14
15
EZ ALIGN
™
RED
PRECISION LASER ALIGNMENT OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
MACHINE PREPARATION
Before commencing any work ensure basic safety
rules are adhered to.
CAUSES OF BELT FAILURE
Before beginning pulley alignment, examine
potential causes of belt or pulley failure and correct
them to prevent recurrence. Some causes of failure
could include poor drive maintenance (wrong
belt tension, pulley misalignment), environmental
factors (sunlight, harsh temperature fluctuations),
improper installation (wrong belts/sheaves,
belts forced onto grooves), or operating factors
(overload, shock load).
INSPECTION
Perform a visual inspection of the belts and of
each pulley and its grooves. Look and feel for
cracks, chips, or excessive groove wear. Proper
contact between the belts and the pulleys must be
ensured.
SOFT FOOT
Inspect the movable machine for “soft foot.”
Feeler gauges can be used under a loosened foot
to measure the gap. Shim the machine foot with
the largest amount of gap (the amount indicated
with the feeler gauges) until no reading is larger
than 0.05mm (0.002” or 2 mils). Use precut 304
stainless steel shims. Severe “soft foot” distorts
the machine frame when bolted down, causing
damage to seals and bearings. It could also lead to
high vibration levels on the machine bearings.
Loose
clothing or long
hair must never be
allowed anywhere
near belt-driven
machinery. All
equipment MUST
be locked out and
tagged out.
Worn belts or
pulleys and other
components should
be replaced before
proceeding with
pulley alignment.
DRIVE BELTS
The condition of the worn belt is a good indication
of the type of misalignment or other problems that
may be present. Belts must be changed as soon as
undue wear is detected. For a multiple-belt drive,
all belts must be replaced together. Only belts
from the same manufacturer should be combined
together in order for the belts to share the load
equally.
In order to replace the belts on a belt drive
system, they must first be loosened. This is often
accomplished by simply loosening the driver or
driven unit and reducing the center distance.
In other cases, an idler pulley may need to be
loosened and moved. Belts must never be forced
or rolled onto a pulley as this can damage the
pulley as well as the belt tensile cord.
New belts must be properly stored. They should be
kept in a cool, dry place with no exposure to direct
sunlight or heat. They also should not be hung
from single pegs. For further information, refer to
Gates
Belt Drive Preventive Maintenance & Safety
Manual
.
PULLEYS
If installing new pulleys and belts, ensure that the
correct belt/pulley combination and the correct size
belts have been selected. Existing pulleys should
be inspected carefully for wear and replaced if
necessary. Consult Gates
Belt Drive Preventive
Maintenance & Safety Manual
.
PULLEY RUN-OUT
Axial pulley run-out will influence alignment
readings. Axial run-out should be confirmed to be
within recommended limits.
