PUMP

ALIGNMENT

Varun Maurya
 MACHINERY ALIGNMENT
• Table of Contents
□ (a) What is Alignment
□ (b) What is Misalignment
□ (c) Types of Misalignments
□ (d) Method of Alignment
□ (e) Symptoms of Misalignment
□ (f) Pre-Alignment Checks
□ (g) Tools Required for Alignment
□ (h) Alignment Tolerances
 What is Machinery/Shaft Alignment?
 The center lines of rotating shafts form a single
line when the machines are working at normal
operating temperature.
 Arrangement in a straight line.
Aligning Your Machinery Mean…
1. Performance and protection of industrial
equipment.
2. Increase operating time.
3. Increase production
4. Cost saving
 What is Misalignment & Types
 Shaft misalignment occurs when the center lines of
coupled shafts do not match up.
There are two Types of misalignments.
1) Offset/Radial Misalignment
2) Angular /Axial Misalignment
More than 50%problems are due
to misalignment.
 Radial Misalignment
 Parallel (radial) misalignment occurs when
the driving and driven shafts are parallel but
with some offset between their axial centers.
 Radial Misalignment can be further classified as
1) Radial Vertical Misalignment
2) Radial Horizontal Misalignment
 Axial Misalignment
 Angular misalignment occurs when the axial
centers line of driving and driven shafts
intersect. Axial Misalignment can also be classified
as
1) Axial Vertical Misalignment
2) Axial Horizontal Misalignment
3) Combination
Axial Misalignment
 Misaligned Your Machinery Mean..
1. Is a risk to your business.
2. Lead to unplanned
3. production stops.
4. Consume more power.
5. Can affect the quality of
6. the product you are
7. manufacturing.
8. Financial loss.
 Types of Misalignments
1) Parallel Displacement or Radial
Displacement
2) Face Displacement or Angular
Displacement
3) Combination
 Method of Alignment
• Rough Alignment
1=Straight Edge, steel rule, feeler gauge & Wire
Method
Precision Alignment
2 = Rim & Face Method
3 = Reverse Method/Graphical Method
4 = Laser Method
 Method of Alignment
 feeler gauge and steel rule: This method is used when
the coupling is mostly flexible and there is no spacer in
between both hubs.
 Axial alignment check by feeler gauge.
 Radial alignment check by knife edge rule .
ALIGNMENT
BY STRAIGHT EDGE
 Alignment with straight edge
Alignment of V belt ,pulleys, sprockets and
gears.
Method of Alignment
 Symptoms of Misalignment
1. Premature bearing, seal, shaft and coupling failure
2. High vibration
3. High Casing / Bearings / Oil Temperatures
4. Excessive oil leakage from bearing seals
5. Coupling is hot
6. Foundation bolts get loosen
7. Coupling bolts/Shims broken or loosen
8. Shafts are breaking (or cracking) at or close to the
inboard bearings or coupling hubs Similar machine
has less vibration
 Effects of Misalignment
Misalignment can cause the following problems on
the running machine. Vibration in the machine and
associated / linked equipment’s.
A.Excessive wear and temperature rise in the
bearings.
B. It causes coupling failure.
C. Abnormal noise arises
D. Over loading of prime movers
E.Decreases the efficiency of
the machine
 Causes of Misalignment
1) Thermal Expansion
2) Stress.
3) Soft foot.
4) Bearing Failure.
5) Vibration.
6) Poor workmanship.
 Mechanical Causes of Vibration
1) Unbalanced rotating components. Damaged impellers
2) Misalignment
3) Pipe strain.
4) Either by design or as a result of thermal growth.
5) Thermal growth of various components, especially shafts.
6) Rubbing parts.
7) Worn or loose bearings.
8) Loose hold down bolts.
9) Loose parts.
 Why Precise Alignment is needed?
1) ■ Thesefactors increase the need of precise
alignment and balancing to minimize
vibration and premature wears of
couplings, bearings and shaft seals.
2) ■ Stressesfrom misalignment are
directly proportional to the speed of unit.
 Alignment States
Cold Alignment
Alignment which is carried out when the
machine is at cold state.
Hot Alignment
• Alignment which is carried out when the
machine is at hot state.
Pre-Alignment requirements?
Foundation
■ Grout
■ Base plate
■ Piping
■ Coupling Installation
■ Soft Foot
■ Shims
■ Sag
■ Feeler gauge
 Foundation
• Thumb Role
□ Concrete weight should be equal to
three times machine weight for rotating
machines
□ Concrete weight should be five times
for reciprocating machines
 Grout
■ Should be in good condition
■Tapping with a small hammer can
detect hollow spots
 Base Plate
• Should be rigid
■ Machine mounting pads should be level flat
and clean.
 Piping
• Well fitted and supported.
□ Stress Free.
□ Sufficiently flexible, no more than 0.08mm
• vertical and horizontal movement occurs at
coupling
 Coupling
The coupling should be installed with a light
interference fit with shaft.
Vary from .002”to .005”per inch of the shaft
diameter.
 Soft Foot
■Machine feet do not rest flatly on the base of machine.
One or more feet of a machine differ in height from the
others .

