A new laser shaft alignment tool from Fluke Australia is designed to deliver precise shaft condition measurements in three simple steps, correcting shaft misalignment issues during plant maintenance.
Precision shaft alignment is an essential part of any comprehensive maintenance program. Shaft misalignment in rotating machinery can potentially cost companies thousands of dollars a year in replacement bearing cost, repairs, extra power consumption and unplanned downtime. Shaft misalignments as small 0.06 mm can cause failures of seals, couplings, and bearings as well as increase motor vibration and heat.
Traditional alignment methods using straightedges/feeler gauges lack the precision to measure small yet significant shaft offsets. While dial indicators provide higher resolution, they are complex and time consuming, and require highly skilled technicians.
The new Fluke 830 laser shaft alignment tool delivers precise shaft condition measurements and actionable results along with vibration testing, infrared thermography, and other predictive maintenance measurements, enabling plant maintenance teams to increase machine life and keep plants running at maximum efficiency.
The single laser measurement technology of the rugged Fluke 830 delivers a high level of precision and repeatability in evaluating shaft alignment: First, the setup determines a machine’s dimensions; next, it actively takes readings from three sectors as the laser is rotated around a shaft; and third, it provides actual correction numbers along with a four-level, colour-coded severity scale indicating whether the machine is in or out of alignment tolerances.
The intuitive guided user interface of the Fluke 830 laser shaft alignment tool provides results that can be understood without extensive alignment knowledge. An all-in-one results screen shows both coupling results and feet corrections (vertical and horizontal) in real terms making it easy for maintenance technicians to take corrective action.
Fluke’s predictive maintenance tools are designed to help keep plants operational, and include vibration testers to diagnose fault and severity as well as infrared cameras to evaluate machine health. Fluke predictive maintenance tools deliver the measurements needed to reduce unplanned downtime, decrease repair costs and maximise uptime.