Machine vibrations due to unbalance is the most common and recurring cause of machine failure leading to downtime. Field balancing is the in-situ process of removing machine vibrations due to unbalance in any combination of its rotating parts without dismantling machine structure. Advantages of field balancing over conventional shop-floor balancing include:
Articles in this category describe what is unbalance, requirement of field balancing, different types of field balancing methods, benefits, comparison, tips, precautions, procedures for various industrial rotating machines.
On-field in-situ balancing of industrial blower or impeller is a very convenient and precise way to reduce machine vibrations. In-situ balancing refers to field balancing of rotating machine in its place of assembly without requiring to dismantle the machine structure. Additionally, the results obtained are of the entire machine structure and helps in analysis of vibration related problems other than unbalance. This saves considerable efforts, time and costs.
For dynamic field balancing, it is crucial to determine the actual effective point of unbalance in first round so that trial weight can be removed from this point of unbalance or added 180 degrees opposite to that point. Actual point of unbalance is the net effect of uneven mass distribution on the rotating body. Removing weight from this point will reduce the net unbalance of the rotating body. This is also equivalent to adding weight 180 degrees opposite to the actual point of unbalance. This has two advantages: