Dynamic Balancing of Bearings and Seals

When equipment rotates hundreds or thousands of times per minute, even a flyspeck of weight unbalance can knock out bearings and seals.

 

Essentially, when an unbalanced system is rotating, forces are generated which are perpendicular to the axis of rotation. The nature of these forces is commonly experienced as vibration. These off-axis vibration forces may exceed the limits of individual machine design elements — ultimately reducing the service life of these parts.

 

For instance, a bearing may be subjected to forces that would not occur in a nominally balanced system or the forces may exceed the limits of the bearing. Such excessive forces will cause failure in bearings and seals in short time periods. Shafts with unbalanced masses can also be bent by the forces and experience fatigue failure.Dynamic Balancing

 

As such, complete balance of the rotating system should be highly considered when under conditions where the rotating speed is very high and the mass is low (gas turbines or jet engines), or under conditions where rotating speed is low but the mass is high (pump impellers). Otherwise, unbalance may generate large vibrations and cause failure of the whole system.

 

C&B Equipment has the in-house capabilities to handle running gear as long as five feet, three inches in diameter and up to 1,000 pounds in weight. If you have an issue with an unbalanced product or part, just contact C&B to get some balance back in your life.


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