Shaft Alignment

What it takes to be the world leader in machinery alignment

July 23, 2020 by [email protected]

It’s easy to say you’re a leader. But much harder to become one — and stay one. It takes work.

To date, the legacy of PRUFTECHNIK, a division of Fluke Reliability, covers nearly 50 years of industry-leading expertise and transformative products. We invented the laser shaft alignment category and continue to innovate — delivering the industry’s first and only systems that adapt to any alignment task, asset, or user experience level.

As the world leader in alignment solutions, our innovations have been copied but never successfully matched.

Building trust

Like many companies, PRUFTECHNIK formed in 1972 because it recognized an opportunity to solve longstanding industrial machinery maintenance problems. Starting with our first product, the company began building a reputation for innovative solutions. A constant string of product “firsts,” including the invention of single-laser technology, cemented our position as the industry leader.

Here are just four of the landmark changes we have introduced over the years.

Four game-changers

OPTALIGN: First laser-optical shaft alignment system in the world
ROTALIGN: First shaft alignment system with SWEEP measurement method and dedicated DIM-M-RES workflow
PARALIGN: First inertial parallelism measurement system for the alignment of rolls
Adaptive Alignment systems: First laser shaft alignment solutions with single-laser technology and Active Situational Intelligence (ASI), which trigger their adaptability.

Major turning points

Early on, PRUFTECHNIK recognized the power of cloud-based software in enabling data sharing and team-based collaboration. We blazed new trails by integrating cloud connectivity into our products. We continue to regularly fuel research and development with innovations, many of which are patented.

Each new generation of our laser shaft alignment products has addressed seemingly unresolvable and relentless movement and measurement issues. By continuing to add inventive and highly advanced functionality using PRUFTECHNIK patented technology, our shaft alignment systems stand as the industry’s only ones capable of adapting to the situation, the asset, and the user skill and experience level of team members.

What’s so magical about Adaptive Alignment?

Adaptive Alignment system “magic” only happens when two critical elements unite—single-laser technology and Active Situational Intelligence (ASI). It is these two features (think brains and brawn) that enable the PRUFTECHNIK shaft alignment systems to adapt to the application, asset, and maintenance team member—in real time. Other laser alignment systems can’t fully adjust in this way.

Adaptive Alignment:

Adapts to the situation by automatically adjusting to common challenges such as coupling backlash, environmental conditions, and gross misalignments quickly to assure precisely aligned shafts.
Adapts to the asset, including virtually all rotating machinery, from motor pumps to more sophisticated equipment such as machine trains, gearboxes, and Cardan shafts. ASI software provides “in the moment” feedback and direction to maintenance teams.
Adapts to the user level, such as a lesser-experienced technician who inadvertently makes errors in aligning a shaft. With ASI, inaccurate data is automatically removed in real time using analytics.

Adaptive Alignment unleashes your team’s capacity to restore assets to peak performance, expands support for a broader range of critical rotating asset types, and empowers your technicians to complete highly precise alignments faster and easier.

See the comparison chart to the right/left for some examples of how PRUFTECHNIK adaptive shaft alignment systems differ from others.

If you’d like more information on PRUFTECHNIK, click here to go to the Contact Page.

Four ways Adaptive Alignment differs from other alignment systems

Single-laser Adaptive Alignment systems	Other laser shaft alignment systems
Require only one move to align a shaft, whether it’s a small job or a complex one.	Most systems require a pre-alignment when encountering a gross misalignment, making it necessary to move machinery at least twice to align the shaft.
Contain built-in Active Situational Intelligence (ASI), detects backlash during the continuous sweep, and automatically eliminates compromised readings without jeopardizing measurements.	Non-adaptive systems cannot filter out backlash, making measurements unreliable and increasing the risk of another misalignment.
Enable all levels of technicians to handle complex assets, gross misalignments, or other difficult situations. ASI software automatically corrects common errors to ensure highly reliable results the first time.	When alignments are complex, technicians often must guess or perform rework; worst case, the maintenance team opts to live with the misalignment and the potential for machinery destruction.
Technicians share alignment data instantly via the cloud enabling collaboration with team experts across the globe to ensure precise shaft alignments.	Other systems cannot share shaft alignment measurements instantly. The function and software that enables the capability are exclusive to PRUFTECHNIK.

