Recommendations

for Aligning
Open-Drive
Compressors

Application Data – Aligning Open Drive Compressors

simplified diagram of two components in

Introduction elevation view.
Most alignment procedures are very complicated
and hard to follow. Some attempt to correct all
four positions of alignment with one set of
readings and one move. Most make heavy use
of algebraic calculations and graphs and are
easily subject to error.
This procedure is simple and straight-forward.
These steps performed in sequence will
eliminate guess work and backtracking and will Figure 2 – Example Plan View
consistently result in good shaft alignment.
A "plan" view is seen when looking down on the
We'll begin by outlining the four easy steps and object. Figure 2 shows a simplified diagram of
the simple calculations that are basic to the the two components in plan view.
procedure. Then, we'll cover the subjects that
Since everyone in the service and building
are common to all alignment procedures such trades must be familiar with blueprints, the terms
as: "Elevation" and "Plan" should be less confusing
A. Taking alignment readings. than some others which could be used.
B. Pre-aligning equipment to compensate
for thermal changes. Types of Misalignment
C. Calculating for coupling face runout.
There are the four types of misalignment which
can exist between two pieces of rotating
equipment.
1. Angular misalignment in elevation
2. Parallel misalignment in elevation
3. Angular misalignment in plan
4. Parallel misalignment in plan
Figure 3 illustrates angular misalignment in
Figure 1 – Example Elevation View elevation. This position must be corrected first. If
any of the other three are corrected ahead of this
Blueprint drafting standards established long one, they could be lost when this one is
ago that an elevation view is seen when standing corrected. This correction is made with shims
beside an object looking straight ahead at the and will not change as the other positions are
side or end of the object. Figure 1 shows a corrected.

Manufacturer reserves the right to discontinue, or change at any time, specifications or designs without notice and without incurring obligations.
Catalog No. 574-934 Rev A Printed in U.S.A. Pg 1 12-2021 Replaces New
 affected in the process of correcting the angular
misalignment.

Figure 3 – First Correction

Angular Misalignment in Elevation Figure 6 – Fourth Correction
Parallel Misalignment in Plan

Figure 6 shows parallel misalignment in plan.

This can be corrected without losing the angular
alignment by using a dial indicator at the footings
and sliding the equipment straight over an equal
amount at each end.

Figure 4 – Second Correction As described, there are four types of possible

misalignment. Good alignment can be achieved
Parallel Misalignment in Elevation by correcting each of these independently.
Figure 4 shows parallel misalignment in However, this process only works when the
elevation. The correction here is straight up or corrections are made in the exact sequence
down, involving equal amounts of shim stock described. Making corrections in any different
under each footing· order risks disturbing one of the previously
completed adjustments.
If misalignment in the plan view is corrected
ahead of the elevation view then one or both Correcting the Alignment
elevation corrections could be lost.
It should be noted that the stationary unit is
frequently a compressor or pump. The movable
unit is most often the driver, such as a motor,
engine, etc.

Figure 5 – Third Correction

Angular Misalignment in Plan Figure 7 –Misalignment of the Shaft
Figure 5 shows angular misalignment in plan. Figure #7 again shows angular misalignment
The correction here will be to slide the rear end because the shaft of the movable unit runs off at
of the movable equipment sideways on the sole an angle to the shaft of the stationary unit. Some
plate to correct the angle. This correction must equipment owners specify that this angle shall
come ahead of fixing the parallel misalignment not exceed 0.0003" per inch of travel along the
because the parallel alignment will definitely be shaft. This means that at a point 10" along the

Manufacturer reserves the right to discontinue, or change at any time, specifications or designs without notice and without incurring obligations.
Catalog No. 574-934 Rev A Printed in U.S.A. Pg 2 12-2021 Replaces New
shaft from the coupling, it shall not slope away Correcting the Alignment
from the other shaft more than .003".
Now we will run through a hypothetical alignment
using the four steps and show how to calculate
the amount of each move.

Step #1
Correcting Angular Alignment in Elevation
Step 1 corrects angular misalignment in
elevation. Assume readings have been taken
across the face of the coupling hub, which is 4"
diameter, and it is open at the top .005" more
than at the bottom.
Figure 8 – Misalignment of the Coupling Face

