Thermal growth or Dynamic Movement is the change in the distance end to end of a particular metal as a result of the change in temperature of that metal. Usually, when a metal bar is heated, it will elongate. These changes in length can be small or large.

It is critical to have machinery aligned at hot operating conditions, not just cold conditions. It is essential that machines be monitored from cold to hot operating conditions in order to properly adjust for thermal growth as well as incalculable relative torque movement.

ACQUIP uses the most advanced laser-based alignment systems to configure your machines optimal coupling alignment targets throughout its thermal range.

ACQUIP’s thermal growth monitoring services facilitate maximum running efficiency and productivity. The fact is, it is important to have your machines aligned during running conditions.

All companies want to be valuable and remain competitive to their customers.  This can only be achieved through quality training and development. Arming your employees with career-enhancing skills will also lead to employee motivation and retention. A quality trained and developed staff is a valuable asset to any company.  Quality laser alignment training will introduce positive changes where necessary.

ACQUIP offers comprehensive laser alignment training programs. Our laser alignment training classes are held on your site for ease of scheduling and produces the least interruption to your workflow.

ACQUIP’s knowledgeable and experienced laser alignment training instructors are leaders in their field, and will train your staff on how to properly operate the latest in laser alignment technology and assure the smooth operation of your machinery.

ACQUIP’s laser alignment training instructors provide hands-on programs that have your staff pressing buttons the first day. The curriculum covers everything from fundamental laser alignment techniques to how to properly align your own equipment.

For more information on laser alignment training from ACQUIP,INC visit our website at www.acquip.com.

Maintenance (including tests, measurements, adjustments, and parts replacement) is performed specifically to prevent faults from occurring to gas turbines and steam turbines.

Preventive maintenance for gas turbines and steam turbines are considered to be worthwhile. There are risks such as human error involved when performing preventive maintenance.  This is why you need to make sure you are employing a well trained expert maintenance staff for your gas turbine and steam turbine preventative maintenance measures. It is important to contract out your gas turbine and steam turbine projects to experts that utilize the latest technology for gas turbine and steam turbine maintenance.

Preventive maintenance such as scheduled gas turbine and steam turbine overhaul or scheduled replacement for your gas turbine or steam turbine, provides proactive failure management policies available to the maintenance engineer.

Common methods of determining what preventive failure management policies should be applied to gas turbines and steam turbines are:

• OEM recommendations
• What an “expert” thinks ought to be done.
• The maintenance that’s already done to similar equipment.
• Measured values and performance indications.

To make it simple:

Preventive maintenance is conducted to keep gas turbines and steam turbines working and/or extend the life of the equipment.

Preventative maintenance can be looked at as a large upfront expense or an unnecessary expense.  This can be a very expensive mistake.   Corrective maintenance can end up costing much more.  Unplanned maintenance also requires unplanned gas turbine and steam turbine shut downs to get equipment working again.

For more information about how ACQUIP, INC can help you with your laser alignment needs for your gas turbines and steam turbines please visit our website at www.acquip.com.

            With the turbine top off, the turbine diaphragm position, packing rubs, and shell deviations are measured and recorded. These measurements are used to calculate the theoretical turbine tops on position without actually putting in the man labor required to measure a turbine in the tops on position. The Express Alignment process takes laser alignment readings for all internal components which are then combined with horizontal joint deviation and out of roundness readings. When all of the turbine components are assembled, they are placed into the ideal calculated position.

            Express Alignment alters the traditional alignment process by not having to put on and take off the top of the turbine cylinder. A significant amount of the plant’s time and money is saved. The laser alignment process is ideal for steam turbines of all sizes, large or small, and of all fuel types. Setting up a laser for alignment is fast and does not interrupt any other work while the service is in process. Laser Alignment readings are non user dependent therefore there is almost no space for human error.

            ACQUIP, INC is the expert when it comes to providing internal alignment services for turbo machinery. For more information on Express Alignment and other services offered by ACQUIP, INC, please visit www.acquip.com .

When a company is struggling financially, like many have been in recent years, one of the first things that gets cut or put off is maintenance, which leads to the maintenance staff being reduced. In contracting services to an outside company, you constantly maintain maintenance staff levels low, saving your company money that can be used for other projects. While the in-house maintenance staff focuses on reoccurring tasks, a service company can come in for the few times the plant requires more complicated and specific skills and tools. One can argue that if you want a job to be performed correctly, then you must go to those that expertise in that field. This frees the burden of having to purchase specialty equipment, like laser alignment and vibration analysis equipment, for a task that happens very infrequently. In some industries that have technology evolving at a fast rate, it is not worth the time and money spent on training staff new maintenance techniques. Aside from performing the maintenance task itself, many service companies provide their own service equipment, software, and follow up the service with a full detailed report for the company they did the service for.

Companies turn to outsourcing their maintenance needs when their in-house maintenance program is failing, but this does not have to be the case either. With the proper training, instead of having to find the experts in the service required, your own team can become the experts. Many companies tend to feel more comfortable having the employees they know and trust to perform maintenance needs, especially when it comes to complicated, specialty tasks. Also, should an emergency arrive, some companies prefer having a trained staff on hand to handle the situation should a service provider not arrive quickly enough. The in-house maintenance staff would also be more familiar and sensitive to your company’s priorities and preferences.

A successful maintenance program finds their perfect balance between outsourcing and having a trained maintenance staff. Through the partnership with a service company, training, equipment, and the service itself can be provided as needed easing the maintenance process.

At ACQUIP, INC, aside from laser alignment services, we offer comprehensive laser alignment training programs that are customized to your company’s needs. With knowledgeable and experienced instructors and hands-on training for your staff, you can feel confident that your maintenance staff will be receiving the best training. ACQUIP, INC also offers laser alignment equipment rentals for when you want your in-house staff to perform the service.

For more information on ACQUIP, INC’s alignment services, training, and equipment rental, please visit our website at www.acquip.com .

China aims to have wind, solar, and biomass energy to be able to generate 8% of its electricity by 2020, more than twice as much as its generation capability today. Earlier this month China finished building their first offshore wind farm and, according to Keith Bradsher from The New York Times, is making strong efforts “to build nuclear reactors and the most efficient types of coal power plants.” Meanwhile, the United States has yet to begin construction on its first offshore wind farm. According to New Energy Finance, China is on its way to manufacture 39% of turbines sold worldwide and 43% of solar panels sold worldwide, surpassing other countries in becoming the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines and solar panels. With multinational renewable energy corporations investing in and transferring their operations to China, according to the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association, renewable energy industries are adding 100,000 jobs per year in China.

 Many credit the effort of the Chinese government to focus on energy policy for the strides China has made in the industry. For example, the 2005 Renewable Energy Law was passed by the Chinese government requiring power companies to use renewable sources to generate a certain amount of electricity. By creating policies and incentives such as charging a high fee for those who use electricity, the Chinese government encourages the development of renewable energy practices. Though some states in the US have developed their own renewable energy policies, without a clear national policy or support for clean energy American companies, then demand for alternative energy practices will not be promoted.

Even though being number two in the worldwide race for renewable energy is not as bad as it sounds, if the United States does not begin to pursue renewable energy practices more aggressively, then soon the US could fall to the number three spot, and then number four, and so on. Like President Obama stated in a State of the Union speech at the beginning of this year, “I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders – and I know you don’t either.”