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Laser Shaft Alignment
At the connection point, align the rotational centers of two or more rotating shafts. Two or more centerlines of rotation that are not offset from one another are said to be aligned. Similar to alignment, alignment is defined as two or more centerlines that are not angularly apart.
Types of Shaft Alignment
Horizontal Shaft Laser Alignment
Vertical Shaft Laser Alignment
Torsion Shaft Laser Alignment
Cardan Shaft Laser Alignment
Soft Foot
Types of Shaft Misalignment
Misalignment can be classified as either angular or parallel. The center lines of both shafts are parallel but offset when there is parallel misalignment. The shafts are at an angle to one another when there is angular misalignment.
The horizontal and vertical misalignments are further subdivided from the parallel misalignment. A shaft misalignment in the horizontal plane is called horizontal misalignment, and a shaft misalignment in the vertical plane is called vertical misalignment:
When the motor shaft moves horizontally away from the pump shaft while both shafts remain parallel and in the same horizontal plane, this is known as parallel horizontal misalignment.
When the motor shaft and pump shaft move vertically apart while remaining parallel and in the same vertical plane, this is known as parallel vertical misalignment.
Similarly, there are two types of angular misalignment: horizontal and vertical.
When the motor shaft and pump shaft are at an angle but remain in the same horizontal plane, this is known as angular horizontal misalignment.
When the motor shaft and pump shaft are at an angle yet remain in the same vertical plane, this is known as angular vertical misalignment.
Parallel misalignment, angular misalignment, or a mix of the two can result in alignment errors.
The following are typical issues brought on by improper machine alignment:
Leaking seals
Increased vibration levels
Higher energy consumption
Bearing failure
Shaft breakage
Coupling wear
Quality problems
Bad working environment
Lost production time
Why does misalignment occur?
The main triggers are as follows:
Settling of a baseplate resulting in soft foot
Shaft deformation brought on by torsion during startup
inadequate or subpar alignment measures brought on by human error
An angular and parallel misalignment caused by pipe strain
One piece of equipment may move proportionately to another due to thermal expansion.
Font-family: "Space Grotesk," sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 400; Shaft wobbling and severe vibration caused by misaligned shaft centerlines can destroy bearings and couplings and damage seals. Identifying misalignment and the underlying causes is imperative if a machine reaches its expected life.
What is Thermal Growth?
A pump's position may be affected by expansion of the driveshaft and other pump parts when it is working at high temperatures. When choosing and installing a shaft coupling and adjusting shaft alignment, thermal growth must be taken into account.
LASER-BASED SHAFT ALIGNMENT TYPES
1. HORIZONTAL SHAFT ALIGNMENT
The process of aligning shafts so they are within a specific tolerance is known as horizontal shaft alignment, or HSA. Prior to being put into service, it is necessary for machinery. When a driver like electric motors or turbines is coupled to a pump, generator, or another piece of equipment, the shafts are aligned in two parts. Any misalignment between the ball and socket joint will increase stress on the shafts and cause them to break down prematurely. It can be very expensive. If the equipment is down, then production might be down. If bearings or mechanical seals are worn out and not working correctly, they may need to be replaced.
Flexible couplings allow a driver (such as an electric motor, engine, turbine, or hydraulic motor) to be connected to the driven equipment. They allow for a small amount of misalignment and are commonly used in shafts with varying diameters. The tools used to achieve proper alignment can be either mechanical or optical, such as the laser shaft alignment method, or gyroscopic, which is an extremely efficient system. They can also be used when the shafts are very far apart (for instance, on marine vessels).
Before aligning the driver and drive component, the foundation needs to be properly built and fitted. It is time to begin the alignment process if such is the case.
Accurately measuring the shaft positions of motors and pumps at two or more points or places is the essence of alignment. In the steel plant, mining, and cement industries, among others, we offer laser-based torque shaft alignment services up to 20 meters in length with acceptable tolerances.
2. VERTICAL SHAFT ALIGNMENT
Utilized in a wide range of industrial applications, vertical pumps frequently employ a C-face flanged mounting configuration, in which one end of the motor shaft mounts onto the adaptor plate and is secured in place by bolts while positioned in a groove around the edges of the motors and plate.
Usually, this connection aligns the centerline of the motor shaft and the pump shaft coaxially to within a few inches.
It indicates a machine alignment check, particularly if the machine vibrates excessively or if its bearings and seals require frequent replacement.
Some of the more commonly encountered reasons for the misalignment of vertical pumps include:
dirt, paint, and other impurities on the motor or plate's mounting surfaces
On rare occasions, the mounting surfaces may have machining defects.
Extreme caution must be taken to prevent harming the mounting surfaces when these motors are removed from operation for repair. It is recommended to position the engine on wooden cribbing. The mounting surfaces should be cleaned, sanded, and inspected for damage or other flaws prior to remounting the motor. To keep the track free of impurities, make sure the C-Face mounting's groove is clean.
Many laser alignment tools allow you to perform a vertical alignment if precise alignment is needed.