Maintenance leaders seek out PRUFTECHNIK laser shaft alignment systems because they work. We continue to innovate to advance our products and meet industry demands.

In 2019, PRUFTECHNIK was acquired by Fluke Corporation, the world leader in electronic tools and software for measuring, managing, monitoring, and optimizing asset performance. The two organizations share many things in common — foremost is providing transformative solutions to keep your world turning.

Instantly share alignment data with your team via the cloud

July 20, 2020 by [email protected]

It’s an age-old problem: the technicians in the field performing shaft alignments are often physically separated from the managers and engineers who need the measurement data being gathered.

That’s why PRUFTECHNIK alignment systems — such as ROTALIGN touch and OPTALIGN touch — provide software to transfer data and measurements to the cloud to share with teams for analysis within minutes.

This cloud transfer capability, exclusive to PRUFTECHNIK, is one way Adaptive Alignment systems unlock team capacity regardless of where team members are located. Technicians can leverage cloud transfer functionality to send measurements to other team members, whether they are in the same plant or on the other side of the world.

Running the PRUFTECHNIK software application on a desktop computer puts advanced collaboration facilities at the fingertips of managers and experienced technicians, allowing engineering decisions to be made by engineers, not mechanics.

In addition to sending measurements, the cloud data transfer feature enables engineers to access a machine’s past alignment history.

How cloud transfer works

After a measurement is taken, teams can verify its accuracy and determine the next steps. Measurement results can be shared instantly with maintenance management by using a WiFi connection, cloud connectivity, and PRUFTECHNIK ARC (Alignment Reliability Center) 4.0 software.

Supervisors or others can make changes on the desktop, and send specific guidance back to a technician at the machine. Instead of waiting to get back to the office, the technician can send the measurement to a senior engineer who can then provide directions, optimizing time for both parties.

PRUFTECHNIK Adaptive Alignment systems enable maintenance teams to take on any alignment task, asset configuration, or situation in the field. With the cloud transfer capability, these systems offer even more versatility by supporting remote team collaboration. It simplifies and speeds the process of guiding technicians in performing precise alignments when they’re physically separated by distance or environmental conditions, such as those brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cloud transfer capability is another Adaptive Alignment innovation differentiating PRUFTECHNIK laser shaft alignment systems. To learn more, please visit our website and download our Adaptive Alignment white paper.

How to make in-situ Cardan shaft alignment less cumbersome

July 7, 2020 by [email protected]

Among the most challenging machinery alignment tasks you might face is aligning a Cardan shaft—named after 16^th-century Italian polymath Gerolamo Cardano, who invented it along with other machine mechanisms.

Cardan shafts are essentially couplings. Their purpose is to accommodate a horizontal or vertical offset between a driven shaft and a driving shaft—most commonly a motor and a gearbox.

The Cardan shaft is the input shaft to the gearbox—versus the slower output shaft of the gearbox. Together, the rotational speed of both shafts connecting the motor to the gearbox via the Cardan shaft is the same.

Angular misalignment can increase the strain on joints and bearings and lead to a Cardan shaft becoming damaged or destroyed. Angular misalignment also often leads to increased vibration, which can cause uneven rotation during operation and, ultimately, shortened asset life.

Fortunately, with adaptive alignment systems from PRUFTECHNIK, it is quick and easy to measure the parallelism of two shafts connected to a Cardan shaft.

