Product Information

Automatic balancing

A cost efficient way of solving unbalance problems

Applying the technology with automatic balancing
opens up a path of solving unbalance problems
by continuously balancing your machine. In this
way noise and vibrations are reduced, expected
time of life increased and manufacturing cost
decreased.
An automatic balancer is fitted on the rotating
shaft, which contains freely movable balls.
The balls will then position themselves in such
a way that they compensates for variations in
unbalances within a fraction of a second.
Swerea IVF offers the complete chain in the
technology of automatic balancing from concept studies with computer simulations over
designing prototypes and all the way to delivering
custom tailored automatic balancers.

Typical applications:

Grinding machines
Washing machines
Propellers
Centrifuges
Separators
Pumps
CD and DVD players
Etc

Benefits
Suitable applications for the technology are where
the unbalance in the machine varies or where it is
impossible or to costly to rebalance after every
change of the unbalance.

Contact
Hans Lindell, Phone +46 (0)31-706 60 02
hans.lindell@swerea.se
Swerea IVF AB
P O Box 104
SE-431 22 Mlndal
Sweden

www.swereaivf.se

Argongatan 30
SE-431 53 Mlndal
Sweden

MK 081105

Good examples are the grinding disc of a grinder,

the laundry in a washing machine, fans or any
machine where the unbalance are changed after
service or when the balancing in production are
costly in the manufacturing. Automatic balancing
gives several advantages:
Less vibrations
Less noise and especially structure born noise
Longer expected time of life
Extended time between maintenance
Simplified design of machine supports
Reduced manufacturing costs due to that the
balancing procedure could be simplified or
avoided and also due to that the machine does
not need to be designed to withstand high
unbalance forces.

The technology
The principle is working for machines that are running
above the supercritical speed, which almost
all machines do or can be modified to do. In order
to fulfill this demand there needs to be a weakness
between the rotating unbalance and the surroundings.
A very common misunderstanding is that it is only
machines with slender shafts that run supercritical
but this is certainly not the case. The weakness can
consist of the human arm that are holding a hand held
grinder or the rubber feet that a fan is standing on.
The principle is just as simple as it is ingenious.
In its simplest execution two balls are placed in a
circular enclosure. The ring is centered on the shaft
that is going to be balanced. The center of the ring
is marked with a square in the graph. When the
machine is rotating supercritical the center will strive
to rotate around its center of mass marked with
an X.
By adding two balls to the ring the resulting force of
the normal force and the centrifugal force will move
the balls away from the center of mass. The balls will
experience a downward slope and will start rolling.
At the same time the center of mass will follow the
balls toward the center of the ring since the balls are
a part of the total mass.
In stage 3 the center of mass coincides with the
center of the ring and the machine is well balanced.
The balls do not experience any downward slope
since the centrifugal and normal force cancels each
other.

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