the alignment field guide

280 Pages·2016·36.95 MB·English

T H E
A L I G N M E N T
F I E L D
G U I D E
Best of the Alignment Blog
2010-2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CORRECTABLE ALIGNMENT ISSUES
2 Bolt-Bound Prevention
4 Was Soft Foot the Problem?
8 Troubleshooting Looseness During Shaft Alignment
10 The Return of Soft Foot
13 Non-repeatability - A Little Movement Can Cause a Lot of
Headaches
15 Should Thermal Growth Affect Angular Misalignment?
16 Soft Foot and the Dirt That Causes It
19 Video: Concepts of Shaft Alignment - Backlash
20 Bolt-Bound? No Alternative Move Calculator? No Problem!
22 Soft Foot - What It is and How to Minimize It
27 Coupling Backlash - How it Affects Alignment, and How to Get
Rid of It
29 Solving Base-Bound and Bolt-Bound Shaft Alignment Problems
32 How to Perform Precision Alignment When Nearby Machines are
Vibrating
34 Is There Garbage Under Your Belly?
36 After Shaft Alignment, Back Off on Your Jacking Bolts to Reduce
Vibration
38 Is Vibration Interfering With Your Precision Shaft Alignment?
41 Combination Soft Foot?
42 How To Minimize the Effects of Coupling Backlash When
Measuring Misalignment
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SHIMS AND HOLD DOWN HARDWARE
46 A Little Shim Can Make a Big Difference
48 Don’t Overlook “Hidden Shims” Under the Feet
53 “Mic” Your Shims
56 What Size Shims Should I Use?
58 How Many Shims?
60 Stacking the Deck Can Get You in Trouble!
62 Don’t Overlook the Hold Down Bolt Washers!
65 Broken Washers Can Cause Headaches!
67 Cupped Washers
69 Is It OK to Undercut Bolts?
71 Jacking Bolts
73 To Turn or Not To Turn - That is the Question
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
COUPLINGS AND UNCOUPLED ALIGNMENTS
80 Is Your Coupling Relaxed? Balance Your Couplings
82 Balance Your Couplings
83 Flexible Couplings and Flexible Shafts
85 Fluid Drive Coupling and High Vibration - No Problem!
87 Coupling Alignment Tolerances vs. Shaft Alignment Tolerances
89 Why Should I Align a Flexible Coupling?
91 Foot Tolerances vs. Coupling Center Tolerances
92 Coupling or Shaft Runout
94 Uncoupled Shaft Alignment - It Doesn’t Need to Be Diffi cult
99 Aligning Uncoupled Machines
101 Electrical Pipe Strain?
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROCEDURE AND TECHNIQUE
106 Adjustable Motor Plate Alignment Using
the Verti- Zontal Compound Move
110 The Importance of Proper Alignment Technique
and Being Aware of Movement
112 What the Verti- Zontal Compound Means to Me
113 The Mounting Question
115 In Shaft Alignment, Low Can Sometimes Mean High
117 The Alignment Triangle
119 Shaft Alignment of Small Machines
121 Organizing Your Shaft Alignment Job
123 Can Precision Shaft Alignment Be Too Good?
125 What to do When They Want to Run the Machine Now
127 Use Your Head- Not Your Hammer
129 The Fastest Way to do an Alignment
130 Proper Movement Sequence for Shaft Alignment
132 Practice Does Make Perfect in Shaft Alignment
134 Start Low to Use All of the Sensor/Detector Range
136 Why Do People Struggle With Alignments - Part 2
139 Troubleshooting Guide for Basic Alignment
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
BELTS AND NON-STANDARD ALIGNMENTS
142 Belt Hogs For Buses
144 V- belt Alignment of a Variable Pitch Sheave
to a Fixed Pitch Sheave
146 Machine Train Shaft Alignment Tricks
148 Machine Train Shaft Alignments - To Move or Not to Move?
153 Understanding the Need for Offset Shaft Alignment
156 Aligning Machines With 3 or 6 Feet
158 Soft Foot Caused By a C- face Motor
161 The Shaft Alignment Nightmare!
164 Do Vertical Pumps Need Alignment?
167 Shaft Alignment With a Fluid Coupling
170 Shaft Alignment of a Vertically Oriented Machine with Feet
174 Aligning Machines Mounted on Chocks
177 Align a Cooling Tower in Under an Hour
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SAVING TIME AND MONEY
182 The Importance of Roughing In Machines Before
Performing a Shaft Alignment
187 Precision Shaft Alignment and Energy Consumption
189 30-Minute Alignments
190 Pre- Alignment Steps Save $$$
195 Persistence Pays
198 Return on Alignment - Energy Savings
200 OL2R - The True Measure of a Machine’s Movement
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS AND IDEAS
206 Help Your Laser Shaft Alignment System See!
208 Mechanical Seal Basics
219 Don’t Bet Against Your Laser Shaft Alignment Tool
221 Where Can I Get Alignment Specifi cations?
224 It’s Brand New, So it Must be Aligned, Right?
226 It Has to be Alignable!
229 The Devil is in the Details
230 Does Using a Torque Wrench Make Shaft Alignments
More Accurate?
232 Defi ning Level vs. Flat
234 30+ Years of Alignment- A Look Back
238 The Foundation of Good Shaft Alignment
240 Train- ing
244 That’s a Bad Sign!
246 Defi ning Angularity in Shaft Alignment
248 Consideration for Aligning Shafts Supported By Sleeve Bearings
250 Using a Laser Shaft Alignment System to Check for Pipe Strain
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