Balancing Procedure Step by Step

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This assumes the machine is prepared per chapter 04: bearings play-free, flaps welded, sensors and tachometer mounted, readings stable.

Software setup

1. Create/select the rotor in the program database.
2. Choose the mode: 1 or 2 planes.
3. Fill in — mandatory:
   • the trial-weight mass (weigh it!);
   • the weight-mounting radius (leave it empty and results come out in percent, not grams);
   • το g (grams) switch, not %;
   • the correction method: add weight (welding) or αφαιρώ (drilling) — check the box, it defines the sign of the result;
   • the number of averages: 8 for a quick look, 32–64 for balancing (the shakier the machine, the more).
4. Weight placement method: free positions (any angle), fixed positions (blades/bolts — the program splits the weight between two adjacent positions), circular groove, drilling.

The measurement series (2 planes)

Run 0 — the initial run. Machine at the chosen RPM, a measurement with no weights. Note the initial amplitudes and phases (V1o, V2o).

Run 1 — trial weight in plane 1. Stop the machine, mount the trial weight in plane 1 at a marked angle (anywhere convenient — but remember/mark the spot!). Start up and measure.

• Check: amplitude or phase changed by 20–30% or more. If the change is small — the weight is too small, increase it.

Run 2 — trial weight in plane 2. Remove the weight from plane 1 (unless the settings say “leave it”), mount it in plane 2, measure.

Λογαριασμός. The program outputs mass and angle of the correction weight for each plane (M1/F1, M2/F2).

The run sequence verbatim from support: “Run#0 — start the rotor with no weight at all… Run#1 — install the trial weight in Plane 1… Run#2 — the trial weight is moved from plane 1 to plane 2 (not added on top!). After Run#2 remove all trial weights and install only the correction masses calculated by the software.”

How to count the angle — the single most important point

• The angle is counted from the trial-weight position, προς την κατεύθυνση περιστροφής του ρότορα.
• Example: the trial weight was at “12 o’clock”, the rotor spins clockwise (as you look at it), the calculation says 90° → the correction weight goes at “3 o’clock”.
• The classic mistake: counting against rotation (mounting at 360−70=290° instead of 70°) — vibration grew. If things got worse exactly “mirror-image” after mounting the weight — check your counting direction.
• With “fixed positions” (blades, bolts) the program gives position numbers (e.g. Z5) and splits the mass across the two nearest ones.

Installing the correction weights

1. Install half of the calculated mass (a third on beat-up machines). The system is almost always nonlinear; the full weight often “overshoots”. The device picks up the remainder on the next iteration.
2. Material — steel plates/square bar (e.g. 20×20 mm), weighed on the scales.
3. Fixing: welding — the standard for mulchers and fans (allow ~100 g for the weld seam); bolts/washers on rivets — for thin impellers; hose clamps — a working option for cardan shafts (secure with threadlocker). Glue-on weights fall off dirty/oily surfaces. The trial and the correction weight go on the same radius.
   

   

4. Material removal (drilling) is used when adding is impossible; the program can calculate “for removal” (the checkbox).

The check run and iterations

1. RunC — a check measurement with the weights installed.
2. Watch the drop: normal dynamics is severalfold per 1–2 iterations (e.g. 30 → 7 → 3 mm/s).

   

   

3. The program calculates a top-up weight. Repeat until you are inside the tolerance (chapter 06).
4. If you started at reduced RPM — raise to working RPM and trim there.
5. If vibration grew — stop, don’t weld on more. Go to chapter 07.

Εξισορρόπηση ενός επιπέδου

Everything the same, but two runs: Run 0 and Run 1 (trial weight). The sensor — X1 on the support nearest the correction plane.

Balancing on an arbor (on a machine tool)

If the rotor is balanced on a machine arbor, the arbor’s eccentricity is compensated by turning the rotor 180° relative to the arbor (the “Mandrel” checkbox in the program). The tacho mark stays on the arbor.

The field-order cheat sheet

1. Mechanics OK? (play, cracks, fasteners, knives)      → yes
2. Sensors radial, X1/X2 not swapped                    → yes
3. Mark on the hub, RPM reads stable                    → yes
4. Vibrometer: amplitude/phase stable                   → yes
5. Balancing: radius entered, grams, "add"              → yes
6. Run0 → Run1 (trial pl.1) → Run2 (trial pl.2)
7. Trial changed readings ≥20-30%?                      → yes
8. Install HALF the calculated mass, angle WITH rotation
   from the trial-weight position
9. Check run → top-up → repeat
10. In tolerance? → report, remove trial marks, pack up

How long it takes

On a training rig — minutes. A real fan or mower with sound mechanics — about 1.5 hours including sensor setup and welding of weights. If the machine is faulty, you can spend days (see the case studies) — and that won’t be the device’s fault.