Laser Alignment for Rotating Equipment: Detecting Misalignment and Preventing Downtime

Every equipment will run into their own kind of problems when there is a fault or error in it. If your generator is facing such an issue, then it may mean that generator rewinding is needed to get it back in good shape.

For rotating machinery, the major issue will always be misaligned shafts or belts.

Once these problems are not being addressed immediately, they will lead to an increase in the amount of stress on the equipment. In turn, a loss of revenue and unplanned downtime will occur, and ultimately affect the rest of the operations in the business.

However, with the emergence of laser alignment, shaft or belt misalignment will no longer be a problem.

Misalignment

Among all the causes of rotating component malfunction out there, misalignment is said to one of the most common ones.

Other than causing a failure in equipment, it also causes damage to couplings and seals. Moreover, lubrication issues are trackable to seals which have been compromised by belt or shaft misalignment. A simple replacement of a seal will not put a stop to seal failure and the loss of lubricant.

Shaft Misalignment

Shaft misalignment can occur in three different ways: angular, parallel and axial. It can either happen while shipping, vibrations during machinery run time or after the installation of new equipment.

Belt Misalignment

Belt alignment consists of aligning the belts in a way that makes sure there is extremely minimal wear on the belts and the lowest possible energy loss for the driver unit or machine. Basically, the grooves of the pulley have to be in line with one another.

Correcting misalignment with laser alignment

Once the alignment checks are done to figure out exactly how far out of alignment your belts or shafts are, the assigned engineer will proceed to use laser alignment as the solution.

The lasers will be mounted on the shafts or belts of the machine to be aligned. Then while the shafts are being rotated, the lasers will measure the deflection of the shafts or belts and determine the number of shims to add in order to achieve the correct alignment.

After the alignment of the belts or shafts is properly corrected, the engineer’s next task is to maintain this alignment. Usually, one would recommend businesses to go for a maintenance program such as predictive maintenance to constantly monitor the condition of the equipment.

Why should laser alignment be done

While it is important to do laser alignment for rotating equipment with misaligned belts or shafts, here are some other benefits that one can expect:

• Acquire better plant insurance rates by having improved operating practice and results
• Enhanced plant operating life and reliability
• Lower maintenance labour costs
• Lower costs of exhausted spare parts; seals and bearings
• Lessen the need for standby plant
• Increased ability in plant operational limits when needed for production
• Cutting down of production loss as a result of plant failure

When all is said and done, one should always be aware of the right actions to take when it comes to the repairing of equipment. Whether it is an electric motor or generator overhauling that you need, it is best that you get them done from the start so as to ensure that your machinery is always operating at its best condition.