Vibralign Blog

coupling alignment| "coupling tolerance"| Coupling Values| Precision Shaft Alignment

By VibrAlign Author on March 24, 2020

  In power transmission, a coupling is a device used to connect a driving machine, such as a motor, engine, or turbine, to a driven machine, such as a fan, pump, compressor, or other machine. There are numerous styles of couplings, each with specific design characteristics, that make them suitable for their respective applications. All […]

Precision Shaft Alignment| Pre-Alignment| machinery diagnostics

By Mike Arnold on March 4, 2020

ACOEM-VibrAlign has shared over 100 separate blog posts and over 1 million YouTube views on Pre-Alignment. Thus, we can all agree it is an important topic and the key to a successful precision shaft alignment job. No matter if you are using a Straight Edge, Dial Indicators, or the latest and greatest Laser Shaft Alignment […]

Precision Maintenance| shims| Precision Shaft Alignment| precut shims

By John Pasko on February 20, 2020

Years ago, an automotive oil filter company’s ad campaign, capitalized on the phrase “pay me now, or pay me later”. The premise was that you could pay less upfront for an inferior oil filter, and then pay again because the oil filter would fail, and your vehicle’s engine would require an overhaul. Or, you could […]

the validity rule| Precision Shaft Alignment| "repeatability"

By Michael Keohane on February 5, 2020

The validity rule is an important concept in precision shaft alignment. It can be used to confirm that your readings are accurate and is why we don’t have to rotate a full 360 degrees in order to get accurate alignment information. Here is a previous blog post with an embedded video that discusses dial indicator […]

"machine train"| Extruder Alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment

By The VibrAlign Blog on November 6, 2019

For the field portion of a recent training class, the decision was made to check the alignment on a plastic extruder. At first glance, checking the alignment of the motor shaft to gearbox input shaft is pretty straightforward. However, the output side of the gearbox had two shafts, so maybe this is not so straightforward. […]

Precision Shaft Alignment| Vibration Analysis| machinery diagnostics| 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 […]

Repeatability| Pre-Alignment| Precision Shaft Alignment| non-repeatability

By Brad Case on May 30, 2019

During a recent training class at the facility of a client who had their initial Shaft Alignment Best Practices training class 5 years prior, I found out none of the previous class attendees were still in maintenance. The “new” guys never had anyone show them the proper use of their laser and most had no […]

Precision Shaft Alignment| Job Safety

By James Pekarek on April 9, 2019

Over the past few years I have had training classes for the maintenance personnel at several ski resorts in the Rocky Mountains. These are some of the most memorable training trips I have had.  But apart from the beauty of these areas, there is one downside for some: the high altitude.  These resorts are typically […]

Precision Shaft Alignment| flexible couplings| bar sag| Machinery maintenance

By Steve Gordon on March 27, 2019

Some things just don’t pass the “eye test”.  Your eyes are actually great tools for seeing things that are not straight, not plumb, not level (pictures hanging on a wall for example), not right.  Many times, just by looking at a coupling you can tell “it’s not aligned”, and you are usually correct. Visual Inspection: […]

Precision Shaft Alignment| Repeatability| backlash| coupling backlash| non-repeatability

By VibrAlign Author on March 21, 2019

Although we have many excellent blogs on the cause of non-repeatability, or more commonly known as frustration when attempting a precision shaft alignment, this issue continues to come up nearly every training session I conduct. And the number one cause? Not controlling backlash or looseness. All the trainers teach this and VibrAlign has a very […]

VibrAlign Training| Pre-Alignment| "Hot Check"| Precision Shaft Alignment| Hot Alignment Check

By Tom Shelton on March 7, 2019

One question that arises regularly in training is about doing alignment checks. Is it okay to just check the alignment? Of course, it is. As a matter of fact, many industries have dedicated crews to specifically do alignment checks. The major difference is no equipment is moved, just measured. We lockout, remove guards, install the […]

"jacking bolts"| Precision Shaft Alignment| horizontal alignment| push bolts| jack bolts

By The VibrAlign Blog on January 16, 2019

A common source of frustration during the precision alignment process is, how can we make a controlled move when making the horizontal adjustment? We trainers often hear our clients say they don’t have jacking bolts, or pushers, etc. There have been numerous excellent blogs written on the subject of jack bolts. Pry bars, sledge hammers […]

Vibration Analysis| soft foot| Balancing| Machinery maintenance| Precision Shaft Alignment| shims

By VibrAlign Author on January 7, 2019

As you may have noticed if you follow VibrAlign’s social media accounts, we have been going through “Maintenance Tip Mondays” for the past couple months. This is a fun opportunity to hear from our experienced technical trainers as they share the top tips and tricks they have learned over the years in the field and […]

Laser Alignment tools| "shaft alignment tools"| Precision Shaft Alignment

By Tom Shelton on December 20, 2018

Preparation is the key to efficiency. Having an appropriate selection of tools and necessary supplies on hand will make a precision shaft alignment fast, accurate and easy. One way to do this is to have a dedicated alignment cart or job/work box. Some facilities are not conducive to the little casters on some carts, so […]

"c-face motor"| Alignment tolerances| looseness| 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 […]