Common Motor Installation Mistakes

Common Motor Installation mistakes that lead to Premature Failure

Two  Motor Installation issues that often lead to premature Failure include Soft Feet and Shaft Misalignment.

Soft Feet – this occurs when the four feet of the motor and connected mounting surface are not in the same plane.   This problem is best illustrated as follows:

This can cause the Motor Frame to twist resulting in:

– Distortion of stator Magnetic Field  this results in unbalance electrical forces between the stator and rotor.

–  Premature bearing failures  due to distortion of the Bearing support structure.

Misalignment this occurs when the output shaft of the Motor is not correctly aligned with its mating driven load.

Misalignment can be either Angular, Parallel or a Combination of the two.

 

Areas subject to early failure due to misalignment include:

Motor Bearings – these are subject to a much higher loading due to misalignment. In addition bearings will undergo a much higher axial load than designed for resulting in overheating and early failure.

Motor Windings – misalignment may cause excessive loads resulting in high current Draw, overheating and premature failure.  The higher current draw also increases energy consumption.

Seals – The sealing elements do not achieve optimal contact with the shaft leading to leaks and contamination.

In addition connected Driven components, such as Pumps and Gearboxes, can also experience premature failures of Bearings and Seals.

The entire Motor, Coupling and Driven component will also experience much higher levels of vibration contributing to early component failures.

The In- House Technical Specialist at Flolo Corporation have extensive knowledge of proper motor mounting and alignment  practices. Additional information on Motor mounting and alignment procedures is available and the subject is covered in more extensive detail in Classes available thru Flolo Tech. Please contact your Sales Representative for additional details.