3. SOFT FOOT
When discussing shaft alignment, we refer to it as a soft foot. To be sure, the soft foot check must always be completed before starting any alignment repair. It is crucial to guaranteeing a dependable installation. We'll discuss the many kinds and their causes.
I mean that the machine is resting unevenly on all feet by soft foot. Another expression you may have heard is machine frame distortion.
Why is it necessary to examine and treat soft foot? Is it really that much of an issue if there is a small hole beneath one machine foot or a small mound of dirt beneath another? Yes, indeed. Because you can (and probably will) encounter issues like shaft deflection, higher vibrations, bearing failure, and ultimately machine breakdown if the machine is not standing exactly flat on the machine base. Furthermore, that will be far more costly than first resolving the soft foot issue! Fortunately, a soft foot check program that identifies which feet require adjustment and to what extent is included with all Laser shaft alignment systems.
One characteristic unites all four varieties of soft feet: at least one foot is not securely resting on the machine base. And that's for a variety of reasons. Let's have a look, then.
A. Parallel soft foot
One characteristic unites all four varieties of soft feet: at least one foot is not securely resting on the machine base. And that's for a variety of reasons. Let's have a look, then.
There are three possible reasons for parallel soft foot:
The leg is too short.
The base plate or mounting pads are not coplanar.
The base plate or mounting pads are not coplanar.
You must add enough shims to eliminate the rocking effect in order to rectify parallel soft foot (use as few as possible, and no more than four shims).
B. Bent foot / outside angled soft foot
This typical kind of soft foot happens when the bottom of the foot is angled with respect to the base. The laser system will display a high soft reading if you are three or four feet away. The foot with the widest air gap between the heel and toe will have mild, mild foot pressure.
There can be several reasons for this condition, for example:
The machinery has been dropped or roughly handled.
The base plates are bent or poorly machined.
There’s a severe vertical angular misalignment.
The feet are welded.
Foundation settling has occurred.
Remanufacturing the base, feet, or both is the best solution to this issue. Step shimming is an alternative if this isn't feasible. However, you might wish to stay away from it.
The best way to deal with this problem is to remanufacture the base, feet, or both. If this isn't possible, step shimming is an option. In contrast, you may want to avoid it.
C. Squishy foot
The soft foot is sometimes also called the spring foot. The feeler gauges will not detect gaps under the foot with a soothing foot. There may also be a build-up of other unwanted materials, such as dirt or rust underneath the foot.
Reasons for squishy soft foot may be:
Dirt, grease, paint, or rust between the foot and the base.
Too many shims (remember, you should not use more than four shims per foot).
Bent shims.
Shims with burrs or thread marks.
Replace the old shim stock with new, crush-proof ones and thoroughly clean the area under and around the foot to resolve this issue.
D. Induced foot softness
It can be difficult to identify external forces influencing the machine frame that result in the generated soft foot. If there are more than one soft foot—typically on the same leg on the same side of the machine—the laser system will alert you. The purpose of the feeler gauge is to locate a gap, typically one that is parallel or nearly parallel.
Some possible causes are:
Coupling or pipe stress.
machineries that are overhung.
Chains or belts put strain on gears and pulleys. The flex conduit has too much rigidity.
The apparatus is equipped with structural bracing, and the jacking bolts are unintentionally left tight.
Machine Train Alignment
Two or more subsequent machines need to be modified in this multi-coupled alignment. For instance, a gas turbine powering three compressors is an example of a three-coupling train (four devices).
A train with two couplings (three machines), like a pump, gearing, and motor, in which the gearing in the middle is found to be immobile, is not a machine train. It may be treated as such, but that isn't always the best course of action. Using the Gearbox as a stationary machine, it is appropriate to see these as two distinct alignments. First align the pump with the gearbox, and then align the motor with the gearbox again.
4. CARDAN SHAFT ALIGNMENT
A Cardan drive consists of a driver and a driven shaft. It is installed and operated with a relatively large offset between the driver (which rotates) and the driven shaft (which moves). The spacer shaft has a minimum angle of usually four degrees to six degrees to ensure sufficient lubricant flow to prevent the universal joints from seizing. Excessive misalignment occurs between the rotor and stator, and the driven shaft RPM can rapidly fluctuate during operation.
The machine must be aligned to parallel its driving and driven machine shafts in order to prevent serious damage to electronic controlled synchronous and asynchronous AC drives. Accurate alignment reduces rotational irregularities of a Cardan shaft, which in turn reduces uneven bearing loadings during Cardan shaft rotation. If there is excessive angularity between these components, the resulting driveshaft RPM fluctuation will be rapid, causing damage to the machine and premature wear of essential machine components, such as bearings, gears, and belts.
Using laser shaft alignment to detect and correct problems
If a motor is attached to a roll, the bracket will be fastened straight to the roll shaft. The coupling bolts or, if one is available, a threaded hole in the middle can be used to mount the frame to the shaft. The receiver—the component that receives the signal from a laser—is mounted onto the driving shaft, which is the component that turns the wheels, while the laser itself is fixed to a bracket. The alignment condition is assessed and measurements are made.
