Shaft misalignment can cause serious damage to your machinery, resulting in excessive wear and tear and frequent breakdowns leading to operation disruptions.
However, laser alignment technology makes machine maintenance much easier by enabling shaft alignment to be performed significantly faster and more accurately compared to traditional alignment methods (such as dial gauges or straight edge).
Since 2002, Marley Flow Control has been an industry leader in the manufacturing of cooling towers – as well as being a leading provider of laser alignment services. An Australian owned and operated brand, we have a wealth of knowledge that has allowed us to work with some of the country’s largest businesses and corporations we are proud to call our clients.
As industry leaders, we have a high level of expertise – and our wide range of services includes laser alignment and cooling tower services. So, if you need any laser shaft and coupling alignment services for your equipment, contact our highly experienced team of experts to discuss your options today.
Below we briefly outline how laser shaft alignment works – and explain why laser technology has become so widely used by so many industries in a relatively short period of time.
Laser alignment explained
Laser shaft alignment involves sensors being placed on each of the connected shafts, and then simultaneously firing a laser beam from each of the sensors – while also receiving the beam from the other sensor. Then, a comparison of the beams is performed that can accurately show whether the shafts are aligned properly. The results of this comparison are promptly loaded up to the display unit so they can be analysed. After that, necessary corrections are made to ensure that proper shaft alignment is achieved.
So, why has laser alignment become popular with so many industries so quickly, to the point of completely revolutionising the way shaft alignments are performed today? Laser technology allows you to achieve the following crucial objectives that greatly improve the efficiency of any industrial operation.
Aligning rotating equipment with great precision
One of the most important advantages of laser alignment technology over such traditional alignment methods as straight edge or dial gauges is the degree of precision that can be achieved. Lasers can perform measurements down to 0.001mm – that’s a significant improvement compared to what lower-resolution, more traditional shaft alignment tools can offer.
Also, laser technology is non-contact – and can measure shaft rotation as slight as 40 degrees. This allows you to evaluate how the rotating axes of the shafts operate, rather than only providing reading for one end of the shaft as more traditional shaft alignment technologies do.
So, when laser alignment is performed by highly skilled and qualified technicians, the results are guaranteed to be precise and error-free, resulting in properly aligned equipment. This is crucial for any manufacturing process – both in terms of eliminating breakdowns and for ensuring that the manufactured products are of high quality and meet specification requirements.
Extending the useful life of your machinery
Misaligned shafts are bound to negatively affect the overall operation of your equipment.
Machinery that is not properly aligned produces excess vibration and noise, and is more likely to suffer from excessive seal and bearing failure, increased wear and tear, and, ultimately, more frequent breakdowns and reduced useful life.
This leads to excessive downtime and increased repair and replacement costs that are bound to negatively affect your bottom line.
Regularly carrying out preventative laser alignment allows you to avoid all these potential problems and maximise the useful life and output of your equipment.
Helping you achieve your energy-saving targets
Not only can improperly aligned machinery be damaged by increased friction and overall excess wear, but it can also be considerably more costly to operate due to excessive energy consumption.
Using laser alignment to keep your rotating machinery in top condition can help ensure that your energy consumption is minimised while your equipment keeps operating at its peak performance.
Aligning shafts under challenging conditions
Due to its nature as a non-contact and super-precise alignment technology, laser alignment has solved some of the most challenging manufacturing problems in a variety of industries where precise measurements need to be made over long spans and distances. Such measurements used to be time and labour consuming, especially in hard to access places – but not any longer.
As an example, our experienced technicians have successfully carried out long laser alignments of up to four metres.
Keeping your maintenance and repair costs down
Carrying out regular laser alignment as part of your routine preventative maintenance is significantly less costly than repairing and replacing your broken – or prematurely worn out – equipment.
Generating printable, easy-to-read reports
Another great advantage of high-resolution laser alignment technology is real-time reporting. Detailed, easy-to-read and understand PDF reports can be generated directly from the device screen for fast and easy interpretation of results. These reports can also be easily saved for future use.
We offer a wide range of laser alignment services
As a trusted Australian owned and operated brand, we at Marley Flow Control are proud to offer our clients a high level of expertise in combination with an impressive range of products.
Our highly skilled and experienced technicians perform a wide range of laser alignment services from pump alignment water pump alignment, electric motor alignment, and dial indicator alignment.
On completing a laser alignment, our experts will provide you with a comprehensive report detailing the change in alignment achieved as a result of our service.
Our experienced and highly qualified team is also happy to provide additional services, including fitting new motors, driveshafts, gearboxes and fans in the field.
Find out how we can use our extensive engineering experience to help find the right solution for your business needs. Contact us here for a free quote.