Here You Go.

There is so much more to the electric motor repair industry than just repairing motors. Some repair professionals go above and beyond the status quo by associating with EASA and seeking accreditation to affirm their commitment to reliability, efficiency, and performance.

What is EASA?

You may have run across the acronym EASA when looking for electric motor dealers or repair services. EASA stands for Electrical Apparatus Service Association. EASA is a formal association that motor repair shops can utilize to remain actively involved in their industry.

EASA is an international trade organization and a recognized leader in sales, repair, and service of electro-mechanical systems (which includes electric motors, generators, pumps, and powertrains). According to EASA, they "[provide] an ongoing flow of industry information and education that helps members worldwide serve as total solution providers for electrical and mechanical equipment and system."

There have been many advances in technology that allow us to gather, analyze, and visualize data. Remote condition monitoring and data communication has evolved over the years to allow massive amounts of information about machinery performance to be transmitted wirelessly and automatically . New developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning have made it possible to even automate the interpretation of data. But where does that leave the human element?

Remote condition monitoring is a popular buzzword in industry today -- is it time for you to switch?

How Remote Condition Monitoring Works

Remote condition monitoring allows you to track the condition and performance of all your rotating equipment remotely in real-time and download the data for visualization and analysis. In addition, it can be configured to send you alerts when certain conditions are detected.

When used with rotating equipment, these systems can provide invaluable information about vibration, temperature, balance, and performance for fans, pumps, and motors. Many facilities are investing in remote condition monitoring for their equipment ... but is it right for your company?

Just because your rotating equipment has started vibrating doesn't automatically mean it needs to be balanced. There are several other issues that may be at work, and a thorough vibration analysis can reveal the true source of the problem.

The 80-20 Rule for Balance Issues

Your fan is vibrating and the natural assumption you make is that it has a balance problem -- but that assumption is not always correct. In fact, it seems that when we receive a call to balance a fan, about 80% of the time it is a balance issue but about 20% of the time it's something else. And this can be true of not just fans, but other rotating equipment such as pumps and motors.

Issues Mistaken for Balance

So if it isn't a balance issue driving the vibration, what could it be? There are several problems that can mimic rotating equipment being out of balance:

• Couplings
• Loose mechanical connections (e.g., broken welds, loose bolts)
• Structural issues
• Bearing defects (including problems with the mounting surface of the bearing)
• Belt and/or sheave issues (e.g., slippage)
• Cracks in the rotor
• Resonance conditions
• Motor problems

Most balance problems in fans, however, are caused by a buildup of dust and similar debris on the fan blades. When enough debris builds up, the fan becomes imbalanced. However, temperature differentials across the fan can cause side effects such as bowed shafts which in turn will cause a fan to become out of balance.

Every motor repair shop is basically the same so it doesn't matter where you take your motor, right?  Wrong!  If you want to find out why this is so wrong, keep reading.

In my years in the electric motor repair industry, I have learned that if you have seen a motor shop, you have seen ONE motor shop. Each individual shop is truly unique, with its own specialty or individual approach to repairs. The same is true for the repair that you're taking in because each motor has its own quirks and issues.

Why Repair Shops Differ

From one electric motor repair shop to another, there can be major differences in method of repair, tolerances allowed, pass versus fail readings, etc. Each shop is going to have its own approach and methods to repairing a motor. And that means that the data taken and the repairs performed are only as good as the individual shop and the actual individual that performs them! 

A piece of equipment in your plant just failed. You didn't see it coming. You aren't prepared for this. Management is demanding that production starts again. Sound familiar?

STOP!    STOP!    STOP!

You may be caught in an endless cycle of failure after failure. You continually look for "who to blame" versus figuring out what actually happened.

Failure, Rinse, Repeat! Isn't it time to do something different? Let's look at the entire picture to see this... Ever heard of the Uptime® Elements?

Have you been thinking about adding a variable frequency drive (VFD) to an electric motor in your plant? VFD's are great controls that allows you to change the speed of the machine at the push of a button or you can program it into your automation platform. 

Before adding a Variable Frequency Drive to an electric motor in your plant, take a look at these 6 factors and see if its the right for for you:

You have a motor that failed and now you need a repair. How much is it going to cost to have it fixed? It seems like a pretty easy question, but the answer is a little more complex. 

Before any electric motor repair shop can give you an accurate estimate, they should have some questions of their own that have to be answered first. The only person who can answer these questions is you, so it is good to be prepared going into the call.

Here is what to expect when you make the "how much will this cost" call:

Industrial vibration analysis is a measurement tool used to identify, predict, and prevent failures in rotating machinery. When analyzing machine frequency vibrations, (frequency analysis) it is normal to find a number of important frequencies that are directly related to the movement of various parts of the machine. Vibration may influence the durability and reliability of machinery systems or structures and cause problems such as damage, abnormal stopping, and catastrophic failures. Vibration measurement is an important countermeasure to prevent these problems from occurring.

Often times when I broach the subject of electric motor management with a potential customer I hear “we already have that”. I then ask them to explain to me what their motor management program consists of? Most of the time I get, “my motor shop stores my motors and when I have a motor fail, they send me another”. I then think to myself; “This is not motor management this is a motor hotel…” Motors are stuck on a shelf and held until they are needed.