Industrial Maintenance Solutions

Electric motors are the workhorses of modern industry, powering everything from pumps and fans to conveyor belts and heavy machinery. But these vital components are not immune to wear and tear, and one common problem that can lead to premature motor failure is bearing damage caused by shaft current. Shaft current is a type of electrical discharge that occurs when there is a voltage potential between the motor shaft and the bearing, resulting in the flow of electrical current through the bearing. This current can cause a range of problems, including pitting and fluting of the bearing surfaces, which can lead to premature wear and failure. Shaft current Motor shaft current can have several harmful effects on bearings, including: 1.      Bearing pitting and fluting: Electrical discharges can cause tiny pits and flutes to form on the bearing surfaces, leading to premature wear and failure. 2.       Bearing noise and vibration: Shaft current can cause ...

Avoiding unexpected equipment downtime long-term requires a detailed preventive and predictive program. A proper preventive maintenance plan must cover the electric motors and controls in service within the plant. A correctly designed and implemented program will help ensure many hours of operation without unexpected downtime of any equipment.  Following these suggestions will set the plant on the path to a well-designed program, which should include the controls portion of the motors system. Start with a plan A good plan compares the costs of preventive maintenance (PM) and unexpected downtime. It also includes the cost of proper test equipment and tools. Training for in-house teams is needed for testing to be efficient and thorough. In some cases, it may be more cost-effective to use outside sources to perform the more complex tests. The plan must be documented; plan implementation can be quantified to ensure that costs are minimized while the systems are kept in a heal...

Bearing failures Bearings are small compared to other major motor components, making them particularly vulnerable to damage and wear. It’s no surprise, then, that studies blame more than half of all motor failures on bearing malfunction, most of which result from too little or too much lubrication. The key to avoiding these conditions is to establish a lubrication program using bearing and motor manufacturer guidelines to determine the frequency and amount of lubrication for the motor application, duty (continuous or intermittent), environmental conditions, and bearing size. Another significant cause of bearing failure is misalignment, the effect of which increases by the cube of the change. For example, an alignment value that is twice the new installation tolerance will reduce bearing life by a factor of 8 (2^3). The solution is simple: align the motor and driven equipment to new or better installation tolerances. Bearing currents are typically caused by dissymmetry ...