What is soft foot? Soft foot is a common term used for machine frame distortion. The distortion is caused when one or more foot of a machine differ in height from the others. Soft foot can be frustrating and bad for the health of rotating machinery and the sanity of the technician performing the alignment. […]
When a failure occurs, one of two things happen: A Failure Analysis program kicks in to figure out what truly caused the failure in order to eliminate the condition that caused that specific failure. Or… The easiest thing to see gets blamed. That “blame game” can be influenced by factors that have nothing to do […]
Marine propulsion alignment consists of ensuring that all bearings and rotational centerlines are set into a straight line as per the installation requirements. Depending on the vessel size, this means the machine, gearbox, clutch, support bearings, stern tube and struts should all make a straight line when the vessel is at sea. Proper propulsion alignment […]
MAY 2020 – TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY The term “Electrical Asset” casts a large net over an important class of systems. Whether it be substations, transmission and distribution lines, transformers, or motor circuit control cabinets, electrical assets play a key role in practically everything we do. Like most things we take them for granted until they fail […]
I recently participated in an alignment check done on a fracking rig. The misalignment between the diesel engine and the gearbox causes excessive vibration and damage to the u-joint. The goal for this particular alignment was parallelism between the gearbox and the engine. The Challenges: The offset between the gearbox and engine was a little […]
Motion Amplification is a camera-based full-field vibration technology that turns every pixel in the camera into a displacement sensor enabling you to see and visualize motion across the entire video. This opens up opportunities in visualizing an asset or system holistically instead of location by location often revealing information that would otherwise remain hidden. By […]
The importance of having two temperature probes is to continuously monitor both the temperature of the inner and outer bearing races throughout the entire warming process of a bearing. By doing this you mitigate possible workpiece damage due to stresses caused by the temperature differential between the ID and OD. Most induction heaters only monitor […]
To resume our “The Rights of” blog post series which included The Rights of Precision Balancing and The Rights for Precision Shaft Alignment, I decided to give compressed air leak detection and repair a try with some basic rights when using PdM technologies like Airborne Ultrasound and Acoustic Imaging. Here are my 14 rights to […]
Marine applications often involve cramped locations and dirty environments which require that measurement systems be compact in order to be installed inside the vessel, but also be rugged and dependable enough to perform in these environments. The application below shows the Easy-Laser equipment is being used in such an environment. Both the E-series and XT-series […]
As part of our laser shaft alignment troubleshooting series, we have discussed Laser Shaft Alignment Troubleshooting: Part 1 Repeatability and Laser Shaft Alignment Troubleshooting: Part 2 Response to Corrections. In this final part of the series, we will discuss The Pipe Test. In this series, we’ve examined some of the causes of errors in laser alignment […]
Below is a short list of when someone should consider using permanently mounted vibration sensors. This scenario would involve either epoxying on the vibration sensors or drilling into the equipment to allow for the sensor to be physically attached to the equipment. A vibration cable is then attached to the sensor and terminated into a […]
We previously discussed misaligned couplings and how to reduce failures when ultrasound and alignment meet in “Ultrasound and Alignment Meet at the Coupling to Reduce Failures.” In this follow-up blog, we will discuss how ultrasound and alignment come together to improve belt-driven performance. Misalignment in belt-driven equipment is one of the leading causes of failures […]
We previously discussed a lack of repeatability and identified some of the most common and easy-to-correct culprits in Laser Shaft Alignment Troubleshooting: Part 1 Repeatability. In this follow-up blog, we will discuss Response to Corrections. Along with measurement repeatability, the laser alignment system’s ability to display the correct moves to bring the machines into alignment […]
Sometimes I will assist a customer on-site for shaft alignment. The first thing I will ask is, “what is the tolerance you wish to achieve?” Many times I would be given a specification, but sometimes I would be told “we need it aligned to 1 thou.” 1 thou I would ask, where? The answer would […]
Misalignment in rotating equipment is one of the leading causes of failures throughout the industry. It breaks down machines and often costs your company thousands upon thousands of dollars in repair expenses and unplanned downtime. Imagine if you could combine two technologies you may already be using to prevent some of these failures. Ultrasound testing […]
In 2019, JetTech Mechanical LLC was hired to perform maintenance for NGL Pipeline in Colorado. They serviced several SPX Clyde Union Pumps, BB3-D12X12X17W 2 stage 3250 HP, and 3775 RPM, pumping at 7525 US GPM 2000 Ft of Head. Part of the service was to remove and replace the pump’s opposite drive end thrust bearings. […]
What is repeatability? Repeatability is the consistency of measurement results between consecutive sets of readings. Laser alignment systems are capable of producing highly repeatable and reproducible measurements with just a few components attached to rotating machinery. When troubleshooting the cause(s) of lack of repeatability, it is helpful to try to identify some of the most […]
Pump and Motor Skid packages are essential pieces of rotating equipment that come as a complete package, with both machines mounted on a “skid”. They are aligned at the factory and then shipped to the location to be installed at the facility. If the skid was aligned at the factory, is it unnecessary to align […]
AUGUST 2020 – PUMPS AND SYSTEMS Improper bearing installation is a common cause of bearing failure. If a bearing is damaged during installation, no amount of lubrication or alignment will save that bearing. At best, it will only prolong its inevitable premature failure. Poor bearing installation starts with poor bearing storage. It is important to […]
We know bearings need grease; both to perform well and to last a lifetime. But do we really understand where that grease goes and how it performs its function? There are two states that grease lives in when a bearing is lubricated. We refer to them as the Bleeding Phase and the Churning Phase. Let’s […]