Mechanical Technology

Mechanical Technology — November 2015

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Proactive maintenance, lubrication and contamination management

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s a highlight of Hannover Fair

2015, knowledge engineering

company, SKF, presented the

TKSA 51 shaft alignment tool,

the first instrument designed for intui-

tive shaft alignments using tablets and

smartphones. Key to the development

is the use of an App to make it quick

and easy to set up motors, drives, fans,

gearboxes, pulleys and couplings, even

by operators who using the instrument

for the first time.

The new TKSA 51 comprises two

compact and lightweight laser measur-

ing units, designed to suit almost any

application. Using the versatile shaft

brackets, the instrument can be mounted

on small machines with limited space,

whilst extension chains, rods and mag-

netic holders are supplied for mounting

the tool on larger machines.

Connected wirelessly, the App uses

real time data to provide a live 3D view of

the measuring units. This gives operators

the ability to rotate the virtual machine at

their convenience in all directions, mak-

ing the alignment as intuitive as possible.

Measurements are made using a simple

touch of a button or through the hands-

free automatic measurement function,

which only needs the shaft to be rotated

to the next measurement position.

Jens Kammann, product manager at

SKF Maintenance Products, says: “Shaft

misalignment is one of the main causes

of machine failure. It creates additional

forces and vibration that can damage

machine components such as bearings,

seals and couplings, adding considerably

to operating and maintenance costs.

“Often, we find shafts not being

aligned correctly because the applied

method or instrument is time consuming

and difficult to use, leading to mistakes

and incorrect alignments,” he continues.

“The TKSA 51 eliminates

these problems, making it

the ideal companion for

every alignment task.

As a result, engineers

can significantly

increase uptime,

with the confidence

that machines are

correctly setup for

efficient and cost-

effective operation,”

he says.

Improved measure-

ment flexibility is just one

of the core features of the

systems, allowing alignments to be

successfully completed in confined spac-

es. Measurements can start at any angle

and only require a total shaft rotation of

40°. Further alignment adjustments are

possible with alignment targets that, for

example, can be set to compensate for

thermal expansion of the machinery.

After each alignment check or correc-

tion, a comprehensive report is created

that can be customised, emailed or

uploaded to a cloud service for future ref-

erence. To aid the user, notification and

helpful guidance menus are displayed if

a problem occurs during set up, such as

the detector being off centre or the laser

beam being too close to the edge of the

detector.

The TKSA 51 is supplied by SKF as a

comprehensive system for all alignment

tasks. The associated App can easily be

downloaded and offers a fully functional

demonstration to allow customers to try

the TKSA 51 before committing to the

technology.

The wireless condition sensor

Specifically designed to suit hazardous

environments, the superior quality of the

Reliability innovations from

the knowledge engineers

SKF, a leading global supplier of bearings; seals; mechatronics; lubrication

systems; and services that include technical support, maintenance and

reliability services, engineering consulting and training, has recently released

a number of new reliability innovations. These include an intuitive App-

powered shaft alignment tool and a wireless machine condition sensor for

use in hazardous environments.

versatile SKF Wireless Machine Condi-

tion Sensor provides seamless condition

monitoring for large plants in hard-to-

reach locations.

The wireless sensors communicate

with each other via a wireless gateway

to create a mesh network. This type of

network and communication protocol is

ideal for providing dynamic vibration and

temperature data for condition monitor-

ing and machinery diagnostic applica-

tions for rotating machinery throughout

large plants, including in hard-to-reach

locations or in areas where traditional

WiFi communications do not work.

Using the WirelessHart communica-

tion protocol, the Wireless Machine

Condition Sensor offers monitoring capa-

bilities that may be impossible with wired

systems or hand-held devices. Ultimately,

its use leads to reduced condition moni-

toring costs as well as to a safer approach

to machine monitoring.

Communication capabilities include

relaying data from one node to another,

relaying data back to the gateway, and