Fluke Reliability Solutions 
Laser Pulley Alignment System & Belt Pulley Alignment Tools
Correcting belt pulley alignment significantly extends machinery service life and lowers power consumption by decreasing wear and improving efficiency. While you can identify misalignment visually or with a straight edge, using a pulley alignment laser tool makes finding angular, vertical, and horizontal misalignment much faster and easier. Our laser belt alignment tools and pulley alignment tools are easy to use and can pay for themselves within only a couple of months.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Belt misalignment of the driving and driven pulleys is by far the most common and damaging installation error that occurs on belt. Belt misalignment is not usually due to carelessness on the part of the installer. Belt alignment problems are more often due to a lack of suitable tools with which to carry out the required alignment.
For many years, at best, a tight wire or straight edge were the only belt alignment tools available. Both methods rely entirely on the installer’s eyesight to ensure that the belt alignment is correct. Neither method has any measurements documented. Both rely upon the installer adjusting the driven pulley until the faces or grooves of the driven pulley touch the surface of the straight edge or tight wire. The driven pulley is then rotated half a turn and then rechecked and adjusted. The measurement is then repeated until the pulleys appear to be in line. No angularity or inaccurate mounting of the reference line is measurable. The system is purely an estimate of the alignment of the two pulleys.
What are the Main Types of Belt Misalignment
There are three basic parameters that describe pulley misalignment. These are vertical angularity, horizontal angularity and axial offset. These conditions usually occur in any or all combinations of belt alignment condition.
What Tools do you Need to Align a Belt and Pulley?
There are two different methods used to achieve pulley alignment and belt alignment on rotating machinery. The less advanced method uses mechanical tools such as a straightedge, feeler gauge, tape measure, wire, string, spirit level, or calibrated cone. This traditional method might be quicker, but it does not ensure accuracy.
A more advanced method uses pulley alignment with laser technology to take reliable, accurate readings. A laser pulley belt alignment tool makes it easier to identify misalignment and maximizes measurement efficiently.
How do you Check Belt and Pulley Alignment?
You check for belt and pulley misalignment using either handheld tools such as a straight edge or a pulley and belt laser alignment tool.
Why is Pulley Alignment Important?
Pulley alignment is critical because when a pulley is misaligned, it causes additional load on machinery. Laser pulley alignment decreases vibration, prolongs belt and bearing life, and reduces vibration, noise, and energy consumption.
Benefits of Belt and Pulley Alignment
Reduces premature belt wear
Cuts energy consumption
Decreases machine vibration
Leads to improved machine performance
What Are the Most Used Methods to Align Belts and Pulleys?
The most common methods used for aligning belts and pulleys are hand tools such as a straight edge or feeler gauge, a laser pulley alignment tool, or a belt alignment system.
Benefits of Using Laser Alignment to Align Belts and Pulleys
A laser pulley alignment tool is easier to read and increases alignment accuracy. Proper pulley and belt alignment prolongs machine life substantially and decreases power consumption by reducing belt and pulley wear and improving asset performance.