The Cure for Alignment Frustration!

A customer called me, extremely frustrated, because he could not get a good alignment. “I’ve spent two hours trying to align this stupid pump!” he said. He blamed the laser, the “cheap” pump his company had, the bad base, his bad trainer (me), and anything else that came to mind.

I did not take it personally, because I’ve been there too! I listened to his frustrations, and let him vent. And after a few minutes, I interrupted the “venting”, and said, “If you’ll give me two minutes, I’ll tell you how you can fix it.”

The secret – start all over again, and follow the steps.

• Take out all of the shims, clean up the feet and base a little.
• Rough the alignment in-just get it “eyeball” close.
• Get rid of soft foot. Start with the worst foot, and work your way down. Don’t concentrate on making soft foot perfect-just make it better.
• Tighten the motor hold down bolts in the same order, each time.
• Do what the laser says do.

I received an email from him the next day, thanking me for my help, and letting me know achieving alignment was fast, simple, and repeatable.

The secret-there isn’t one. Alignment frustration isn’t new, but it is treatable!

When laser alignment tools are not repeatable, it’s not the laser – IT’S YOU.

It’s easy to take a short cut, put in an incorrect shim, or an incorrect value in the laser. And when you do, you’ll end up frustrated, just like this guy did.

Step away. Get a cup of coffee. Get your mind off the alignment for just a few minutes. Then start all over, and don’t skip any steps.

The cure for alignment frustration is ALWAYS a good alignment!

Save Time. Save Money. Save the Machine.