In
the past, shaft alignment with dial indicators and straightedges was ‘standard
procedure’ – mainly for lack of a better alternative!
With
so many sources of potential error and loss of accuracy, the success of
these mechanical methods often ended up being a combination of long
experience, guesswork and plain old-fashioned luck —so that only a few
mechanics ever really achieved the ‘knack’ of shaft alignment. Today’s
maintenance personnel must be a true jack-of-all-trades to service
ever-larger machine parks, yet the higher speeds and tighter design
specifications of modern machines demand reliable, highly accurate shaft
alignment. Tools like the ROTALIGN® ULTRA
and OPTALIGN® smart rise
to the challenge by letting anyone perform precision alignment while
saving significant time and effort over conventional methods.
How
Accurate is a Straightedge?
How Accurate are Dial Indicator Readings?
Quite accurate in the unlikely case that none of
the below mentioned problems are present:
Numerous refinements and variations of measurements
have been developed to combat the many sources of error. But even the best of these
refinements are exceeded in accuracy and ease of use by other methods of alignment (i.e.,
laser alignment).
Comparison
between Alignment Methods
Laser
shaft alignment offers 10 to 100 times the accuracy
of conventional methods! More importantly, this
unmatched precision pays off big in terms of
extended machine life and reduced alignment effort.
Let ROTALIGN® ULTRA and
OPTALIGN® smart save you
the trouble of calculating alignment corrections
—and vastly increase the MTBF of rotating
equipment!
