In this article, I will share with you the advantages and disadvantages of vibrations in machines.
Before I go too deep into this topic I would like to enlighten you about one or two things about machines vibrations.
In mechanical engineering work will be done when machines runs. In most cases the machines that will be in a plant will rotate for them to produce the work output needed.
If there is no rotation in machines then there is no way these machines will work the way they are needed to.
When these machines do work they will end up producing the vibrations, these vibrations can either be good or bad to the plant, environment and operators.
In this article, I will be diving deep in the benefits and the disadvantages of these machines vibrations.
Without wasting time, let me share with you the information you came for in this article.
Advantages of machines vibrations;
1. The vibrations of machines aids us in identifying and sensing any defects in the machine.
As I stated earlier that for mechanical engineers to be at work then the machines have to vibrate.
If the machines won’t vibrate then this means that the machines are not working the way they should be.
So, when a machines vibrates that is when we can get to identify the weakness and any problems in them.
When a machine vibrates it shows that it’s working properly, but at the same time we can use the vibration to check out on any defect in the machine.
A machine that is working properly will vibrate in a certain frequency, the moment there is a fault in the machine then the vibration will not be the same.
Through the vibration you can end telling whether the shaft of the machine has misalignment or not.
Also, through the vibration you can tell whether the machine is well lubricated or not.
So, there is so much you can learn about the machine from its vibration and operators in the industries use it to identify any fault or defect in the machine.
Without a machine vibrating there is no way one will know if the machine is working appropriately or not.
2. Machines vibrations are used when inspecting a new machine.
When you purchase a machine let me say lathe machine, there is no way you will be able to know if the machine is working the way it’s supposed to without starting it.
In most cases, when you purchase a machine from a certain company you will have to inspect it so that if it has any problems it can be fixed.
The moment a new machine is received and installed in a plant the first thing operators will do is to do an analysis of the machines.
The first thing they will observe is the vibration of the machine. If the machine vibrates in a way it’s suppose to then this will show that it’s in a good working condition.
But if there will be any damage in the machines then operators will be able to find it when it’s vibrating.
So, vibration of the machine is of a great use at this point, without it there is no way the inspection of the machine would have been done.
The other thing is that when the machine is inspected through its vibration if there is any problem in it then it can be solved before placing the machine in service.
3. Quality Control in Machines is checked through the vibrations.
When a machine is used to produce certain products then there must be quality control.
This is because we need to produce products that will fit the needs of the consumers.
So, if the product won’t be of quality then the industry will go into lose.
You may ask me, “And how does machine vibrations has anything to do with the quality control?”
This is something you need to know, vibrations checks on the production lines are the effective ways of ensuring that the product produced in that machines are of the desired quality.
The fine finish of the product will greatly depend on the machine vibrations.
The moment a machine vibrates in an undesired way then one will be able to know that there will be a problem on the products that will be produced.
This is another great advantage of vibrations in machines.
4. Vibrations of machines are used in the field services and machine starts up.
When a customer wants to purchase a certain machine it must be checked if it’s working the way it should.
Here is when vibrations checks will be carried out to ensure that the machine is working accordingly.
If there will be any defect on the machine then it will be easily detected through that start up of the machine.
These vibrations are what will help the operators to identify any problems in the machine and fix it before the customer purchases it.
This is the other advantage of machine vibrations.
Now, let us talk about the disadvantages of the machine vibrations, because we all know that they also have undesired effect.
Disadvantages of Machines Vibrations;
1. Machine vibrations loosen foundation bolts.
This is one disadvantage of machine vibration, if you never knew about it then take note of it.
For machines to be used in a plant it has to be placed in an appropriate position.
Some machines will be bolted on the foundation while others won’t need to be bolted.
This will widely depend on the use of the machines, that is a topic of its own.
But for now, this is what you have to understand about vibrations of the machine.
When a machine vibrates it transmits forces that are not desired, these forces will be constantly shaking the machine every time it’s started.
In the long run, the bolts that are holding the machine to its foundation will end up being loosen.
This means that the machine will not be stable on its foundation and this can have an effect on the products produced by that machine and it can even result to accidents.
No one wants this, this is undesired effect that is brought by the vibrations of the machines.
And that is why we call it a disadvantage.
2. Machine vibrations cause misalignment or bend in shafts.
As I told you earlier that without rotation in mechanical there is no work done.
Most of the machines that we have in the mechanical area will rotate for them to do the desired work.
And whenever there is a rotation in a machine we know that there is a shaft.
So, when machines vibrate and this vibration is not controlled it can cause misalignment or bend on the shafts.
This is something that is unwanted in a machine since it will affect the operation of the machine.
The moment there is misalignment or a bend in the shaft this will cause complication; the machine will produce unwanted heat, it will be so noisy and it might even fail due to this problem.
It’s a problem that is caused by the vibrations of the machine, in this case we can term vibrations as a disadvantage.
Unless something about it is done, otherwise it will mess up the machine.
3. Machine vibrations reduces the machine life.
This is another great disadvantage of machine vibrations. Apart from the vibration indicating that a machine is working appropriately it also has has the ability to shorten the life of the machine.
When a machine vibrates it will be distorting some other parts of the machine.
You may not notice it but in the long run you will find that some bolts in the machine are loosen, the shaft has issues and the machine is overheating.
Without proper maintenance of the machine there is no way the machine will last for long.
There will be different problems that will come up due to the vibration of the machine.
All these small issues of the machine caused by the vibration of the machine will keep reducing the longevity of this machine.
So, this is another disadvantage of machine vibrations.
4. Machine vibrations causes distortion.
You know that every machine that produces vibrations is usually placed in a foundation that will help in controlling the vibrations.
When the vibration is not controlled, this will end up distorting the machine.
Even when it’s controlled the machine will need periodic inspection to ensure that there is nothing wrong caused by the vibration.
The damage that will be experienced in the machine will be misalignment of the shaft or bend, wearing out of the foundation vibration control material and eventually some parts of the machine might end up being loose due to the constant vibrations.
All this will bring distortion of the machine at long last.
5. Operators will also be affected by the vibrations of these machines.
The vibrations are not good to the operators. When they are exposed to the vibrations of the machines for so long it will end up messing them up.
The vibrations of the machines will cause body and mental fatigue and thus this will reduce their efficiency.
What you need to know is that the products that are produced in an industry, their quality largely depend on the operators.
If the operators can’t do their work appropriately due to effect brought out by the vibrations of the machines then it will be a great problem to the industry.
This is something that we can’t avoid, if we need to know we must experience these effects of the vibrations.
As it’s impossible to eliminate the vibrations of the machines completely, the only thing we can do is to control these vibrations.
We can control them using damping devices and ensuring that the machine is on the right foundation with vibration control material such as cork, rubber and steel springs.
I hope the information I shared with you in this article has helped you, thanks for stopping by, see you in my next article.
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