■Soft foot is caused by deformed machine base plates

or deformed machine feet.
■This method is commonly used for soft foot check

& correction.
■ Place the Dial at foot of machine.

Tighten all hold down bolts then loosen one bolt at a

time and note the deflection
 Soft Foot
 Soft foot must be detected and eliminated on both
the driving and driven machines before performing
the alignment. Soft foot should be checked in each
stages of the alignment .1=pre-alignment 2=Final
alignment. Soft foot check by feeler gauge and dial
indicator .
SOFT FOOT
 Shims
■The shims used should be large enough to
adequately support each foot.
■ Don’t use Dirty shims-Clean them
■ Many shims replace with fewer thick shims

■ Use Pre-cut stainless steel shims

■ Don’t reuse painted, or badly bent shims

■ Best choice for shim material is stainless

steel
■ Maximum shim limit is12mm

■Try to use max 5 or less shims under each

foot. Its not always possible but try to minimize

 SAG
The Inclination towards downwards in
alignment Bracket due to gravitational force
is called Bracket Sag .
Sag does not normally effect horizontal alignment.
But in vertical measurement it depends on the spacer
length
Q For less then 6” length of the spacer sag is
negligible.
Q For spans greater then 6” sag should checked & Note
down.
SAG CHECK
Dial
 Thermal Growth
■For liquids 93 C° and below set motor shaft
at same height as pump shaft.
■For liquids above 93 C°, set pump shaft lower

or motor shaft higher as per OEM

Recommendation.
■ For foot mounted pumps or turbines
Tools requird for Machinery alignment
1) Dial Indicator (two dials)
2) Two brackets (for reverse indicator method)
3) Straight Edge/Steel Rule,
4) Meter tape
5) Venire Caliper
6) Micro meter
7) Inspection Mirror
8) Crowbar
9) Tool Box
10) Shims
 Alignment Methods (Cont .)

• Alignment with Straight edge/Feeler Gauge.

