Case Studies

Minnesota Power

Situation

Minnesota Power was experiencing vibration problems on their air pre-heaters. Minnesota Power began re-greasing each coupling during their outages to try to reduce this vibration.  Each re-greasing was only effective in reducing vibration for two weeks; each re-greasing tied up 3 maintenance personnel for an entire day.

The Solution

  • Minnesota Power replaced their rigid couplings with MGTL couplings
  • Because MagnaDrive Couplings have no physical connection between the motor and the load equipment, there is no vibration transferred between them.

The Results

  • Minnesota Power’s vibration problems on their air pre-heaters have been almost completely eliminated.
  • Readings indicated a reduction in vibration of over 80% versus the original rigid couplings
  • Annual non-energy operating costs using traditional coupling: $21,600
  • Annual labor costs using MagnaDrive Coupling:  $3,360
  • Annual savings per coupling: $18,240
  • Additional expense incurred per coupling:  $5,000
  • Breakeven Point = ($5,000) / ($18,240/yr):   0.3 years
Case Study details