Guest post by Bob Dunn at I&E Central, Inc.

I was working with a customer to align sheaves using their Easy-Laser E180 sheave alignment tool. This is a new blower that had been installed by a contractor. Obviously, the contractor did not check alignment before drilling the mounting holes. The horizontal angular error was about 1.25 degrees and required a move of about 1/4″ more than was available given the placement of the bolt holes. Thanks to the digital measurement of the E180, they knew exactly what correction was needed at the feet to align this machine.
Unfortunately, the solution will be to drill out the holes in the base, then complete the sheave alignment. What should have been a 30-minute job now becomes a much larger project – time and money wasted. My guess is that the contractor checked alignment with a string (or maybe not), which did not get him close enough. Using the right sheave alignment tool makes a difference.

Thanks to Bob Dunn for sharing this case study with us!