1. Allowed only on flexible coupling, as precise
alignment can not be achieved.
2. Radial misalignment is checked / corrected with
the help of straight edge or knife edge.
3. Axial misalignment is checked / corrected with
the help of feeler gauge & ID Mic.
4. This method is used only for aligning the shafts of
non critical machines.
 MACHINERY ALIGNMENT
• Pulleys /Sprockets Alignment With Steel
Rule/Straight Edge
• V Belt pulleys or sprockets can be align with
straight edge bars/Steel Rule or strings.
 Graphical or Reverse method
 In this method two dial indicators are fixed on both hub
rims(radially).
 The dials are fixed on both sides such driver and driven.
Shim calculate on graph paper .
One set of readings is taken from the loose machine to the
fixed machine, and the second set of readings is taken
from the fixed machine to the loose machine.
 It is therefore sometimes referred as reverse method.
 These readings are then plotted on the graph using
suitable scale. How
• .
Graphical or Reverse method
 Laser Method
1. The most modern & accurate method for
aligning the shafts.
2. Laser alignment is the process of
determining
3. misalignment by a laser beam.
4. Where laser is mounted on one shafts and a
receiver or reflector is mounted on the other.
5. Both shafts are turned at the same time. The
6. deviation in the laser beam is measured as the
shaft is turned and readings show on Display
Unit.
Laser Method
 Rim & Face Method
For using dial indicators, it is necessary to
prepare a suitable Fixture, which can hold
two or three dial indicators
One dial indicators (R), with the axis in the
radial direction, will measure the radial
misalignment of the shafts. And one dial
indicator (A) with the axis in the axial
direction, will measure the axial
misalignment of the shafts.
Rim & Face Method
 Dial Indicator
 Dial indicator can be used when there is a spacer between
both hubs .
 One dial is fixed on the face of the hub ,for axial alignment
and other is fixed at the rim of the hub ,for radial alignment
 Dial on fixed moveable machine .
 View from fixed machine.
 Dials must be some pre load for reading .
 After zero.
 When the dial indicator main pointer rotates by 3600, the
dial indicator small pointer will show 1mm displacement of
the rod
Dial Indicator
 Rim & Face Method
 Place the dial on the rim & Face of the coupling
hub and secure it with the help of suitable
Fixture.
 Measure the data during a rotation of 3600 The
algebraic sum of the values read on the horizontal
plane (900& 2700) will be equal to the values read
on the vertical plane (0 0 and 1800).
 Advantages & Disadvantages of Rim &
Face Method
Advantages:
Good for large dia coupling hubs where the shafts are close together.
To be used where one of the shafts can not rotate during alignment.
Easy to use.
Disadvantages:
Difficult to take face readings, if there is axial float in the shaft
Requires removal of coupling spool.
Indicator Sag
 SPIDER COUPLING GAPE
 After alignment spider must be free inside of the jaws.
 Maintain the gap between the jaws ,2mm-4mm .
 Tightening Hold Down Bolts
 Bolts should always be tightened in a known sequence so that
vertical positions are repeated as you re-tighten the bolts.
 Coupling Gap
 An improper coupling gap causes excessive axial forces
which result in increased bearing load.
 Improper gap can also cause destruction of an electric
motor with plain bearings.
 The coupling gap should be set to the manufacturer’s
specification (to take care of thermal expansion in axial
direction). DBSE= Distance between shaft end
DBFF= Distance between face to face
 Setting the Coupling Gap
 You check the coupling gap with a scale, feeler gauge, taper
gauge, or an inside micrometer.
 Move the motor axially to set the proper gap.
 Electric motors with plain bearings have endplay.
 Therefore, you must position the motor shaft at magnetic
center before setting the coupling gap.
 Important Tips
1. Clean the Machine Base, Removes Rust, burrs etc.
2. Perform pre-alignment checks on machine
3. Use correct bolt tightening procedure.
4. Use jack bolts
5. Try to put the stem of dial gauge perpendicular to
the surface of coupling hub
6. Check indicator sag
7. Check Run out of(Bent shaft, Out of round
couplings)
8. Check the coupling gap
 Important Tips
 After decoupling the machine, take alignment reading, if
time permits. It serves as a reference reading, as some time
it becomes difficult to get the desired readings.
 Before alignment, always ensure that there is no “soft
footing” in the machine. If it exists, remove it prior to align.
 Use Jacking Bolts For move the Motor Never use Hammer
 If the machine has more than four feet, then it is better to
carry out the alignment of the machine by reverse /graphical
method.
 Always carry out the alignment job in the early day time.