Vibration and noise are normal in your equipment but once it gets too excessive and ends up causing malfunctions – it has manifested into a phenomenon known as ‘unbalance’.
Unfortunately, there is no way for your equipment to operate without any vibration. It is bound to happen in any rotating machinery that you own.
While, it is an unavoidable matter, there are still ways to maintain the levels of vibration and that is through dynamic balancing.
Below, we will walk you through the fundamentals of dynamic balancing and why it is a crucial method to take note of if you want your equipment to be at its best condition.
What is dynamic balancing?
It is a method where machines are balanced by rotating parts in a quick manner. Following by measuring the imbalance, to find the exact number by using specific electronic equipment.
Dynamic balancing is needed when a machine or system is unbalanced due to an excessive amount of vibration – resulting in high levels of noise causing the equipment’s overall health to deteriorate.
The solution to this problem would be to eliminate all causes of vibration and let the machine operate smoothly. Either by removing or adding weight to the device – to achieve complete equilibrium. Usually, you’ll notice that parts like rotors, armatures, pump impellers, turbochargers and turbine rotors are frequently the one that faces an ‘unbalance’.
So, if you realise that your electric motor is the one facing a problem, perhaps it is time for an electric motor overhauling to do a thorough check. While this may be the root cause, there may be other issues that your equipment is dealing with, so let the engineer check carefully to ensure there aren’t any other problems.
What happens when you don’t do dynamic balancing for your equipment?
A drop in equipment performance
When an equipment is unbalanced, it won’t be performing to its best ability. Especially if it’s purpose is to produce machine tools – it will greatly affect its quality even further. For instance, a high-speed woodworking machine will produce more rejects and poor surface quality products if the tools and spindle have not been balanced accordingly.
Reduced lifespan
Due to the high amount of stresses caused by vibration as a result of ‘unbalance’, parts like bearings, foundations, rotors, housings, suspensions will eventually be worn out. In turn, this affects the equipment’s overall health and shortens its lifespan greatly.
Puts your staff and machine at danger
Excessive vibrations can lower the frictional grip of clamped and screwed connections, ultimately loosening the components. Similarly, other occurrences also comprise of destroyed electric switches and fractured pipes and cables at the connections.
Simply put, an ‘unbalance’ affects a machine’s standard operations – in turn, reducing its operating safety and increases the possibility of harming your staff and machine.
Brings down the equipment’s appeal
Typically, your equipment will be used for industrial purposes – to support other equipment, produce supplies or any other kind of purpose. However, in the case where you may have the intention of purchasing a newer model or different brand, you may then consider selling off your equipment instead.
High vibration and loud, irregular noises will cause the equipment’s appeal to drop. And these will have a negative effect on the product when it is being sold on the market, resulting in an unsuccessful sale. Hence, there is a need to improve the mass distribution of the equipment by doing dynamic balancing.
There are different types of unbalancing and it has to be identified correctly to rectify the issue at once. At times like this, your trusted engineer should be called in to spot the exact unbalance type. For instance, if its an electric motor you are dealing with – it’s probably a good idea to consider electric motor rewinds as your go-to service.