If the faces of the hubs are perpendicular to their

shafts, then the misalignment of the coupling
hubs (shown in Figure 8) will be the same as the
misalignment in the shafts (shown in Figure 7).
This is not the reason this is called angular
misalignment. We are aligning shafts, not
couplings. Always keep this in mind even when
taking alignment readings off the face or O.D. of
the coupling hub.
As shown in Figure 9, the face of the coupling
hub is always at a right angle (90°) to the bottom
Figure 10 – Pivot & Lift Locations
of the equipment footings. This will remain a
constant no matter how high, low, short or long Lifting the rear footings of the movable unit would
the shaft may extend out of the unit and no tend to close the coupling at the top. To do this,
matter what moves we make to the equipment. the pivot point becomes the front footings as
shown in Figure 10. It is obvious then that the
distance between the rear footing and the pivot
point (front footing) is a factor in how much the
coupling faces will close at the top for any given
amount of lift at the rear footings.
With a 4" diameter coupling, if the distance
between the front and rear footings was also 4",
as shown in Figure 11, then it would be a 1 to 1
ratio and lifting the rear footing .005" would close
the coupling .005'' at the top. If the distance was
Figure 9 – Orientation of Coupling Hub
8" between footings, the ratio would become 2 to
1 and the rear footings would have to be raised
.010" to close the 4" diameter coupling .005" at
the top.

Manufacturer reserves the right to discontinue, or change at any time, specifications or designs without notice and without incurring obligations.
Catalog No. 574-934 Rev A Printed in U.S.A. Pg 3 12-2021 Replaces New
 coupling hub face very close to the edge of the
4" diameter as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 11 – Relation between Mounting Feet, Hub

Diameter and Gap between Hubs

Figure 13 – Measuring Directly on the Hub Faces

Actually, the indicator button could be placed

closer to the shaft center or further out from
center if the coupling hub face is larger in
diameter.

Figure 12 – Correcting Angular

Misalignment in Elevation

The conditions shown in Figure 12 are more

realistic. We have assumed the coupling is 4"
diameter, the distance between front and rear Figure 14 – Using Alignment Brackets to
footings is 20", and the opening at the top of the Increase the Measurement Diameter
coupling is .005" larger than at the bottom. We
make a simple calculation. "How many times will The reading could even be taken off brackets
the coupling diameter go into the distance attached to the shaft as shown in Figure #14.
between the front and rear footings?" The Now, the dial would rotate through a circle much
answer obviously is 5 times. So five times .005" larger than the coupling hubs. Using this larger
tells us that a shim .025" thick placed under each diameter will improve the accuracy of the
rear footing will bring the coupling into good adjustments.
angular alignment in elevation.
It is actually the diameter of the circle through
The distance between footings is measured from which the button of the dial indicator rotates that
center to center of the hold-down bolts. must be divided into the distance between the
front and rear footings of the movable unit.
In our hypothetical measurements for Step #1,
we assumed that the alignment check was made After adjusting misalignment, always recheck to
with a dial indicator with its button on the confirm that the correction was properly made.

Manufacturer reserves the right to discontinue, or change at any time, specifications or designs without notice and without incurring obligations.
Catalog No. 574-934 Rev A Printed in U.S.A. Pg 4 12-2021 Replaces New
Step #2 on the other side. Divide the coupling diameter
(4") into the distance between the front and rear
Correcting Parallel Misalignment in Elevation hold down bolts, (20") and multiply by .008" (20
 4 = 5, 5 x .008" = .040"). So, the rear end of the
movable unit will have to be moved exactly .040".

Figure 15 – Parallel Misalignment in Elevation

Step 2, correcting parallel alignment in elevation

is very simple. With a dial indicator, check to see
how high or low the shaft of the movable unit is
in relation to the shaft of the stationary unit.
We will get into detailed use of the dial indicator
later. For now, let's assume the shaft of the
movable unit is .012" below the shaft of the Figure 17 – Parallel Misalignment in Plan
stationary unit. Placing a .012" thick shim under To do this, place the dial indicator against the
each of its footings will bring the shafts into good rear footing on the side which has the larger
parallel alignment in elevation. coupling opening as shown in Figure 17. It must
Steps 1 & 2 are complete, the shafts are now be exactly in line with the hold down bolt. Set the
aligned in the elevation. These corrections were indicator on zero.
both obtained with shims, Steps 3 and 4 will Place a screw jack in position at the opposite
make additional corrections within this plane and rear footing to move the equipment toward the
thus will not affect the adjustments made in indicator.
these first two steps.
Loosen both rear hold-down bolts and one front
Step #3 hold-down bolt.
Correcting Angular Misalignment in Plan Turn the screw jack and move the rear end
against the indicator until it registers .040".
Tighten all hold-down bolts and recheck the
indicator. If it has changed because of tightening
the bolts, then loosen the same three bolts and
readjust. It may be necessary to over-shoot or
under-shoot the desired reading to have it come
out right when the bolts are tightened.
Recheck angular misalignment. This pivoting
move (Step #3) can be influenced by burrs on
the bottom of very large footings. Burrs may
Figure 16 – Angular Misalignment in Plan cause the pivot point to be slightly off the exact
distance between the hold-down bolts. The
Step #3 corrects angular misalignment in plan. difference would be very slight. But if this
The calculation used in step #1 can be used happens, recalculate and make a second move.
here. Let's assume the distance between The same percentage error on the second move
coupling faces is .008" greater on one side than will bring the alignment well within tolerance.

