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Our colleges at Benchmark PDM recently had a request from a customer to do some pump alignment. When we normally think about pump alignment, we usually think of shaft to shaft alignment. In this case, they wanted bore alignment. They were installing a brand-new pump and when they rotated the shaft, they could hear grinding. […]

It seems a simple question, yet when asked, the answers are not always similar, or simple. Some say, “to fight friction” and that is true. We do add grease to an asset’s moving parts to reduce friction. But there’s more to it than that. Some say, “to reduce heat” and that is also true. The […]

You’ve always heard the adage, “S” Laser on the Stationary and “M” Laser on the Movable.”  In this day and age, however, this “truism” has almost become obsolete. You see, the concept of the “stationary” machine, per se, is obsolete. ALL machines CAN be moved if they really need to be (no machine grew out […]

I attended a training recently on the Easy-Laser XT770 alignment system at an oil and gas fracking company in West Texas. During the training I heard the term “grease worms” and even though I have been in the lubrication field for 29 years, I was unfamiliar with this animal. Come to find out, it is […]

Once you understand how grease actually works to lubricate a bearing, it becomes obvious why over-greasing causes so much trauma to both bearings and the grease itself. Remember, all we want from our lubricant is to provide a little separation in the war zone. Nothing more… nothing less. If you’re reading the term “war zone” […]

I’m sure you have heard how important precision maintenance is to the health of your equipment, but have you ever seen the real impact it has? Recently, to show this point within my company, we did some training to demonstrate how restoring a machine into a precision state can make a real difference. We divided […]

Happy New Year! As we look back at 2019, we’re excited to share our Top 10 Blogs with you. Our blogs represent a significant collection of topics and content, all of which we hope you’ll find interesting and constructive. They each provide educational information focused on content that is compelling and answers both easy questions […]

Baseplate tolerances, such as cited in ANSI/ASA Alignment S2.75-2017, specify that a baseplate must be level to <10 mils/ft, coplanar to <2 mils and each foot must be flat to <5mils.  The machinist precision level is typically specified to be 0.5 mils per 12”.  Automatically, it is assumed that this is sufficient for baseplate installation […]

First one must know what the definition of phase is in the reliability world.  Phase is simply the relationship between two events.  There is absolute phase that is usually measured as either “phase-led”, which is from the peak in a filtered time waveform to the tachometer, or once per revolution indicator, or “phase-lag” which is […]

Introduction Simply stated, viscosity is defined as the internal resistance of a fluid to flow. That doesn’t sound too difficult, does it? Unfortunately, new temperature, speed and pressure demands on lubricating fluids have changed over the years, resulting in several different measurements and classifications being created to describe lubricant viscosity. Some examples are SUS, cSt, […]

In our previous post DOWNTIME: 8 FORMS OF WASTE, we have seen the eight forms of waste that downtime can produce. So what then are the benefits of greater uptime? This useful acronym spells it out: Utilization – Better utilization of skills, resources and technology to improve asset reliability Profit – From decreased productivity costs, […]

While in Louisville, KY after the #SMRP19 conference, I took a tour of the Angel’s Envy bourbon distillery and was thrilled not only by their fine bourbon finished in port wine barrels but by their attention to safety and unique promotion of safety all around their clean facility. Their clever “Heaven can wait. Safety first” […]

Primarily, there are three types of sensors in use today:  Velocity transducer Accelerometer Proximity probe Each has its own sensitivity, which simply means that for a given input you get a given output. Velocity Transducer Simply a suspended magnet inside an electrical coil. The coil is affixed to the machine housing and moves with the […]

Before precision alignment is to be performed on rotating equipment, best practice dictates that there are a few things that should be checked, even before doing rough alignment. One of those things is checking coupling and/or shaft runout. Runout is a condition where the centerline of the coupling or shaft has deviated from its true […]

When you are installing a new machinery in a facility of the organization, there are certain issues. These issues are listed from top to the bottom categorized on the basis of seriousness. The top of the list is shaft alignment. It is the most common issue while installing the machinery. It occurs due to lack […]

Compressed air is one of the three highest cost utilities in use at your plant. It is also one of the least maintained in terms of system leaks. Leaks are expensive and wasteful, but most often ignored. Leaks may occur anywhere in your compressed air system. Here’s our list of top ten most common leaks: […]

A route for vibration programs is the order in which machines that need to have vibration data collected on them have that data collected. To be able to optimize the data collection time and effort, the best practice is to have multiple routes. The machines in the route should be listed in a strategic and […]

Complex Jackshaft alignment made simple with experience and an Easy-Laser XT660 Shaft Alignment Tool When you are working with nature, you treat it with respect. And that’s what this dam facility on the Kootenay River in British Columbia does (image, above left). When you harness the power of a river you need your control systems […]

Problem Dirt particles as small as 5 microns can easily damage bearings and gears in equipment. Unfortunately, gearbox vents and hydraulic breather caps only prevent particles larger than 25-45 microns from being ingested into machinery from the surrounding air.   As a result, those large particles are broken down into much smaller particles resulting in premature […]

JUNE 2019 – PUMPS AND SYSTEMS Condition monitoring helps manage over-lubrication. Ultrasound is a guide to precision grease replenishment in motor bearings. It is also known for its versatility for leak detection, valve assessment and electrical fault detection. Acoustic lubrication is an integral component of ultrasound programs. Fewer than 95 percent of all roller bearings […]