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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!

Infrared Inspections and How They Can Prevent Costly Downtime

May 16, 2018/0 Comments/in Field Services, Infrared Inspection, Predictive Maintenance /by Lynn Dreisilker

Infrared Thermography is a reliable method used for predictive maintenance and troubleshooting of electrical systems. During an Infrared Inspection, a trained infrared thermographer uses a high quality infrared camera to detect heat signals. The thermographer then analyzes the pictures to look for potential issues or faults.

For a typical annual inspection, the thermographer evaluates the customer’s motor control center and circuit breakers. The panels are removed by the customer and the components are scanned with the camera. This will allow the technician to locate any loose wire connections and also find any signs of component failure. Once the data is collected, a report is created with images of the system, issues that need to be addressed, and possible corrective actions.

Some of the problems the thermographer looks for in, motors, motor control centers and circuit breakers include:

  •        Hotspots
  •        Operational Temperatures
  •        Cooling Problems
  •        Overload Conditions
  •        Loose Connections
  •        Frayed Wires/Conductors
  •        Improperly Sized Wires
  •        Contaminated Connections
  •        Load Imbalance
  •        Faulty Components

There is no downtime required during an Infrared inspection, rather we ask that our customer’s system is running at or above 40% load. Evaluating the system when it is running at its typical load allows us to fully and accurately analyze the electrical system. After the inspection, we make recommendations on any corrections needed so that system failure can be prevented. If there are faults found upon inspection and the customer takes corrective measures, catastrophic system failures can be prevented.

We recommend an Infrared Thermography inspection for your critical electrical components at least twice a year. However, an annual inspection can still be beneficial. Keep in mind that some buildings are required to have yearly inspections as part of their insurance requirements.

Below are a few situations we’ve experienced during Infrared Inspections:

  • Our thermographer was inspecting a control panel when he found a terminal that read at 200 degrees celsius. After informing the customer of the issue, the customer immediately shut down the operation so they could address the problem right away and prevent a possible fire.
  • A motor winding was stripped using the burnout oven stripping method. Using an infrared camera, multiple hotspots were found showing temperatures that would destroy the motor if rewound and put back into service. The lamination stack had to be replaced prior to rewinding the motor to prevent premature failure.
  • Floor heaters in an industrial garage were hardened into the concrete floor. The owner wanted to rework the floor without damaging the heaters. The infrared technician was able to find mark where the heaters were located and verify they were working at the correct settings.

If you would like to schedule a preventative Infrared Inspection, call us today.

 

Infrared Inspection
An Overload without the thermal imaging.
Infrared Inspection
An Overload with thermal imaging from an Infrared Inspection.
Infrared Inspection of heated floors
Thermal imaging of heated garage floors.

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