Pruftechnik Blog

Shaft Alignment

Move into the digital age with the new SHAFTALIGN Touch

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ShaftAlign Touch

In today’s fast-paced environment, maintenance technicians don’t have time to deal with hard-to-use tools or complicated programs. It’s with those teams and jobs in mind that Prüftechnik is pleased to introduce a groundbreaking tool for solving common machinery alignment problems: the ShaftAlign Touch.

This innovative and user-friendly system combines an intuitive, tablet-like interface with premium Adaptive Alignment features, such as single-laser technology and Active Situational Intelligence (ASI), enabling technicians of all experience levels to align assets with precision and speed.

ASI provides in-the-moment feedback to users on the quality of the measurement, automatically filtering out low-quality measurements induced by user error, backlash, or environmental vibration. Users can send and receive measurement data in real time, sharing with consultants and colleagues anywhere in the world via the cloud.

Upgrade to laser systems to improve accuracy

The ShaftAlign Touch offers digital advancements over the widely used dial indicator and feeler gauge from past decades, with laser shaft alignment improving accuracy tenfold over manual alignment tools.

With single-laser technology, the laser beam passes over the coupling flanges, eliminating mechanical linkages and bracket sag. Corrective values are calculated automatically, and the corrections can be monitored in real time on the screen. Any operator can consistently achieve a precise alignment in one attempt, with minimal training or experience.

Conversely, dual-laser alignment systems often require manual workarounds, rework, and guesswork. They can be imprecise and often unable to handle gross misalignments. Single-laser technology eliminates these frustrations.

Unmatched commitment to continued innovation

The ShaftAlign Touch enables maintenance and reliability teams to align hundreds of standard rotating machines—and quickly return each back to service—to keep a plant up and running. No pre-alignment or rough alignment work is required, so technicians can save considerable time and preserve a record of the initial alignment condition.

Other features include up to eight measurement points (while competitor systems feature only three) and an integrated RFID machine identification reader, which helps find the correct machine to align and provides an alignment history of that machine.

Prüftechnik invented laser shaft alignment as a method, and this latest product launch demonstrates our unmatched commitment to continued innovation. For more details, please visit the ShaftAlign Touch product page.

How Live Move reduces alignment time and increases precision

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Today’s shaft alignment technology makes it quicker and easier to identify misalignment of all types and sizes of rotating machinery. For example, single-laser alignment systems have eliminated the need for pre-alignment, saving considerable time while increasing precision.

However, once you have the measurement results, the alignment correction process is still manual and can be somewhat tedious. A misalignment of a tenth of a millimeter or thousandths of an inch can lead to premature motor wear, damaged bearings and couplings, wasted energy, and potentially a complete breakdown and hefty replacement and downtime costs.

So “close enough” is not acceptable.

The good news is that new advances in alignment technology help users avoid mistakes by guiding them through the process. Adaptive Alignment systems adjust to virtually any rotating asset, situation, or technician skill level to produce precision alignments.

A case in point is the Live Move feature available on OPTALIGN touch and ROTALIGN touch laser shaft alignment systems from PRUFTECHNIK. Live Move saves time by monitoring machine movement in both the horizontal and vertical planes simultaneously as you move the equipment into alignment. It saves time and guides users along the way to adapt to multiple experience levels.

Here’s how it works:

1. After performing an initial measurement rotation of either a single coupling or multiple couplings, leave the laser and sensor units in position on the shafts. The example in Figure 1 shows that the vertical alignment looks good, but the horizontal alignment has an offset of 8 thousandths of an inch and an angularity of minus-18 thousandths of an inch.

Figure_1_3D-VH-misaligned-RESULT
Figure 1. The combined 3D vertical and horizontal view of the misalignment

 

2. Selecting the horizontal alignment view icon reveals a screen that shows the necessary adjustments required for horizontal alignment.

Figure_2_3D-H-misaligned-RESULT
Figure 2. The 3D horizontal view of the misalignment

 

3. When you are ready to start moving the equipment, tap the button on the tablet touch screen to activate Live Move (Figure 3). If you’ve used Virtual Move Simulator (VMS) in ROTALIGN, you can switch directly from VMS to Live Move.

Figure_3_3D-VH-misaligned-MOVE
Figure 3. 3D vertical and horizontal view of misalignment as Live Move is activated

 

4. In this example, the machines are already vertically aligned, but you usually would start with vertical alignment. First, you would loosen the mounting bolts on the moveable machine and begin the vertical adjustments. Whether you raise the machine with a hydraulic jack, a pry bar, or with a few shims, Live Move continuously measures the movement (both vertical and horizontal) and displays the results on the tablet screen.

 

5. Since vertical alignment is satisfactory in this case, you can proceed with lateral horizontal movements until the machine is horizontally aligned. As you make adjustments, the values on the screen will change accordingly. Try to get the coupling values as close to zero as possible to achieve precision horizontal alignment.

Figure_4_3D-VH-aligned-MOVE2
Figure 4. 3D vertical and horizontal view of alignment completed with Live Move; note the Smiley face

 

6. When you have achieved a good alignment condition in Live Move, a smiley face will appear above the coupling (Figure 4).

Figure_5_3D-VH-aligned-RESULT
Figure 5. 3D vertical and horizontal view of alignment remeasurement for verification

7. Remeasure to verify that both the horizontal and vertical alignment corrections are completed (Figure 5). Readjust if necessary, and retighten the bolts. HINT: Leave Live Move on while you are tightening the bolts in case resistance causes the machine to move slightly out of alignment while you are torquing the machine feet bolts down. This situation may be caused by soft foot. Check out corrective measures in this separate blog post.