Manufacturer reserves the right to discontinue, or change at any time, specifications or designs without notice and without incurring obligations.
Catalog No. 574-934 Rev A Printed in U.S.A. Pg 5 12-2021 Replaces New
Step #4 shown in Figure 19. If there is only one indicator
on the job, then use it and the screw jack at the
Correcting Parallel Misalignment in Plan footings the same way you did in Step 3. Move
one end of the unit against the indicator until it
shows .045". Tighten the hold down bolts and
move the indicator and screw jack to the other
end of the unit. Loosen three of the hold down
bolts and move this end .045". The pivot point
must be on the same side of the equipment for
each of these moves.
Recheck to be sure parallel alignment is within
Figure 18 – Parallel Misalignment in Plan .002", and that angular alignment has not been
disturbed.
Step 4 is to correct parallel misalignment in plan.
When making angular adjustments in plan, the
With a dial indicator attached to one shaft or distance between the ends of the shaft will
coupling and the indicator button on the outside always be affected. This distance is important
diameter of the other shaft coupling hub, find and should be held very close to the coupling
how much the shafts are offset one from the manufacturer's recommendation which is usually
other. Let's assume it's .045". stamped on high speed coupling hubs.
Now the trick is to move the movable unit straight Check the distance between the shaft ends, then
over .045" without disturbing the angular decide how to make the adjustment.
alignment made in Step 3.

Figure 20 – Selecting the Pivot Location

As shown in Figure 20, pivoting on the front foot

on the closed side of the coupling will shorten the
distance between the shaft ends, whereas,
pivoting on the front foot on the open side will
lengthen this distance.
Figure 19 – Using Two Screw Jacks to
Correct Parallel Misalignment in Plan If the distance between shaft ends must remain
as is then pivot half the required movement on
If you have two dial indicators and two screw one front footing and half on the other.
jacks, you can set up and make the move as

Manufacturer reserves the right to discontinue, or change at any time, specifications or designs without notice and without incurring obligations.
Catalog No. 574-934 Rev A Printed in U.S.A. Pg 6 12-2021 Replaces New
Temperature Effects Doweling each component allows for precise
repositioning of the components if they have to
Up to this point, we have talked about aligning be moved.
the shafts as close as possible to zero on the dial
indicator. Dowel pins are provided
Dowel
with the 5H motor Kit #
Size
There will be occasions, however, to intentionally fastening accessory kits. 5F40401
misalign the shafts when the machine is cold so 5F60401
#6
they will move into good alignment as operating Fit the dowel pin so it 5F40401
temperatures take over. extends through the rigid 5F40801 #7
frame and sufficient length 5H40401
Cast iron and steel will expand or shrink is left above the equipment
approximately 0.000006" per degree Fahrenheit foot to accommodate
change in temperature per inch of material removal.
length. Therefore, if the shaft's center is 20
inches above the bottom of the footings and the
operating temperature is 50 degrees above the
temperature at which the alignment was made,
then change in the height of the shaft centerline
can be estimated as follows:

Δ𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = 0.000006 𝑖𝑛⁄𝑖𝑛 ∙ °𝐹 × 50°𝐹 × 20𝑖𝑛

Δ𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = 0.006 𝑖𝑛
The shaft will have moved upwards by
approximately 0.006”.
Most equipment can be aligned as close to zero
as possible and operated until it reaches normal
operating temperature. Then shut down and Figure 21 – Doweling
check the alignment as quickly as possible. You
can try to realign the machine before it cools In the event of realignment, it is best to drill new
down too far from operating temperature or wait holes rather than try to ream deeper into the old
and let it cool all the way to room temperature, holes.
then reset it to compensate for the changes you
now know occur. Place the dowel pins as nearly vertical as
possible.
Estimates of machine changes caused by
temperature changes are just estimates. Before inserting the dowel pins into the reamed
holes, coat them with an anti-seize, rust
No machine is truly aligned until the alignment is preventative compound.
checked at operating temperature, the
necessary adjustments are made, and the Tap the dowel pins lightly into position with a
alignment is checked again at operating small machinist's hammer. A ringing sound will
temperature. indicate proper seating.
Carlyle compressors should be doweled only on
Doweling the suction end of the compressor. Motors
After alignment has been checked at operating should be doweled in accordance with the
temperature (hot check), and final alignment manufacturer’s instructions.
completed, all machine components must be
doweled to their sole plate or base.

Manufacturer reserves the right to discontinue, or change at any time, specifications or designs without notice and without incurring obligations.
Catalog No. 574-934 Rev A Printed in U.S.A. Pg 7 12-2021 Replaces New