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How Improper Belt Tension can Affect your Belt Drive System

August 23, 2018/0 Comments/in Belts /by Lynn Dreisilker

V-belts are an important part of a power transmission system. They allow for the transfer of energy from one source to another. While belts require little maintenance, they can greatly be impacted by improper belt tension. As discussed in our Common Belt Problems blog, improper belt tension is a leading cause of issues in your belt drive systems.

There are two scenarios for improper belt tensioning: too tight and too loose.

When a v-belt is too tight:

If a belt is too tight in a system, it can add stress to your bearings. The added stress to bearings can result into over amperage of your motor and potential motor failure.

When a v-belt is too loose:

When a v-belt sits loose on a pulley, the belt can slip while in motion and cause extra friction. The additional friction can result in a buildup of heat on the belt and the pulley. The excess heat can cause premature damage to your belts.

Some symptoms of improper tensioning include:

  • Cracking of the belt
  • Pieces breaking off
  • Hardened appearance
  • Squealing during startup
  • Over amperage of your motor
  • Pulleys wearing out prematurely
  • Worn our front motor bearing

How to check the tension of your v-belt:

If you notice any of these issues while examining your drive symptoms, or if you’re installing a new v-belt, we recommend that you test the tension of your v-belts. Follow this step by step process to check your tensioning:

  • After installation of your belt, take your Optikrik tension gauge and insert your finger underneath the rubber strap.
  • Next, place the Optikrik at the center of the belt; lay it flat and parallel with the belt edge and then press slowly and straight down on the belt.
  • Continue to press down with the Optikrik until you hear a click.
  • After the click, you can now read the belt tension by looking at the cross point of the scale.
  • Next, compare the measured tension to what the tension of the belt should be by using Optibelt’s formula posted below.

If the tension is correct, you are good to go. If the tension is off, make some adjustments and continue to test your tension in order to ensure the reliability and up-time of your belt drive system.

Buy an Optibelt Optikrik to properly tension your v-belts.

Optibelt Belt Tension Gauge Instructions

How to: Laser Shaft Alignment

August 16, 2018/0 Comments/in Electric Motors, Predictive Maintenance, Reliability Services /by Lynn Dreisilker

Alignment in your machines is vital to the reliability of your operations. When two machines are misaligned, severe failure can occur causing unplanned downtime and loss of revenue. Some negative consequences are seal failure, bearing failure, energy loss from inefficiencies, increased vibration, and excessive heat.

For normal operation, both of the machines’ shafts need to be collinear, meaning that they are in the same line. There are two types of misalignment: offset and angular (Figure 1). Keep in mind that your machines can have both offset and angular misalignment simultaneously.

 

Figure 1

 

To check alignment of your machines, we utilize laser technology to accurately test the alignment. Here are the steps we use to align motors and generators to their mates:

Prealignment

  • Safety Check: We follow Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) procedures to ensure no energy is present or available in the systems we are working on. Safety guards are then removed for access to adjustment points.
  • Mounting Check: All mounting surfaces and conditions are checked prior to installing the motor. Both the feet and the mounting base should be clear of any rust, paint or dirt.
  • Soft Foot Check: We use the Pruftechnik ROTALIGN Ultra iS to check the motor for soft foot (distortion of the equipment frame). ). If your motor or generator has soft foot, a false alignment of the bearings internally can occur cocking one or both bearings in the housing. This means that one foot could be tightened down and distort the bearing housing too much putting tension on the bearings. IEEE 1068‐2015 specifies a coplanar tolerance of 0.005 inches (0.127 mm) of the motor feet on a fully assembled motor. Click here to learn how a motor frame can warp via burnout oven stripping.

Alignment Steps

  • Fasten Brackets: Brackets are fastened to the driven shaft and the driving shafts.
  • Mount Laser: The laser is mounted to the stationary end and the receiver to the end that will be in motion.
  • Conduct Alignment Check: Using our Pruftechnik equipment, we select what types of equipment we are analyzing (ie. Motor + pump, motor + air compressor, and etc), input the dimensions of the equipment, and the points where the laser and receiver are located. We then manually and simultaneously turn both shafts 360 degrees by hand to conduct a test. The equipment takes a reading at every degree and calculates the level of movement as it goes around. The parameters are within thousandths of an inch. After the full 360 degree rotation, we can analyze the data on our equipment. The equipment will inform us to correct the machine positions.

After the first adjustments, we check the alignment again, repeating the same alignment check until the machines are aligned within proper tolerances.

Sometimes a “hot alignment check” is necessary. Machines can grow or shrink during operation causing misalignment.  We run the equipment for a period of time to see if there is any thermal growth or shrinkage. It is necessary to align the motor or generator to its proper working conditions.

During the alignment process of a non reconditioned or new motor/generator, our technicians can find other problems. For example, if alignment is off from 5 to 6 thousandths of an inch after each check, this is a sign that the bearing housings could be loose. Our technicians will recommend if bearings need to be replaced, machining is needed, or other improvements to extend the service life of your machines. In some instances, we can also make recommendations on the remaining service life, based on the condition of the motor/generator or load.

Overall, alignment is a crucial step to maximizing the amount of profit you can get out of a motor, generators, or loads service lifetime. Improper alignment will cost you and your operation money!

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