Soft foot is undoubtedly the number one challenge faced on an everyday basis in precision shaft alignment. The concept is simple enough; make sure the machine feet rest flat on the base. Unfortunately, it is not always so simple to [...] Read More
During the field alignment portion of a Fixturlaser GO Basic shaft alignment training class, we were attempting to align a 100 H.P., 3600 RPM motor to a double suction pump. Sounds easy enough! Here’s the skinny… The pump and motor [...] Read More
Stainless steel shims are now the standard for use in shimming machinery when preforming a precision laser or dial indicator shaft alignment. They are clean, corrosion resistant, flat, and most importantly, pre-cut. Their use speeds up the alignment process significantly. [...] Read More
Stan’s “Shims 101” blog last year provided some great guidelines and reasons for using pre-cut Stainless Steel Shims. We repeatedly see rotating equipment that is supplied with carbon steel shims under the feet and/or shims of the incorrect size. When [...] Read More
Our service group received a call from a water treatment plant in the western US for assistance to align a gearbox with C-face motor to a rotary lobe pump. After numerous failed attempts and multiple hours of frustration they had determined the [...] Read More
While working on a sludge pump, several issues arose that could have caused alignment headaches that would have lasted hours. There isn’t any medication that would have removed that pain. In this scenario and all alignment jobs, Pre-Alignment is a [...] Read More
Today’s maintenance personnel are tasked to do more in less time so production can resume as soon as possible. As such, aligners of rotating machinery may believe they are saving time by eliminating some steps of the shaft alignment process [...] Read More
Back around 1982, when I made my first forays from machinist into mechanical maintenance, I remember hearing about coupling alignment while working at a now-defunct rope factory in North Carolina. I considered myself a decent machinist, although I had little [...] Read More
Sometimes we get wrapped up in our work. So much so that we forget to take a step back and get the big picture. Whether using dial indicators or a laser alignment tool for shaft alignment, backing up a few [...] Read More
Here’s a thought-provoking question for you my fellow shaft aligners: is cutting shims to correct soft foot overkill? That concern was addressed last week during a shaft alignment training class where we aligned a nice little water pump. The motor [...] Read More
Everyone has had shaft alignments that seemed to be possessed. Whether you’re using a laser alignment system or dial indicators, one set of readings tells you to go in one direction, the next set of readings tells you something completely [...] Read More
Sometimes we get some funny looks during our shaft alignment training classes when we toss out our new word. Verti-what? Why do it that way? Some folks are still in the habit of checking and rechecking their alignment results to [...] Read More
Previous alignment blog postings have discussed the negative effects of soft foot on rotating machinery reliability and the importance of checking and correcting soft foot before proceeding with a shaft alignment. The question is: “does soft foot need to be [...] Read More
The photo to the right was taken at a recent training class. The maintenance guys at this facility were excellent aligners. They were adamant about getting their shaft alignments to “better than excellent” levels. They believed in preparing the surfaces [...] Read More
“Our large machines use adjustable chocks, instead of shims for correcting the vertical alignment; can we use the VibrAlign Verti-Zontal compound move with our Fixturlaser XA when correcting the misalignment?” Absolutely! Adjustable chocks are typically found on large machines such [...] Read More
We all know what soft foot is, correct? Soft foot is when we are sitting at dinner and the table rocks. Our solution: put a matchbook, folded piece of cardboard or sugar pack under the leg that needs to be [...] Read More
In a recent email to VibrAlign, Mike wrote: “In using your shims what is the most shims you can place under each foot? I have always been taught to use no more than 5 shims under each foot. Is this [...] Read More
Soft foot is a common issue when aligning rotating equipment. It is a major cause of repeatability problems in shaft alignment measurements. In addition to alignment quality and repeatability problems, it can be a cause of machinery vibration, reduce life [...] Read More