The Cardan shaft and connections must be taken out before the driver may be precisely positioned in relation to the driven machinery. Accurately determining and correcting the angles between the machines is possible with the laser alignment system and specially built Cardan. Following the device's Cardan shaft removal, the Cardan bracket was attached to the shaft face.
5. TORSION SHAFT LASER ALIGNMENT
Misalignment is thought to be the root cause of between 50 and 70 percent of all vibration issues in machinery. Almost every kind of industrial setting frequently has rotating machinery, such as pumps and motors. Inaccurate alignment of the centers of their rotating shafts can result in power waste, accelerate component wear, and possibly cause catastrophic equipment failures. Knowing the many kinds, reasons, and signs of shaft misalignment enables a technician to spot it when it occurs and fix the issue.
5.TYPES
There are two main types of misalignments: angular and parallel. In the former case, the two shaft centerlines are aligned but offset by distance; the more distance between the two points, the more misaligned the shaft is; in the latter case, the two shaft centers are not parallel and intersect at an angle. Usually, both angular and parallel misalignments are present, and combination misalignment occurs when two or more different types of misalignments occur.
CAUSES
A person may have a misplaced shoulder for a variety of reasons. It is necessary to address all potential causes of nonalignment. The primary causes are as follows:
1.Relative motion misalignment results from thermal growth, or expansion, which causes one piece of equipment to expand proportionately to another. When heated, different materials expand at different speeds. Thermal growth needs to be taken into consideration when equipment works normally above room temperature.
2.Equipment may become misaligned due to strains from attached piping runs. After a successful alignment, pressure-induced misalignment may reoccur due to the ongoing action of forces from strained equipment.
3.Torsional Movement: The initial high torque generated during startup is known as torque. Shafts may be driven out of alignment as a result, leading to misalignments in torsional movement.
4.Settling: As bases or foundations move to lower locations over time, settling misalignment may result. The problem may return if the equipment can be adjusted without fixing the underlying cause of the misalignment.
5.Human Error: Human error misalignment can occur when an alignment operation is performed incorrectly or not at all.
6.Misfired Couplings: Misfired coupling alignment can result from manufacturing flaws such misaligned couplings. New equipment is most frequently affected by this kind of misalignment. On the other hand, same outcomes will occur if you damage a collar during an alignment.
Effects
Extreme bearing temperatures, wear patterns, noise, or alignment problems in rotating machinery can all be detected using a variety of techniques, such as excessive vibration. Some methods are included in the preventative maintenance program for a plant. Additional checks include inspections, which are often carried out after the equipment has malfunctioned but could be done on a regular basis.
The following are some detrimental consequences of an untreated misalignment:
1.Excessive vibration-One of the main reasons why equipment vibrates so much is misalignment. It is challenging to correctly align two shafts and approaches such that no forces will create vibrations, even with self-aligning bearings, flexible couplings, and other features. The fact that vibrations will happen in both the axial and radial directions is a crucial aspect of misalignment.
2.Noice-Vibrating like noise Simply observing changes in the sound of equipment while it is operating can be used to identify noise. Every operating piece of equipment makes some noise. An operator can only detect aberrant noises if they are aware of what typical equipment noise sounds like.
3. Lost production-Misalignment can have a direct impact on equipment life and lost production. Equipment that has a shorter service life will require unscheduled repair, which will cut into production time and raise production costs.
4.Poor quality product-Equipment misalignment may be the cause of low-quality products. Let's say, for instance, that your camera's lens and sensor are not precisely lined up. In that situation, proper alignment can prevent production flaws and product damage brought on by misalignment. Repair orders that are more than usual: Misalignment-related malfunctions will lead to more unscheduled maintenance, which will raise the number of repair orders.
5. Increased inventory of spare parts-Increased spare part inventory: More spare parts must be ordered as the number of maintenance procedures resulting from misalignment-induced failures rises. A list of sentences produced by the paraphrase module is the output.
6.Decreased profits: When machines break down suddenly and early, more money has to be spent on repairs and replacement parts. Misalignment can rapidly affect profitability due to decreased efficiency.
Accurately measuring the locations of the pump shaft and motor at two or more points is the foundation of alignment. Within acceptable tolerances, we offer laser-based torsion alignment services for torsion shafts up to 20 meters long in the steel, mining, and cement industries.
A range of standard alignment shims that fit different rotary equipment bases are offered by RE-SHIM. These shims are available in five different thicknesses and eight typical sizes. The specifications are as follows:
pre-cut shims
Shim is a straightforward fix for the complex issues of misalignment in rotating machinery, including pumps, compressors, fans, DG sets, turbines, and so on. These issues result in vibration, noise, malfunctions, energy and productivity loss, and other problems.
Table content
Tolerance: +/-10% Thickness: 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.50, 1.00
Material: Brass and Stainess Steel
Custom SHIM
Re-Shim can also create shims in any size and profile according to their precise requirements or drawings. Our typical products include diaphragms, soft foot shims, coupling shims, circular washers, double and multiple "U" cuts, and more. These shims are made of copper, brass, aluminum, and other materials.
