QuantiServ has a long experience in carrying out various laser alignment checks and measurements for a wide range of applications. Our technicians are well-trained and very skilled and are able to attend ships in service, marine new buildings under construction, power generation plants and any other industrial facility.
The equipment that we use is state-of-the-art and very versatile. We can measure all common geometric measurements such as roundness, flatness, straightness, squareness, offset and level. The longest distance that we can measure with high accuracy is 40 meters.
Mostly we carry out:
- Flatness checks for foundations or flanges
- Roundness and bore alignment measurements for stern tubes, intermediate bearings, engine blocks, turbine casings, etc
- Coupling and shaft alignments for electro motors, alternators, steam turbines, pumps, fans, etc
Flatness checks
We measure straightness, flatness, parallelism and perpendicularity on a wide variety of structures. Customers need accurate data for different reasons: during equipment installation and commissioning, for failure analysis, to carry out preventive maintenance or during repair work. Our laser alignment experts reliably acquire these data and present them in an unambiguous, easy to understand way.
If the laser measurement shows that any remedial action is necessary – realignment, line boring, flange facing – then we can of course provide this service too. The benefit to the customer is that he gets all the necessary services from one party, which ensures that there are no misunderstandings at the interfaces.
Typical examples are landing (slewing) surfaces of deck cranes, large flanges in the oil and gas industry, as well as engine foundations and guide rails.
Roundness and bore alignment measurements
Full bores and half bores can be measured with relative ease to determine straightness, roundness, parallelism and alignment. Typical applications for roundness and bore alignment measurements include:
- sterntube, intermediate bearing and rudder bearing alignment checks
- alignment and deformation measurements over any number of bearing pockets or saddles
- following a main bearing failure (overheating), to verify whether the alignment has changed and/or if the main bearing housing has become oval
This kind of laser alignment check is very often carried out to determine whether line boring is necessary and, once the line boring has been completed, to accurately document its result.
Alignment of rotating shafts and couplings
The accurate alignment of moving machinery components is very important. At the time of installation and commissioning, the equipment should be aligned according to the manufacturer’s recommendations and tolerances. During service, the alignment should be checked regularly and corrections should be made if necessary. A proper alignment has many very real advantages:
- minimize undue stresses induced on the equipment and therefore reduce bearing, seal and coupling wear
- increase component life time
- minimize vibrations
- limit the heat generated in bearings and couplings
- reduce the failure rate
- and last but not least: Proper aligned shafts reduce transmission losses! In the case of an electromotor driving a pump this means a lower electricity bill and in case of a propeller shaft it means either more power available for transmission or reduced fuel costs.
QuantiServ offers laser alignment services either as a stand-alone service, for example to verify the alignment of new equipment that was installed or to determine a cause of failure, or then in combination with machining work such as line boring, flange facing, coupling bolt reaming or epoxy grouting.
Foundation Chocks
The interface between a machine and the structure it rests on is called “chock”. During the last 50 years or so, different types of chocks have been introduced for industrial and marine applications. These can broadly be grouped into three types:
- Rigid chocking, usually made of steel or cast iron. Some types may be adjustable.
- Flexible chocking, usually made of rubber
- Cast resin chocking – compositions that usually are based on epoxy resins
From among these choices, flexible chocking is the least used, particularly for large applications and where it is important to mantain precise alignment over time. Rigid chocking was the norm for many years but has since been replaced by epoxy resin chocking for most applications.
We are marketing and using our own epoxy chocking compoung called QuantiCast. QuantiCast was developed to suit a very wide range of applications in various industries. It is an advanced, classification approved chocking and grouting material for indoor and outdoor use.