Practical Approach to Precision Balancing

1- Introduction

Usually, balancing courses don’t include topics that are given in vibration courses such as understanding the effects of resonance, beats, or even how to determine if the vibration didn’t actually result from rotor unbalance. These topics plague the balancing specialist, and although they are covered much more completely in a regular vibration analysis course, enough will be provided so that the balancing specialist could eliminate these difficulties.

Theoretically, a balancing machine’s or balancing instrument’s computer program will enable the balancing specialist to follow the relatively simple instructions and thereby determine the balance corrections that should bring the rotor into precision balance.

It all sounds so simple. However, actual practice may not be so simple, especially when precision balance is required, and more so when narrow and/or overhung rotors are involved. It could become even more difficult when the requirement combines the need for highest precision for narrow and/or overhung rotors.

This short course is not intended to provide the kind of instructions or details for operating any specific balancing machine or instrument. Instead, it will provide thorough understanding of the required principles so that specific instructions for precision balancing of all types of rotors may be accomplished considerably faster and easier.

In addition to understanding the principles involved, this course will also cover those physical details that could make precision balancing difficult. When ordinary balancing to mediocre tolerances is required, physical limitations in tooling such as balancing mandrels, end stops, keys and keyways, trunnion bearing size, etc. are not usually important. However, when precision is called for, the physical limitations have to be overcome practically and easily.

Difficulties encountered during the rotor’s complete assembly can be as critical as the balancing itself. Such difficulties are easily prevented with just a small amount of understanding.

Balancing Textbook Index

This textbook contains only part of the information in our Balancing Seminar.

Link to Seminar Schedule. Order a print version of this entire textbook.