Kadant Johnson rotary joints can tolerate some degree of misalignment.  With balance seal PT™ joints, for example, the matching radii of the wear plate and seal ring will compensate for significant misalignment. That said, the best possible service life will be achieved if attention is paid to alignment and misalignment is minimized. The following items should be verified to help ensure the longest possible service life:

• The journal face should be clean and square. Occasionally, the journal face can be damaged from previous repairs of steam cutting.
• Bolts should be tightened to the specified torque and in proper sequence.
• Bolts holes should be verified to be threaded to the proper depth
• The bearing housing mounting surface should be clean and perpendicular to the axis of rotation.

Four variables should be monitored to ensure optimum performance when alignment may be negatively impacting performance of your PT joints.

1. Radial alignment of the wear plate with respect to the axis of rotation.
2. Runout on the face of the wear plate with respect to the axis of rotation.
3. Radial alignment of the ring bracket pilot bore with respect to the axis of rotation.
4. Perpendicularity of the ring bracket joint mounting face with respect to the axis of rotation.

Similar to tires, our rotary joints will tolerate misalignment. Similar to tires, gross misalignment will cause premature wear and diminished service life.

Over time, a rotary joint installation that follows the recommended guidelines for alignment leads to less unplanned maintenance downtime, increased reliability, and maximum drying performance.