Diagnosing motor vibration problems

This paper will provide an overview of the diagnosis of induction motor vibration problems. It is important to understand the true sources of vibration, as proper solutions cannot be suggested unless the root cause is properly identified. Ignoring motor vibration issues may deleteriously impact motor reliability. With proper knowledge and diagnostic procedures, it is normally possible to quickly pinpoint the cause of the vibration. All too often erroneous conclusions are reached as a consequence of not understanding the root cause of the vibration. This may result in trying to fix an incorrectly diagnosed problem, spending a significant amount of time and money in the process. By utilizing the proper data collection and analysis techniques, the true source of the vibration can be discovered. Once the true source of motor's vibration, and the influence that external components have on the apparent motor vibration is understood, identification of the offending component is usually straightforward. This paper provides an analytical approach for expeditiously understanding and solving these types of problems.