No removal is required, and measurements are much easier

The usual method of aligning these assets is to take the Cardan shaft out to align it, which requires dismantling and removing the Cardan shaft. This process can be cumbersome and time-consuming, and sometimes even requires a hoist or a crane.

But with adaptive alignment, it is possible to perform measurements with the Cardan shaft in place by using a specially designed rotating arm bracket fixture. This innovation is called in-situ Cardan shaft alignment. With no removal required, measurements are obtained much more easily and without the need for lengthy downtime.

Cardan shafts often exist in tight spaces, which can be challenging to navigate when using standard alignment procedures. But with adaptive alignment in-situ shaft measurement, tight spaces are no problem at all.

Two specific features of adaptive alignment, single-laser technology and Active Situational Intelligence (ASI), make it easier to handle difficult alignment situations, such as tight spaces, while also increasing both measurement speed and accuracy.

Measurements are reliable and precise—accurate to a hundredth of a millimeter. Successfully aligning a Cardan shaft requires a level of precision most easily achieved using single laser technology. Determining the parallelism of two shafts connected by a Cardan shaft is much quicker and easier, thanks to adaptive alignment.

How adaptive alignment tools adapt to a range of situations and challenges

June 30, 2020 by [email protected]

Machinery alignment scenarios are rarely the same. Using an easy shaft alignment tool that works for some simple jobs can introduce new errors on more complex projects. This unnecessarily complicates the alignment process, frustrating technicians, and driving up operational costs. Frequently, what maintenance leaders save with a cheaper system they lose in manual efforts and rework.

Enter adaptive alignment, a signature feature of PRUFTECHNIK laser shaft alignment systems.

This combination of software and hardware innovations enables maintenance teams to address any shaft alignment task, from the standard, daily, and straightforward alignment jobs to more complex and challenging tasks – such as aligning Cardan shafts, vertical flanged machines with right-angle gearboxes, or extensive machine trains with gearboxes.

Adaptive alignment systems contain Active Situational Intelligence (ASI), a software innovation with capabilities that enable the solutions to take on from the standard to complex and challenging tasks and complete them faster and with more accuracy than the many more basic solutions on the market.

Here are some of the adaptive alignment enhancements:

Multi-Factor Quality Enhancement

With this feature, the software detects and compensates for many factors that might negatively influence a measurement. It provides technicians with immediate feedback and allows even less experienced technicians to fetch high-quality measurements just by following the steps and tips displayed on the screen.

Uncoupled Shaft Awareness

When installing machines, the alignment should begin with uncoupled shafts to remove any residual forces in the machine train. But basic systems don’t have optimized measurement procedures for uncoupled shafts. Technicians must manually hold shafts to make sure both are at the same relative angle, then manually take the point, then manually move them. This method dramatically increases the risk of errors.

With adaptive alignment, uncoupled shafts can be in any position—the laser only needs to hit the detector. During the measurement, shafts can be freely moving while the adaptive system works out the angles and obtains the measurement. This capability delivers high ROI when teams are installing an asset because you get accurate results and required machine movements in the fastest possible time.

Virtual Move Simulator

Moving the machine is often the costliest part of alignment—and carries with it the risk of additional cost and time if it turns out to be the wrong move. Virtual Move Simulator (VMS) has saved technicians thousands of hours across many industries around the world by enabling them to model different options for a move, see the results, and refine choices before actually doing the physical movement. Read this separate blog post for more on VMS.

Live Move

Single-laser technology delivers rapid completion of alignment tasks while improving precision. Systems outfitted with this technology let technicians see corrections in real-time. They can view updated live results in both vertical and horizontal planes simultaneously across the full range of the sensor detection surfaces. With this capability, you avoid the limitations inherent to non-adaptive, dual-laser systems that have a line-over-length divergence problem.

Adaptive alignment can save time, improve accuracy, and offer numerous other advantages. Learn more about the adaptive alignment concept and feature set in PRUFTECHNIK systems by visiting our website.

