Precision Alignment the Causes, Effects and What To Do About It!

Lasers have been a part of our cinematography for years from early Star Wars’ battles to James Bond to Dr. Evil trying to incorporate “lasers” into just about everything.  But the idea that lasers could be incorporated into our actual manufacturing processes took a bit longer to come to full attainment.  With today’s advances in laser technology, precision alignment and realignment of major equipment has become an integral step in reducing repair time, loss of production, downtime and finally increasing your ROI.

Causes of Equipment Misalignment

So how do we make sure our customers get the most out of their equipment?  We start by educating them on the different causes of misalignment.  Did you know that 50 to 70 percent of all vibration problems in rotating equipment is caused by misalignment?  Because of this and our knowledge in the industry, we want to help you catch the problem before major damage is done.  As you know, rotating equipment is found in nearly every type machinery throughout every type of industry so it’s important to understand what to listen and watch for prior to the machinery being damaged beyond repair.  Right off the bat, misalignment can be detected in a number of ways including excessive temperatures, wear patterns, excessive vibration and noise!  When you come across one of these key indicators, assess the situation quickly and determine whether or not the equipment needs to be shutdown.  Call your local field maintenance team to complete a full assessment and laser alignment.

Effects of Equipment Misalignment

As many of you already know, misalignment can cause a lot of damage if left alone for too long.  What does some of that damage look like?  The first major effect misalignment has on equipment is seal failure.  When the seal or seals begin to fail this causes fluid leaks which will greatly affect adequate lubrication and wear.  In addition, seals can be very expensive to replace!  Since we’re on the topic of failures, misalignment can also cause bearings to fail.  This again will lead to high replacement costs, damage to surrounding machinery and downtime!

Besides part failure, misalignment can lead to major energy losses which increase your facilities power consumption and causes the machinery to be less efficient.  Another common side effect you can identify and hear when misalignment is occurring is the actual vibration of the equipment.  The increase in vibration again causes your machinery to decrease in reliability and will affect surrounding processes.  The last, but one of the more dangerous aspects of misalignment is excessive heat.  As the piece of machinery becomes hotter this in turn breaks down the lubrication which continues to have a domino effect throughout the equipment.  Excessive heat is also a major safety concern for you and your employees.

How to Realign

There are a lot of methods for aligning a new piece of machinery or realigning depending on your circumstances, but one thing we do not recommend is attempting to align without the proper training and tools.  We’ve spent years helping our customers install new machinery in their plants or repair the outdated.  Because of this, we have taken the extra steps to invest in state of the art, precision alignment laser equipment since 1995.  We have gone through 4 generations of laser alignment equipment!  There’s the tie back to Dr. Evil and the lasers!  Our field maintenance team at On Site Repair Services has recently invested in two, Fixturlaser EVO Shaft Alignment Systems in order to better support our customers in the area.  Once the team completes their precision alignment of your piece of equipment, you’ll receive a complete alignment report for your records.  We will also keep a record for quicker, more efficient troubleshooting the next time you call!