Vibralign Blog

misalignment| spectrum| unbalance| Vibration Analysis

By VibrAlign Author on July 22, 2019

  Unbalance and misalignment are problems that need to be addressed as soon as possible, but before you can begin to fix them, first you need to know how to find them on a spectrum. We will go over this below. For example, with a fan, unbalance appears on the spectrum as a higher than […]

Balancing| rotor unbalance| unbalance

By Stan Riddle on April 25, 2019

Once unbalance is determined, the original unbalance run (amplitude and phase) is measured, and a trial weight size is determined, the next step is where to place the trial weight. If you have no balancing record for this rotor, where to place the weight is little more than a guess.  But there are some things […]

Balancing| Imbalance| One Prod Falcon| rotor unbalance| SMC| unbalance

By Stan Riddle on February 22, 2019

In our last Balancing How To, we discussed how to set up and get your original measurements on the rotor to be balanced.  This How To discusses selecting a proper trial weight. A trial weight is used to make a change in the original vibration amount and direction.  Changing either the AMOUNT of vibration (amplitude), […]

Imbalance| rotor unbalance| unbalance

By Michael Keohane on February 7, 2019

Unbalance (Imbalance) is often defined as the unequal distribution of the weight of a rotor about its rotating centerline. A rotor can be balanced either in-place or in a balancing machine assuming unbalance is the issue and weight can be added or removed.  Modern balancing instruments will do the math for you. I originally learned […]

Balancing| OneProd Falcon| rotor unbalance| SMC| unbalance

By Stan Riddle on January 30, 2019

The recent blog on troubleshooting balancing ( https://vibralign.com/other-topics/smc-touch-tip-using-the-smc-when-unbalance-is-diagnosed/ ) brought up some additional questions from our readers, so let’s tackle them in order. The first one is setting up to perform a balance job. NECESSARY EQUIPMENT FOR BALANCING If you have gone through the checklist and confirmed unbalance, you will need: A machine to perform […]

Balancing| rotor unbalance| Smart Machine Checker| unbalance

By Stan Riddle on January 7, 2019

The Fixturlaser Smart Machine Checker (SMC) is a great balancing tool (for me personally, it’s the best balancer I’ve ever used).  Unbalance is one of the most common machinery problems on rotating equipment, especially fans. If you get a diagnosis of unbalance, be aware of these tips: Be mindful that a rotating mass, once balanced, […]

eletric motor bearing failure| lubrication| lubrication tool| rotor unbalance| Smart Machine Checker| unbalance

By Stan Riddle on September 13, 2018

We recently published a blog about using the Fixturlaser SMC as a lubrication tool. https://vibralign.com/other-topics/using-the-smart-machine-checker-as-a-lubrication-tool/ Ironically, just a couple of weeks later I received some photos from a new SMC customer.  He got a report from his SMC stating that a chilled water pump was experiencing motor unbalance.  He took the motor apart to inspect […]

"shaft alignment"| runout| unbalance

By VibrAlign Author on September 5, 2018

Unbalance and runout are two terms that we hear frequently in the predictive maintenance community. Both unbalance and runout can be serious issues and need to be addressed to prevent inefficient functioning and damage to machines. Unbalance occurs due to corrosion, erosion of the fan wheel, or if a correction weight is removed. Runout occurs […]

condition monitoring| rotating machinery| unbalance

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 […]

Balancing| condition monitoring| machinery diagnostics| ONEPROD Hawk| rotor unbalance| unbalance

By Stan Riddle on June 20, 2017

Electric motors are almost always well-balanced when they leave the motor manufacturer.  But occasionally, motor unbalance problems are picked up with vibration monitoring tools, such as the OneProd Hawk. Here are some easy troubleshooting methods to determine the cause of unbalance in the motor. An electric motor’s rotor, like any rotating mass, cannot become out […]

Balancing| Laser Shaft Alignment| realigning America| troubleshooting| unbalance| vibration

By Stan Riddle on March 24, 2016

Unbalance is another common machinery vibration problem.  Unbalance is the uneven distribution of mass around a rotating axis. Any rotating machine can have an unbalance problem, not just fans.  It is important to note that once rotating machinery components are balanced, they should stay balanced until something changes.  These changes are normally: Dirt, paint, or […]