Virtual Move Simulator helps you make all the right moves

June 15, 2020 by [email protected]

One of the biggest challenges in aligning large or high-speed machines is determining precisely how much the asset must undergo a move to achieve optimal alignment. This determination has long been a manual and tedious process. You calculate the amount and direction of the movement based on the degree of misalignment. Then you move the asset and remeasure, and perhaps move it again, remeasure, and repeat and repeat until you finally achieve alignment.

When you’re dealing with substantial assets that weigh several hundred tons, this process can take considerable time, require numerous resources, and keep the asset out of service for a lengthy period. It can be a hassle – one that is often further complicated by dealing with a machine that is bolt-bound, base-bound, or has limited movement in specific directions. You may delay or even have to reschedule the alignment.

Using adaptive alignment systems with Active Situational Intelligence (ASI) technologies such as Virtual Move Simulator (also known as Move Simulator) can take the frustration and headaches out of this process. You can get not only a precise readout of shaft misalignment but also a preview of the necessary adjustments to align the asset, before actually moving it.

Adaptive alignment systems contain a unique combination of hardware and software that enable users to adapt to virtually any situation in the field, as well as their own experience and skill levels.

How Virtual Move Simulator works

Virtual Move Simulator (VMS), included in the PRUFTECHNIK ROTALIGN touch laser alignment system, simulates horizontal and vertical moves to calculate the precise movement necessary to align shaft couplings. After measuring the alignment of assets, a millwright can enter the estimated amount of change or shimming into VMS and view the results on the screen.

If those virtual moves align the couplings precisely, the screen shows a “smiley” face. If the result is not a smiley face, the technician makes additional adjustments until the smiling face appears. An “OK” is also acceptable in cases where the asset cannot be moved further due to an obstruction.

VMS shows its most significant benefit when used for multi-coupling alignment. Instead of aligning each coupling separately and having to remeasure and adjust each one back and forth, you can simulate the alignment of multiple couplings in one process.

The graphic below shows how this might work in aligning a motor/gearbox/pump setup. You can mount one laser to the left of the coupling between the motor and gearbox and the sensor for that laser to the right of that coupling.

Similarly, you can mount the second laser to the left of the coupling between the gearbox and the pump and the sensor for that laser to the right of that coupling. You can then measure the alignment between the motor and the gearbox and the gearbox and the pump simultaneously as the ROTALIGN touch yields alignment values for the whole machine train (this is known as “Simultaneous Machine Train Alignment”).

After taking the alignment measurement, click on the Virtual Move Simulator button and start the virtual alignment:

View the results for the gearbox-to-pump coupling. Make the adjustments necessary to bring those two couplings into virtual alignment by selecting the V (vertical) or H (horizontal) direction and, using the arrow keys, add or subtract movement. Watch the virtual-simulated alignment change in real time.
Success is confirmed when the smiley face appears on the screen (plus blue correction arrows and colored shaft centerlines).
View the results for the motor-to-gearbox coupling and continue to adjust as necessary, as described in Step 1, to achieve alignment between those two assets.
Simulated alignment between the motor and gearbox is determined complete as indicated by the smiley face shown below.
When a simulated alignment of each pair of assets is complete, you can see the moves recommended to align all three machine shafts in one virtual-simulated “Live Move.”

With ROTALIGN touch single-laser technology, you can keep the laser and sensors in place and switch from Virtual Move Simulator to Live Move mode. This action enables you to see the values change in real time as the complete machine train is simultaneously physically moved to match the values provided by VMS.

Virtual Move Simulator is just one of many features included in the Active Situational Intelligence software featured in PRUFTECHNIK adaptive alignment systems. This software provides real-time predictive intelligence that is situationally aware to filter out error-causing conditions such as coupling backlash or environmental vibration to increase alignment precision and speed.

Check out how adaptive alignment technologies from PRUFTECHNIK can address your machinery alignment challenges.

