal Alignment Process we show taking the 3rd measurement at a horizontal position, typically at 3 o’clock. This is simply for expediency and is NOT a requirement as Fixturlaser Shaft Alignment Systems can take measurements at any position due to the inclinometers in M & S sensors. If possible […]