May 29, 2014
The bore alignment of the crosshead guides in a large compressor driven by a 4, 000 HP engine was thought to be a problem after this compressor, which had run trouble-free for 30 years started having problems. Methods used before involved checking with a machinist’s level only. The crosshead guides have an approximate diameter of […]
Filed under:
Alignment by
Daus Studenberg CRL
May 27, 2014
Every engineer, CM analyst, mechanic, manager, etc. is faced with solving complicated reliability issues from time to time. These issues usually occur at an unpropitious time. Often, the advice of a “subject matter expert” is sought to provide a solution. The first task of the “subject matter expert” is to seek information from the employees […]
May 22, 2014
The customer needed to align a boiler feed pump to a fluid drive. Before doing so, we took care of the simple but often-ignored pre-alignment checks, including a thorough cleaning up of the area around the machines. The area was a mess to start with, and cleaning up allowed us to check for soft foot […]
May 20, 2014
It has been said that if you think education is expensive, try ignorance. The high cost of ignorance can affect all aspects of life. In industry, this includes maintenance, machine reliability, safety, and lost production. Unexploited opportunity is lost opportunity—a costly consequence of ignorance. The financial impact suffered from unplanned/unscheduled maintenance can be huge. You […]
May 15, 2014
On a recent visit to a plant, I came across this dial indicator with a calibration sticker. How often are your dial indicators calibrated? You depend on them for precise 1 thousandth accurate measurements, or tighter for high accuracy dial indicators. Routine calibration inspection should be performed on any precision measurement instrument. This includes your […]
May 13, 2014
As a vibration monitoring program becomes more mature, the number of monitoring points on a machine and throughout a facility can increase to a very high number. These additional monitoring points are required to identify potential failures and maintain a world-class reliability program. Unfortunately, these additional measurement points usually result in an increase in the […]
May 8, 2014
When M/Y Mystique, a 50m yacht, had trouble with its bearings overheating, they called on our customer AME to investigate. After conducting a vibration analysis survey, the misalignment was discovered along with aged mounts. Additionally, the Kamewa Jet Units were not functioning within recommended tolerances. In terms of alignment several steps were followed, the first […]
Filed under:
Alignment by
Ana Maria Delgado, CRL
May 6, 2014
Shaft speed of machine being analyzed Type of bearings involved (sleeve vs. rolling element) Rolling element bearing part number(s) and manufacturer(s) Internal configuration of equipment Machine History Proper data collection location Proper sensor to use for data collection Proper data collection setups to ensure correct data is collected Is the primary energy sub-synchronous, synchronous or […]
May 1, 2014
Recently, our customer AME was commissioned by Harry Pepper to perform laser alignment with the ROTALIGN ULTRA on 4 Caterpillar Diesel Engines to Philadelphia gear at their Merritt Pump Station in Naples, Florida. “We had AME laser align our engines because we’ve used them on previous projects with excellent results,” said D.W., Project Superintendent, Harry Pepper. […]
Filed under:
Alignment by
Ana Maria Delgado, CRL