The importance of balancingWhy do some products produce more noise than others? Why does the valve of a bicycle wheel always end up at the bottom, if you spin the wheel at random? Why does the steering wheel of your car jitter at certain speeds? Nearly every day and in many areas of life you will come across a phenomenon, the effect of which is often underrated – unbalance. The word unbalance is related to "balance" and "weighing". Balances are in a state of equilibrium, if the same weight is acting on both sides of the weighing beam. The mass distribution of a body about its axis of rotation can be considered in the same way. If the mass of a rotating body is unevenly distributed, this state is referred to as unbalance. During rotation, unbalance will generate centrifugal forces, vibration and noise, which will become more and more noticeable as speed increases. Durability Vibrations due to unbalance generate excessive loads in bearings, housings and foundations, and result in increased wear. Products incorporating inadequately balanced components often have a shorter service life. Safety Vibrations may reduce the friction holding bolted and clamped connections together, and may result in components working loose. Vibrations may cause electrical switches to malfunction, or cable connections to break. Unbalance may seriously jeopardise the safety of a machine, and constitutes a danger to other machinery and to life and limb of operating staff. Quality A vibrating power tool cannot be used with the required high precison. It requires more of physical effort from the user, and will cause higher operator fatigue. Likewise, vibrations will also significantly impair the quality of production of modern machine tools: A grinding machine or a high-speed wood processing machine will not work accurately and produce more rejects, if spindle and tools are not balanced with the required degree of accuracy. Competitiveness Increasingly, the smooth and quiet running of a product is regarded as an indicator of its quality. Therefore, excessive vibrations may seriously impair the competitiveness of a product. A household appliance exhibiting strong vibrations, or a car producing excessive noise, will be more difficult to sell in the market. Forces caused by unbalance, undesirable noises and vibrations can be eliminated by balancing. Balancing is a process by which the mass distribution of a rotor is improved to such an extent that it will rotate in its bearings without generating excessive free centrifugal forces, and that rotating forces acting on the bearings are reduced to a minimum. During the balancing process it is essential that the type of unbalance present be taken into account. This complex-sounding process can be performed easily and with high efficiency on a modern balancing machine. Just choose the optimum concept for your requirements. |
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