Blog

Best Practices: Machinery Alignment Shimming

May 30, 2013

UPTIME • April/May 2013 There is much more to proper shimming of machines for alignment than meets the eye. There are a number of things you should consider and look out for when selecting and using shims. First and foremost,  you should be using high-quality, precut slotted stainless steel shims. Cutting your own shims by […]

How Vibration and Ultrasound can work together in a PdM Program @PlantServices

May 28, 2013

Combine vibration monitoring and ultrasound for more cost-effective predictive maintenance The best overall machinery monitoring program is one that utilizes multiple,  integrated monitoring technologies. In brief: The best overall machinery monitoring program is one that utilizes multiple, integrated monitoring technologies that are well-suited to detect expected failure modes. One goal of PdM is to determine […]

Balancing your wind turbine rotor blades with credibility and stability

May 23, 2013

As more and more wind turbines are coming out of warranty,  the industry is focusing on making sure that the assets they have in place are in proper running form.  If it is the gearbox,  the generator, and/or the rotor blades, they need to be inspected and/or checked. In the case of the rotor blades, […]

Manually Graphing Your Multi-Coupling Alignments? Watch our Machine Train Alignment Video and Forget Graph Paper!

May 16, 2013

The alignment of machine trains can be a lengthy task. In the past,  alignment data of the entire machine train had to be manually graphed to scale in order to determine the optimal moves. The ROTALIGN® ULTRA laser alignment tool can now instantly graph the alignment results of an entire machine train of up to […]

Show off your Reliability Success Stories in a Trophy Case

May 14, 2013

Too often management remembers the unanticipated machine failure of three years ago rather than the dozens of prevented failures that did not occur since that event. The challenge to maintenance and reliability teams is how to keep their successes at the forefront of management’s mind. I have visited a large number of plants and factories […]

Document the Successes of your Condition Monitoring Program!

May 9, 2013

If you are a vibration analyst or are responsible for managing a Condition Monitoring (CM) program or reliability effort,  you are probably keenly aware of the “what have you done for me lately” mentality. This is a mentality that may frustrate us somewhat, but if we think about it, it is only natural. In fact, […]

Are you on the Soft Foot Merry-Go-Round? Watch our Soft Foot Checks and Corrections Video and Jump Off!

May 7, 2013

Soft foot is every alignment technician’s worst nightmare and while correcting soft foot may not be easy,  it is worth every minute you spend on it, because once done, the alignment of the machines becomes a much easier task. If you want to make aligning your machinery easier, quicker and more accurate, start by correcting soft […]

ROTALIGN ULTRA Slashes Time on 16-Point Turbine Coupling Alignment Checks

May 2, 2013

The ROTALIGN ULTRA laser system with Continuous Sweep allows turbine coupling checks with two measurements to be completed in as little as 6 minutes instead of 6 hours. The time savings can be further increased by using multiple laser systems for each coupling and having them start at the same time.” ENERGY-TECH • April 2013 […]