S-680 Stars in PM Role

I founded Condition Monitoring Services in 2005. Originally focused on vibration analysis services, we grew quickly and are now a true reliability resource company offering full-service Predictive Maintenance support but without being tied to specific services or products. We brought in Hamar Laser because they are a highly reputable American company with a superb five-axis laser shaft alignment system. Hamar is by far one of the best vendors we have worked with and the Stealth Series S-680* is the best shaft alignment product we have ever used.

One of the things we like best about the S-680* is that you can leave the heads in one position and perform the vertical and horizontal corrections simultaneously with live values. At first I was skeptical you could do this. My first alignment with the S-680* was at a solar generating facility—3,600 rpm heat transfer fluid pumps driven by 600 or 800 hp motors—high speed, high tolerances. I made my vertical and horizontal corrections leaving the heads in one position and brought the system into alignment. Then I actually removed and remounted the heads just to double-check because I did not believe I could do it in one move. The next job was a boiler feed-water pump system at a power plant. Again, when I repeated the alignment the results were the same. This made a believer out of me!

The S-680* is not only easy-to-use, it’s extremely accurate. Other things we like are that it uses a rugged tablet PC with Bluetooth capability. If you break a screen or have a problem with the tablet, you don’t have to buy a whole new system. The easy-to-use Couple6 software guides you through alignments. Sticklers for accuracy, Hamar designed the S-680* with hardware and software features that ensure the highest accuracy in all ambient lighting conditions.

Alignment is a key factor in a good reliability program and Hamar’s S-680* helps us generate a quick return-on-investment for our customers. When we start a program, we often see customers experiencing repeat part failures from misalignment. After alignment, failure rates go down dramatically. Power costs go down, too, because misaligned machinery draws more current. This is a kind of “double jeopardy” because that extra current not only costs more but tears up the equipment. So the S-680* saves money by reducing failure rates and related downtime expenses, as well as lowering power costs and extending equipment life. Accurate laser alignment truly pays for itself very quickly and helps us keep customers happy!

[For information on Hamar Laser’s shaft alignment products, visit shaftalignment.hamarlaser.com.]