Shaft alignment plan for industrial machines

In this post we explain why a maintenance and reliability manager needs to have a Shaft Alignment Plan for industrial machines and how to implement it.

It is well known that misalignment of rotating machines leads to higher energy consumption and wear of rolling elements such as shafts, couplings, bearings, gearbox gears, etc. If you have a well aligned system you can extend the life of the above mentioned elements, reducing wear.

There are many tools to perform alignment, but through laser alignment the task becomes very easy to execute. Let's keep in mind that 80% of the mechanical failures in a machine are due to very basic situations such as: alignment, lubrication and unbalance. The rest of the problems are a consequence of the previous ones or are of a lower probability or of a lesser impact.

Include in your shaft alignment plan for industrial machines the laser alignment technology extends the availability of the machines, while increasing the mean time between failures. This type of alignment protects the equipment and improves product quality, as vibrations are reduced to a very low level.

When machines are misaligned, the load on the shafts increases dramatically due to the reaction forces created within the coupling.

A correct shaft alignment plan for industrial machines guarantees:

• Reduced energy consumption.
• Reduction of bearing, seal, shaft and coupling failures.
• Lower temperatures in bearings and couplings.
• Vibration reduction.
• Absence of cracking (or breakage) of shafts.

The rotating machine alignment systems helps reduce costs and improves machine productivity by optimising machine operation.

Overall, there are a number of savings that can be quantified in terms of consumption, in terms of repair costs for spare parts and in terms of staff hours. Most importantly, costs can be determined in terms of production costs for repairs or unexpected downtime, which in many cases are caused by misalignment. Companies should look much more closely at alignment than at other points.

A common mistake is that maintenance managers only align their machines at the time of machine set-up and never check the alignment of the machine or its condition until a breakdown occurs. If companies would pay proper attention to alignment through vibration analysis, or direct measurement if it is possible to stop, they could continuously check the condition of their machines and decide when a machine should be aligned. Keep in mind that a machine should not only be aligned at the time of installation, but also throughout its operation in order to achieve real economic benefits.

Maintenance managers can, with simple actions, eliminate the 80% of mechanical problems that occur on rotating machines. Alignment is one of the most impactful and should be taken very seriously.

Those of us who drive this best practice platform for industry are delighted to be able to provide valuable content to people about the benefits of the Shaft Alignment Plan for industrial machines. In this blog you will find valuable content where maintenance managers can gain the knowledge, best practices and Technologies to optimise industrial factories provided by shaft alignment equipment experts, so you can get the most out of your alignment equipment. Subscribe to the industry technology newsletter and you can:

• Resolve doubts and learn how to use shaft alignment equipment for industrial machines in different cases and positions.
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• Learn about best practices and cases of shaft alignment.