What are common types of Misalignment?

30-second summary

  • Common misalignments are usual and can happen to machines in a variety of ways.
  • Left alone misalignment can reduce the longevity of bearings, shafts, seals, and even couplings.
  • Misalignment is the root cause of most machine breakdowns: bearing failures, and damaged seals, shafts, and couplings.
  • It is widely believed that 50% of machine failures are due to misalignment.
  • Treating the misalignment early on, whether by a soft-foot correction, dial indicator alterations or a full-fledged laser alignment, will help to prevent total machine failure.
  • The basic rule of thumb is, machines that are precision aligned will function for a longer period and costs less to run.

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What is machine vibration?

30-Second Summary

  • Wear and tear, Unbalance, looseness and misalignment are the most commonly found vibration issues in machines.
  • Precision balancing and alignment practices will help minimise forces acting on a machine’s bearings and shaft seals, thereby resulting in improved reliability of these key component parts
  • Timely detection of vibration can help avoid downtime and enhance the lifespan of machines.

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Vibrating Screen Gearbox Bearing Defect

This is the fourth of five video case studies from the book ‘Enhanced System Reliability Through Vibration Technology’ (ESRTVT) by James Sylvester. In this video James shows how it’s possible to diagnose faults on a vibrating screen gearbox. By measuring the correct vibration parameters you can resolve defects in harsh applications, even an inner raceway defect on a vibrating screen.

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Standby Fan Motor Bearing Defect

This is the second of five video case studies from the book ‘Enhanced System Reliability Through Vibration Technology’ (ESRTVT) by James Sylvester. In this video James shows how analysing bearing damage on a fan motor bearing can lead to the root cause of the problem. Read more


30-Second Summary

  • Understanding the machine, getting early warning of faults, detection of all fault conditions, and repeatable measurements are crucial for effective vibration analysis.
  • Vibration analyst courses that are compliant with courses that follow the ISO 18436 standard are quintessential in the present-day scenario.
  • An efficient vibration analyst must take quick and economical measurements, and aim to detect the most common faults before the failure of the machine.

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How can Motion Amplification help with Soft foot?

30-Second Summary

  • Motion amplification proves to be ideal for visualization of structural issues and resonance problems in machines.
  • Vibration problem at 100Hz which is electrically related should be visualized using an MA camera.
  • Machine frame distortion is usually known as soft foot, as it often prevents the machine from touching all its feet to its base.

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