S-680 Stars in PM Role

I founded Condition Monitoring Services in 2005. Originally focused on vibration analysis services, we grew quickly and are now a true reliability resource company offering full-service Predictive Maintenance support but without being tied to specific services or products. We brought in Hamar Laser because they are a highly reputable American company with a superb five-axis laser shaft alignment system. Hamar is by far one of the best vendors we have worked with and the Stealth Series S-680* is the best shaft alignment product we have ever used.

One of the things we like best about the S-680* is that you can leave the heads in one position and perform the vertical and horizontal corrections simultaneously with live values. At first I was skeptical you could do this. My first alignment with the S-680* was at a solar generating facility—3,600 rpm heat transfer fluid pumps driven by 600 or 800 hp motors—high speed, high tolerances. I made my vertical and horizontal corrections leaving the heads in one position and brought the system into alignment. Then I actually removed and remounted the heads just to double-check because I did not believe I could do it in one move. The next job was a boiler feed-water pump system at a power plant. Again, when I repeated the alignment the results were the same. This made a believer out of me!

The S-680* is not only easy-to-use, it’s extremely accurate. Other things we like are that it uses a rugged tablet PC with Bluetooth capability. If you break a screen or have a problem with the tablet, you don’t have to buy a whole new system. The easy-to-use Couple6 software guides you through alignments. Sticklers for accuracy, Hamar designed the S-680* with hardware and software features that ensure the highest accuracy in all ambient lighting conditions.

Alignment is a key factor in a good reliability program and Hamar’s S-680* helps us generate a quick return-on-investment for our customers. When we start a program, we often see customers experiencing repeat part failures from misalignment. After alignment, failure rates go down dramatically. Power costs go down, too, because misaligned machinery draws more current. This is a kind of “double jeopardy” because that extra current not only costs more but tears up the equipment. So the S-680* saves money by reducing failure rates and related downtime expenses, as well as lowering power costs and extending equipment life. Accurate laser alignment truly pays for itself very quickly and helps us keep customers happy!

[For information on Hamar Laser’s shaft alignment products, visit shaftalignment.hamarlaser.com.]

S-680: Best Shaft System Ever!

I have been a field vibration analyst with Condition Monitoring Services since 2013. CMS is a reliability resource company that provides full-service Predictive Maintenance support. In my more than 15 years in the field, I have seen and used lots of alignment equipment. The S-680* from Hamar Laser is the best shaft alignment system I have ever used, and I have used it to align everything from extremely small pumps to large pumps for power plants, as well as in mills and mines.

There’s a lot I like about Hamar’s S-680* compared to other systems: First, you can leave the heads in one position and make the vertical and horizontal moves, a big time-saving feature. It’s extremely accurate, transmits alignment data wirelessly using Bluetooth and has a very intuitive, easy-to-use software package [Couple6]. It incorporates ambient lighting correction and has a sun filter that’s great for outdoor jobs. I can pop the filter on and not have any issues with light sources interfering with accuracy. That filter has saved me a lot of grief! Also, it uses a PC tablet instead of a dedicated display so if you have a problem with the tablet you don’t need a whole new system.

The S-680* makes us shine as reliability pros. Our new customers are often experiencing high failure rates due to misaligned equipment, but they see those go down significantly after starting a PM program with us. For example, a gypsum plant in Las Vegas was seeing continual failures on their mills, often due to losing bearings, even on the larger 300 hp units. They used to call us for alignments after failures two times per quarter. After we began aligning their equipment and getting it set up properly, that fell to two calls per year―roughly a 75%-reduction.

Another good example: A gold mine in Laughlin, Nevada had been running a very small, high-speed pump that was essential for their processing operation. The unit had a coupling failure about once every three to five weeks. After we corrected a number of issues with the pump and got it aligned properly, the last coupler has been running well for 18 months.

Compared to other companies, the service behind the product is superior. Hamar Laser’s customer support people are always extremely helpful with any operator issues, and their field sales reps are very supportive. We’ve been very happy with Hamar Laser and the S-680*!

[For information on Hamar Laser’s shaft alignment products, visit shaftalignment.hamarlaser.com/.]

We have used the system now, and it really is good. We used it on an old (circa 1950) crusher motor (200 hp 550 RPM) with a horrible motor base. It helped us get through the massive soft foot issues reasonably quickly, and the alignment was a breeze once we were done with that. The controls were simple and intuitive, and the touch screen made data entry very quick. The constant updates while we moved the motor made the adjustments very easy. The Bluetooth was also very convenient. It was something we initially thought wasn’t necessary, but with large motors it was very nice to be able to walk around with the PDA. It had very good range too. We finished with the motor aligned within very tight tolerances. Overall, I am very happy with the system. I was able to pick it up, and align a motor accurately the first time, with very little training and no previous alignment experience. Thank you for making such an easy to use and accurate system.

The machine move stage is the most critical step in any alignment. Behind its great graphics, this is where we have seen the very high resolution and accuracy of the system pay real dividends, because the live move data on a Stealth* system has proven to be dependable and accurate like never before. I have been very impressed to be able to align a new motor to close tolerances on several occasions with only one alignment measurement, one combined vertical and horizontal live-move correction and a confirmation retest – job done!