"Real-time hazardous area tool speeds shaft alignment process
Fixturlaser has launched a shaft alignment tool which is certified for use in hazardous areas, including offshore installations and gas and petrochemical plants. The Exigo tool has the intrinsically safe classification EEx ib IIC T4, and ATEX code II 2 G.
The company is an established supplier of alignment technology for rotating machinery, pumps, drives, and foundations. “Misalignment is the biggest source of breakdown in rotating machinery,” says production manager Jan Brodgren. “We see it as our mission to make alignment easier, quicker and more precise.”
Exigo incorporates the same laser-based alignment technology as the company’s other tools. A measuring unit is attached to each of the two shafts to be aligned; each transmits and receives a laser beam. The two units may be up to one meter apart, making the tool suitable for most alignment applications.
Fixturlaser's Exigo shaft alignment tool is certified for use in hazardous areas.
The measurements are communicated in real time by cable to a hand-held computer with an LCD display. Adjustments in the relative position of the two shafts are immediately shown on the display, making it possible to perform the alignment process in just a few minutes. The computer, which has just five buttons, is easy to use and has a display employing only icons and graphics.
Fixturlaser has also developed a technique for compensating for the offset between a machine’s differing positions when standing still and when running. Since a machine’s position in a hot (running) state is determined by multiple factors, the offset differs from machine to machine.
Using the laser-based OL2R fixture together with a laser-based shaft alignment system, the relative positions of the two shafts are measured in both hot and cold states, and the tool provides an accurate measurement of the adjustment needed to the shafts in the cold state to ensure accurate alignment under operation.•
For more information contact Hans Hilmersson, Fixturlaser. Tel +46 31 706 2807, fax +46 31 706 2850, [email protected], www.fixturlaser.com