How to diagnose and correct soft foot (part 2)

May 27, 2020 by [email protected]

Eliminating soft foot before attempting machinery alignment will save you time and money

In the first installment of this two-part blog series about soft foot, you learned how to identify the symptoms, effects, and types of soft foot conditions. In this second post, you’ll learn how to diagnose and correct the condition and what types of tools to use.

It’s estimated that two-thirds of all rotating machinery have soft foot conditions. Soft foot is also the root cause of most alignment issues and is considered to be the most critical thing to check before performing an alignment. So why is soft foot one of the most overlooked machinery problems?

Granted, the process of diagnosing and correcting soft foot can be frustrating, and it often takes longer to fix than the actual machine alignment. However, if you can remain calm and think critically, the effort always has a huge payoff which is preventing machine destruction.

Soft foot toolkit (Diagnosing soft foot)

Several ways exist to diagnose and measure soft foot. It’s essential to apply the following methods during every machine alignment and installation to determine if there’s a soft foot condition.

Having the right devices on hand can make detecting soft foot go smoother and faster. Here’s a list of tools to help you measure for soft foot and eliminate any debris found under and around the feet to ensure machine alignment.

Image 1 – Feeler gauge

Feeler gauge: A feeler gauge is used to measure gap widths or the clearance between two parts. The tool has several steel blades with different thicknesses that can measure as little as 1/1000 of an inch or up to a quarter (¼) inch.

Micrometer or digital caliper: A micrometer can also measure gap thickness. The tool is used to verify shim thickness. A caliper is used to measure shim stacks before inserting them under the feet. This verifies that the shims are the thickness as labelled and not defective.
Image 2 – Digital caliper
Wire brush: This clears away the debris or corrosion you may come across while checking machinery feet.
Cleaner/degreaser: Use a heavy-duty degreaser in combination with the wire brush to clean existing shims and contact surfaces during the soft foot correction. Brake cleaner works well, but you might also have success with other well-known commercial cleaners.

Laser shaft alignment system: A laser system can be helpful when measuring for soft foot and is easy to use. This sophisticated tool walks you through the measurement process via a series of screens and includes an auto diagnosis. Although you can use either a dual or single laser shaft alignment system, a dual system can be more challenging to use.

Correcting soft foot with shims

Using shims to correct machine foot issues is usually very effective. However, if the frame or mount is bent, twisted, or cracked, or other overall machinery destruction has occurred, correcting the condition can be quite tricky.

In most cases, the machine you’ll be working on will already be shimmed. It’s a good practice to clean any shims that are not new and also clean the base plates and feet to eliminate any dirt and debris. If you do not remove the corrosion, paint, and grime that can accumulate over time, it’s possible to form a new condition, squishy foot, during alignment.

5 rules to avoid squishy foot

Here are some good rules of thumb to follow to better ensure that you don’t create a squishy foot condition while trying to eliminate another soft foot condition.

Use shims big enough to cover at least 80% of the footprint. Shims come in many sizes, and if the machinery requires large shims, they’re usually fabricated on site.
Apply no more than four shims under each foot. If you add too many shims, you risk producing a spring-like situation, i.e., squishy foot.
Sandwich thin shims in between thick shims. It makes placement easier and eliminates the potential for shim creasing.
Measure stacks with a micrometer to verify shim thickness. Use it to make sure things add up as they should because errors or defects sometimes happen during manufacturing.
Measure shims over 0.030 to verify thickness. Some sources might recommend lower or higher thicknesses, but ultimately, it’s your decision.

By following these soft foot best practices, including applying the right methods and tools to accurately diagnose and correct the condition, you set yourself up for success. Always remember to check for soft foot before aligning shafts. It will save you time, money, and headaches.

For a more in-depth look at soft foot, watch the Fluke Accelix Best Practice Webinar, “A hard look at soft foot: detecting machine frame distortion before it causes major issues.”