An equipment OEM had installed a new centrifugal dust-collector blower on a line they were building for one of their own clients. The blower — a direct-drive, ~3,000 CMH-class machine on a fabricated base with anti-vibration mounts — was recent, still under warranty, and sat at the client's plant a long way from both the OEM's base and the fan works. The line couldn't be handed over to the end-user until the fan ran smoothly, so the OEM needed the fan manufacturer to step in and clear it fast. We'll call them the Builder.
On first running, the blower showed heavy vibration and what looked like a rotational wobble. Two things were now uncertain and both blocked the project: was it the fan, or the way it had been erected and started up, and could it be brought to an acceptable vibration level on the client's site, not on a test bench? Because the machine was on a base and structural frame the fan-maker hadn't built, the answer had to come from the site as it actually was — remote, freshly erected, with the client's line waiting on acceptance.
The first question was the only one that mattered, and we answered it with measurements, not opinion: was the machine built wrong, or was this a start-up matter? The reading was unambiguous. No manufacturing or design defect was found — the fan itself was on-spec, its duty sitting well inside our capability envelope (2,25,000 CMH, 2,000 mmWC, 425 HP, 500 °C; impeller ≤ 3,000 mm). What the site showed was a textbook commissioning-stage picture: a residual running balance to be trimmed on first run, plus a foundation, mounts and base frame that needed setting for the duty. Every one of those is a commissioning check — the kind that is meant to be caught and corrected before handover, which is exactly what we did.
We started remote: we asked for photographs and running videos and tried to resolve it online. When the root cause couldn't be isolated by mail and phone, we deputed a service engineer to the site rather than guess.
On site, the engineer: - Measured vibration at both bearings (drive and non-drive end) in all three axes — the way to separate a running-balance problem from a mounting problem before touching anything. - Dynamically balanced the rotor in situ — the corrective that moved the numbers, done on the machine as installed. - Re-measured after balancing to prove the result against the standard. - Documented the installation corrections the Builder should make to hold it there — a more rigid foundation (a steel plate and proper bolting under the base channel), correctly-rated (softer) anti-vibration mounts sized to our calculation, and stiffeners added to the base frame — and supplied the replacement mounts as a spare.
Testing language: the on-site figures are vibration measurements taken on site to the ISO 14695 method. (No air-performance test was part of this visit — we don't claim one.)
| The constraint | How we handled it |
|---|---|
| A remote, out-of-region site with the client's line waiting on acceptance | Remote photo/video triage first, then a single planned deputation to diagnose and balance in one trip |
| The fan sat on a base and structural frame we hadn't erected | Assessed foundation, mounting and isolation in situ; wrote up the corrections for the Builder's scope and supplied the correct anti-vibration mounts |
| The cause could be the fan or the way it was started up | Measured at both bearings in three axes to rule the machine in or out first — it ruled out, and pointed straight to first-run balance and mounting |
With the fan confirmed sound, the machine was field-balanced in situ and commissioned properly. Vibration on the worst axis fell from ~20 mm/s to about 2.1 mm/s — roughly a 90% reduction — putting every measured point inside the ISO 14694 BV-3 start-up band at handover. The complaint was resolved in a single site visit and closed on a signed site report, with the machine still under warranty. The Builder left with a fan proven to the standard on their own line, plus a short list of foundation and mounting corrections to keep it there.
| Parameter | Before | Verified on site | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vibration, worst axis | up to ~20 mm/s | under ~2.1 mm/s | ISO 14694 BV-3 / ISO 14695 |
| Vibration at handover | — | Inside BV-3 start-up | ISO 14694 Table 5 |
A vibration on first run doesn't mean a bad fan. More often it's a commissioning-stage matter — running balance, foundation rigidity or mount hardness that hasn't been set for the duty yet — and all of it is checkable on site in a single visit. That's why a commissioning-stage vibration check belongs in every start-up: measure at both bearings, trim the running balance, set the foundation and the mounts, and prove the machine to ISO 14694 before the line is handed over. Catch it there and it never becomes a warranty call.
Planning a new line, or fighting vibration on a freshly-installed fan? Ask us for a site-readiness check and an on-site dynamic balance — any make.
— Jitamitra Electro Engineering · Technical Services
Engineered for Every Application.
On this dust-collector blower it was the installation. No manufacturing or design defect was found and the fan itself was on-spec. What the site showed was a textbook commissioning picture: a residual running balance to be trimmed on first run, plus a foundation, mounts and base frame that needed setting for the duty.
On site. This blower was field-balanced and mount-corrected on the client's own site rather than on a test bench, in a single visit and under warranty.
Here it came down to under 2.1 mm/s — inside the ISO 14694 BV-3 start-up limit — measured at both bearings, drive and non-drive end.
We start remote: photographs and running videos, resolved online if it can be. When the root cause could not be isolated by mail and phone, we deputed a service engineer to the site rather than guess.
It changes where the answer has to come from, not whether you get one. Because the machine sat on a base and frame the fan-maker had not built, the question had to be settled at the site as it actually was — measured at both bearings, with readings rather than opinion.
Flow, static, gas temperature, application — or attach a spec, GA drawing or a multi-fan schedule. Engineer to engineer.
ISO 9001:2015 quality system · performance-tested to IS 4894 / ISO 5801 / AMCA 210 method · witnessed FAT on request.
*For our standard range. ATEX and special projects need 5 to 7 working days.
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