When aligning a vertical flange-mounted machine, it can be helpful to tweak the flange configuration in your laser alignment system to take advantage of different shimming alternatives. For instance, if the OD of the flange is larger than the diameter of the mounting bolt circle, a good laser system will compensate for this by taking [...]

Back in July 2011, ArcelorMittal Point Lisas, Trinidad awarded TOSL’s Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Department with a one year contract for Reliability and Condition Based Monitoring. It was the first time a process like that would be implemented at ArcelorMittal. The contract is being executed by our Senior PdM technician, Mark Dwarika, and PdM technicians, Samir [...]

Unbalance occurs when the rotor’s mass is no longer at the center of rotation.  Unbalance can be caused by many factors: Assembly error Machine tolerances Eccentric components Wear Corrosion Thermal distortion Mechanical distortion Material buildup Bent components Broken components Many things can prevent the successful correction of unbalance.  Equipment resonance, bearing issues, product buildup and [...]

The following tips are presented for consideration for when “the going gets tough”, meaning that problems like residual soft foot or “bad geometry” or becoming bolt-bound impede your ability to easily obtain an excellent alignment. First, a few definitions: Residual Soft Foot present: A bit more soft foot than you are comfortable with, but that [...]

Unbalance, misalignment, bearing failures, gear faults, motor electrical problems, etc. are typical faults experienced in all equipment. Identification and elimination of these faults and other issues are critical to maintaining the health of your plant equipment. Healthy equipment means lower maintenance cost, increased uptime, better product quality and a safer work environment for employees. This [...]