8. The final step is to perform another measurement rotation to verify repeatability and confirm that the machine is precision aligned. Once that is done, your live move is completed.

PRUFTECHNIK’s Live Move feature works from any position on the shaft so you can leave the laser and sensor at 12 o’clock, 6 o’clock, or anywhere in between, and activate Live Move to monitor machine movement. This is extremely helpful in situations with restricted access to certain shaft positions.

Live Move also works with multi-coupling alignment with ROTALIGN touch. Just leave the laser/sensor pairs on each coupling after the measurement rotation and align the complete machine set at once. Live Move will simultaneously monitor the entire machine train detecting any misalignment at any point throughout the realignment process.

See Live Move in action as part of PRUFTECHNIK’S adaptive alignment technology solutions.

Five Essential Questions to Ask Before Investing in a Laser Shaft Alignment System

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Laser shaft alignment systems are crucial to properly aligning your machinery to ensure peak performance and extended asset life. Their pinpoint accuracy makes them the right choice for numerous industrial settings.

But all laser alignment systems are not equal. Some enable a maintenance team to complete jobs faster and with higher precision, while others require rework and sometimes guesswork that drive maintenance costs higher and possibly compromise the result.

What should you consider when deciding on a laser shaft alignment system? Here are the top five questions to ask:

Does the system require a dual-laser setup, or does it have single-laser technology?

Why this question matters: A system with a dual-laser setup requires you to adjust two lasers and two sensors, which requires more time and effort and introduces more variables.

Additionally, dual-laser systems cannot handle gross misalignments because during the measurement rotation, the laser beam moves off of the detector, and the measurement cannot be completed.

Adaptive Alignment systems with single-laser technology have a “Freeze Frame Measurement” capability. This enables measurements to be completed even when halted partway because of the amount of misalignment, then restarted, eliminating guesswork and saving time.

Does the system’s user manual ever recommend a “rough alignment” or “pre-alignment?”

Why this question matters: Systems that recommend—or require—a rough alignment cost more to operate because they demand more moves—the most time-consuming part of any alignment job. The “as found” condition is lost, and technicians have already made one move before they can even take a measurement.

 

Does the system provide visual quality factor assessment feedback to the technician in real-time as the measurement is underway, or only after the measurement is finished?

Why this question matters: Getting feedback while doing a job is a better learning experience, and it saves time. It’s important to look for an Adaptive Alignment system that offers the innovation of real-time visual feedback.

During a measurement, the user gets a quick color indicator for easy, intuitive feedback. Green indicates a good quality measurement, while blue indicates an excellent quality measurement. Even the most inexperienced users can quickly learn exactly how to take a quality measurement thanks to this feature.

 

Can a technician send measurements instantly from the point of work to colleagues elsewhere in the plant (or around the world) to consult on the next steps?

Why this question matters: Two brains are often better than one.

You may have an alignment expert on your team, but he or she cannot get to every machine in every plant. But experts can evaluate and qualify measurement data remotely—if they have access to it—and render assistance from wherever they are.

Systems without collaboration capabilities essentially cut the technician off from help, which is a major factor behind variable alignment quality. Results with these systems are of course better when performed by an expert, but can potentially be unreliable when a less experienced technician completes a job unaided.

Getting a system with collaboration built-in is a great way to unlock overall team capacity—and to ensure that even the least experienced users on a team learn from expert guidance and get high-precision results.

Does the system automatically handle uncoupled shafts without requiring manual efforts to position shafts at the correct relative angle?

Why this question matters: For assets to perform at their peak, they must be installed with care from day one.

During installation, the alignment should ideally be done with uncoupled shafts to eliminate any residual forces within the machine train. But working with uncoupled shafts is not something basic laser alignment systems can easily handle. Technicians have to resort to manual positioning to approximate the correct relative rotational angle.

In contrast, Adaptive Alignment systems, bolstered by Active Situational Intelligence (ASI), have Uncoupled Shaft Awareness. This allows for uncoupled shafts to be in any rotational position—or freely rotating—so long as the single laser hits the single sensor. The adaptive system determines the relative rotational angular positions and calculates the measurement points. With this capability, teams can achieve accurate results quickly.

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These five questions pinpoint potential red flags when considering a new laser alignment system. When laser alignment was first invented, none of them could be answered well because adaptive capabilities did not exist. Today’s capabilities require these updated questions.

Adaptive Alignment is the newest generation of laser shaft alignment. Only PRUFTECHNIK has it, and all of these advanced capabilities—which we developed by listening to our customers and focusing relentlessly on real innovation to deliver the best possible results on their rotating machinery. With more than 35 years of experience and innovation in laser shaft alignment, PRUFTECHNIK is prepared to answer any questions your maintenance team may have as you look to invest in a system that enables fast and accurate measurement. For more information, download our white paper on Adaptive Alignment technology.

 

Related articles:

https://blog.pruftechnik.com/what-it-takes-to-be-the-world-leader-in-machinery-alignment/

https://blog.pruftechnik.com/how-adaptive-alignment-tools-adapt-to-a-range-of-situations-and-challenges/

https://blog.pruftechnik.com/adaptive-alignment-how-to-solve-virtually-any-shaft-alignment-challenge/

What it takes to be the world leader in machinery alignment

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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

  1. OPTALIGN: First laser-optical shaft alignment system in the world
  2. ROTALIGN: First shaft alignment system with SWEEP measurement method and dedicated DIM-M-RES workflow
  3. PARALIGN: First inertial parallelism measurement system for the alignment of rolls
  4. 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.

Contact Us

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

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Alignment Reliability Center

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

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Cardan Shaft

Among the most challenging machinery alignment tasks you might face is aligning a Cardan shaft—named after 16th-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.