Balancing of rotors

Why are some fans louder than others?

Why does a car's steering wheel shake at certain speeds?

Why does the brake pedal vibrate under the foot when braking?

Basically, every day we have to deal with a phenomenon whose consequences are often ignored: imbalance.
The term " imbalance" is derived from the word "balance," which in turn is related to weight . A balance is in equilibrium when the same weight is on each scale. We can say the same thing about the weight distribution of a rotor near its axis of rotation. Unequal mass distribution is called imbalance. It causes centrifugal forces, vibration and noise during spinning. At higher speeds they intensify and are much more noticeable.

Durability of products
Fan rotors, bearings, suspensions, housings and foundations can be subjected to high loads due to vibration from imbalance, which also causes greater wear. Products with unbalanced parts often have a shorter service life.

Safety
Vibration can reduce the solidity of connections: welded or bolted or clamped joints, until the parts come completely loose. Vibration also damages electrical switches, and wires and cables can break at connections. Imbalance can significantly reduce the operating safety of a machine; both the operator and the machine become exposed to hazards.

Quality
Irregularly running fan rotors or other power tools cannot be used with the required precision. The user needs to put more effort into using them and thus gets tired faster. Vibration also has a significant negative impact on the efficiency or performance results of fans. The dust collection filter in which the vacuum fans are placed perform their work unstably and vibrate, causing cracking of metal sheets and structures if the fans have not been precisely balanced.

Competitiveness
Inaccurate and noisy operation of the dust collection filter and fans is taken into account when quality of the product is assessed, so vibration can have a significant negative impact on the competitiveness of the product. Strongly vibrating fans or a noisy car will not succeed in the market.

Forces generated by imbalance, interfering vibration and noise are removed by balancing. This involves refining the weight distribution of the rotor so that less centrifugal forces operate in its bearings. When performing balancing, the type of imbalance must also be taken into account.

If you want to learn more about the different types of imbalance, contact our engineers from the Research & Development Department.

We will answer any of your questions and invite you to our Rotor Balancing Centre in Stare Olesno, one of the few facilities of this kind in southern Poland.