Case Study of Single Plane Balancing with Four Test Run Method

Abstract Unbalance plays a crucial role in the lifetime of rotating machinery. The vibration level has a significant effect on work safety and reliability. There are several ways to determine the vibration level and source of an unbalanced rotating machines. All vibrations are not often due to unbalance but there also several other root causes. This study focuses on balancing of assembly groups with pre-balance where residual unbalance is present. This methodology is known as Four Test Run Method. The implementation of the method is slightly easy in practice. The key point of this case study is to identify the root causes of the unbalance. Therefore, a one-motor test system was designed, manufactured, and tested. A special device is needed to analyze the frequency to determine the root cause of unbalance. For analysis, an excel program is developed to determine the unbalance parameters and visualize the graphs from the acquired data. The unbalance for separators is analyzed and determined for unbalanced motor groups. These motor groups are individually balanced and the level of improvement for each motor group is identified. In conclusion, the results showed a decrease in vibration values with an improvement at average vibration between 33-40% for the separators.