First, a note on pulley references. The only true references on a pulley are the grooves. Pulley faces and OD's are terrible references. In fact, they can vary by up to .312" and still conform to the ANSI/RMA IP-22 specification (source: Machinist's Handbook), which means, at BEST, the alignment will be off by up to .312". Therefore, any system that uses anything but the grooves is starting off with errors.

The S-600 Laser and T-280 3-Axis Target are mounted to ball block sets that can be changed to accommodate different groove dimensions. Each unit is mounted into the pulley grooves and secured with a pistol-grip clamp. Since most large pulleys are like tire rims, a 12" clamp can usually handle most pulley sizes.

The laser and target must point to each other within 15º to assure accurate readings. Once the laser and target are clamped in place, no other setup is required. The readout for the S-600 first displays the pitch, then the yaw and finally the groove, in the order that the alignment should be completed.

To do the alignment, the user must first check the pitch or vertical motor angle. The readout shows the measurement of pitch in in/in., making shim calculation an easy task. Simply multiply the pitch reading by the number of inches between the front and back feet and the result is the amount of shim that needs to be added or subtracted from the front feet.

Next, the yaw or horizontal angle of the motor should be aligned. Simply start moving the motor in correct direction until the yaw reading shows .000" and the horizontal angle is aligned.

Finally the groove portion of the alignment is performed. The readout displays a live reading of the groove alignment and the pulleys are adjusted along the shafts until the reading is .000". An optional Shim Calculator is available for calculating shim values on motors that are at different elevations.