When something goes wrong with Balanset

01

The software does not see the instrument

You have connected the measurement unit to the computer, but the bottom of the main window says the USB module was not found. Start with the connection, not with the balancing settings.

1. Check the USB cable at both ends. Connect the instrument straight to the computer, without a hub. Try another USB port and a cable you know is good.
2. Open Windows Device Manager and watch whether a device appears when you plug the instrument in. A yellow icon next to it points to a problem worth checking in the device and driver properties.
3. If a COM port has been assigned, note its number. COM4, for example, is the name of the connection and not an error. Go back to the software and read the whole message.
4. If it says the firmware is not supported, the connection has already been detected and the firmware version is what needs checking. For software 2.3.7.0 the manual specifies firmware 5.5.0 or newer. Before updating, tell support the instrument model and both versions.

If the instrument still does not appear after these checks, send a screenshot of the main window and of Device Manager. That shows at which point the connection drops out.

02

RPM reads zero or jumps around

Speed and phase are both measured from the reflective mark on the rotor. If the tachometer misses that mark on some revolutions, the software cannot complete a balancing run correctly.

1. Stop the machine. Check the tachometer connector and that the sensor is switched on. For the supplied sensor the manual gives the sequence ON → AUTO → LASER.
2. Check the reflective mark: it should be clean and clearly different from the surface around it. Look for a second mark or a bright reflection nearby that the sensor might read instead.
3. Fix the tachometer in place and aim it at the mark. The cable must not touch rotating parts. Put the guards back and start the machine to check.
4. Watch the speed reading and the tachometer signal indicator. If readings drop out or jump, stop the machine and correct the sensor mounting. Move on to the trial runs only once the signal is steady.

Overall vibration can be displayed even without a speed reading. That does not mean the instrument is ready to calculate balancing weights.

03

Nothing was touched, yet the readings differ every time

To calculate a weight the software compares several runs. If the operating conditions or the sensor mounting change between them, that comparison stops being reliable. Check the following:

1. Compare the speed in each run. It has to be the same. Do not start recording while the machine is still running up or coasting down.
2. Check the load on the machine. Feeding material in one run and running empty in another are different conditions.
3. Stop the machine and check the sensor mounting. A sensor must not rock, and neither its position nor its direction may change between runs.
4. Check the cables and the equipment nearby: whether a cable knocks against the housing, whether outside vibration has appeared. If the software reports signal overload, save that message and check the sensor settings against the manual.
5. Repeat the initial measurement without moving any weights. If Vo and the phase still vary widely, first find what is changing in the machine or in the measurement. Data like that is a poor basis for calculating a weight.

More averaging does not replace checking the speed, the load and the sensor mounting.

04

After the trial runs the software will not calculate the weights

The calculation needs to see how the vibration changed once the trial weight was fitted. If the software returns an error or asks you to repeat a run, do not move on to installing a correction.

1. Read the whole message from the software. Save a screenshot of the window so the run values and the error text are not lost.
2. Check that the trial weight really is fitted, and in the right plane. Compare its actual mass and radius with the values entered in the software.
3. Check the sequence: Run 0 without a trial weight; Run 1 with the weight in plane 1; Run 2 with the first weight removed and the weight fitted in plane 2. This scheme assumes the “Leave on rotor” checkbox is switched off.
4. If the message says the change in readings was too small, review the choice of trial weight. Its mass or position may only be changed after stopping the machine and checking that the attachment is safe. Then repeat the corresponding run.
5. If the error persists, send support the table of all runs together with the masses and radii of the trial weights. Do not reuse a result left over from a different balancing job for this attempt.

05

Vibration increased after the calculated weights were fitted

Do not add another weight by guesswork. Stop the machine and first compare the correction you installed with the calculation on screen.

1. Check that planes 1 and 2 have not been swapped. Each plane needs its own mass at its own angle.
2. Check the mass on the scales and the units on screen. A value in percent is not a mass in grams.
3. Check the angle: it is measured from the trial-weight position in that same plane, in the direction of rotation. Not from the reflective tachometer mark.
4. Check the radius. If the calculated weight went closer to the axis, or further out, than the trial weight, its mass has to be recalculated.
5. Check the “Add / Remove” mode and any trial weights still in place. In the workflow described on this site, both trial weights come off before the correction goes on.
6. Check the speed, the load and the sensor mounting. Once you have corrected whatever does not match, make a new verification run. If the conditions or the measurement layout changed substantially, repeat the balancing with trial weights.

A single change in phase is not enough to decide where to move a weight. Working that out needs the values from every run and the actual weight positions.

06

What to send when you cannot resolve it yourself

For an engineer to retrace your work, a message saying “it will not balance” is not enough. Send the data from the attempt where the problem appeared:

1. The instrument model, the software version and the firmware version. They are shown in the main window and under About.
2. What happened and after which action: for example, “this error appeared after Run 2” or “vibration increased after the calculated weights were fitted”.
3. A screenshot of the whole software window with the initial, trial and verification runs. Do not crop the error message, the masses, the angles or the speed.
4. The masses and radii of the trial and correction weights. Say which weights are on the rotor now and which have been removed.
5. Photographs of the rotor, the supports, the sensors and the weight positions. Mark planes 1 and 2 and the direction of rotation on the photographs.

The application log can be attached if support asks for it. Look through the files before sending and remove anything unrelated to this job.