Pump reliability is a critical factor for commercial and industrial facilities to reduce their maintenance costs and unscheduled downtime, while increasing the equipment return on investment.
Before we can look at pump reliability first we must ask what the pumps expected life is. What life should you be expecting from your current pump? Remember this may not be the pump life you have historically, or are currently achieving, as your current reliability may indeed be poor.
Pump reliability is an issue that involves several elements including maximising the life of the pump components and avoiding any premature failure. You don’t want to run the pump to failure as this never happens at a convenient time, catastrophic failure is to be avoided at all cost.
You also want to be reasonably wearing out the pump service components, including seals and bearings, to maximise their return on investment. Replacing seals and bearings is a costly exercise, and so the optimum life target is where the components have almost worn out and returned maximum working life, while not being at risk of total failure. Finding this optimum position is where you should be targeting your pump reliability, and is where Industrial Dynamic Balancing can help.
Industrial balancing is the procedure where the mass distribution of a product, be it a pump, roller, impeller or the like, is accurately measured and suitably adjusted. Imbalance of rotating components is one of the most common sources of machine faults in rotating assemblies, pumps and fans, and is a significant issue in terms of pump reliability.
Bearings, seals, housings and foundations can be subjected to very high stresses and greater wear caused by vibration resulting from unbalance. Industrial balancing and vibration analysis on rotating machinery enables the early detection of faults before breakdown, and also assists extend the life of pump motor bearings and seals. With seals and bearings accounting for up to 90% of premature pump failures dynamic Industrial Balancing can improve your pump reliability, and lengthen service life. Simply put products with unbalanced parts often have a shorter service life.
Precision Balancing has been offering in house and on site dynamic balancing and vibration analysis services since 1989 and have the equipment, skills and experience to satisfy your industrial balancing requirements. Owned and operated by qualified mechanical engineers, members of the Australian Institution of Engineers, with years of experience in mechanical engineering and industrial balancing. Precision Balancing has been offering a range of specialised balancing services for pump impellers since the company began, and has worked on a huge range of models and sizes. Precision Balancing offer personalised service including on site balancing, and quick turnaround or emergency after hours breakdown services. For more information on how industrial balancing can help you in achieving machine harmony contact us.