Misaligned shafts generate a moment, which creates a reaction force in the shaft bearings of the driven and drive units. Great care should be taken to ensure the extent of misalignment between the shafts is within the machinery manufacturer’s guidelines and the coupling manufacturers tolerances.
A 20% increase in load caused by misalignment will reduce the calculated bearing life by almost 50%
Misalignment in shafts leads to:
- Increased Costs & Down Time
- Increased Vibrations
- Increased Bearing Load
- Decreased Bearing Life
- Increased Seal Life
- Increased Noise
Typical problems arising from poor machine alignment:
- Leaking Seals
- Increased Vibration Levels
- Bearing Failure
- Shaft Failure
- Excessive Coupling Wear
- Lost Production Time
- Higher Energy Consumption
What are the Advantages of Laser Alignment?
- Laser alignment is the most accurate method of aligning machinery
- Longer bearing life
- Lowest possible stress on couplings, minimising risk of overheating
- Least vibration and noise
- Minimal wear of seals, reducing likelihood of lubricant leakage and contamination
- Lower energy consumption due to increased drive efficiency
- Increased ‘Mean Time Between Failure’
Pulley or Belt Alignment
Alignment is just as important a maintenance task with Belts and Pulleys as it is with Shafts.
Effects of Belt misalignment:
- Overall Machine efficiency is reduced
- Wear on the Belt increases greatly, causing it to fail quicker
- Safety Hazard from belts snapping prematurely which could cause injury
- Increased forces on the bearings, reducing the bearing life
- Increased vibration and noise
If a belt fails prematurely and is replaced without the misalignment being rectified, then the new belt will fail just as quickly. Also, long term operation whilst misaligned increases the wear on the pulleys and their axles, shafts and bearings, increasing maintenance costs.
For more information on Laser Aligning or to discuss how Laser Alignment can benefit you, please contact our Site Manager, Charles Lambley, on 07887 721 900, or email him at clambley@pumpgroup.co.uk