Other Industries

Other Industries

The industries listed on this site are where BTI does the most work, not the limit of what BTI builds. Balance Technology Inc. has been designing balancing machines and measurement systems in Whitmore Lake, Michigan since 1968, and the engineering problem is the same wherever it turns up: a part rotates, residual unbalance produces force, and that force has to be brought inside a tolerance.

If your industry is not listed, the question is not whether BTI serves it. The question is what the part is, how fast it turns, how it can be held, and where mass can be added or removed. Those four answers determine the machine.

Components BTI Balances Across Industries

BTI balancing machines are built on four platforms — VNR (vertical non-rotator), H (horizontal cradle), VR (vertical rotator) and P (platform suspension) — plus spinners and test stands. The platform follows the part geometry and how it has to be held; the correction method follows the material and where there is room to add or remove mass.

How a Machine Gets Sized

A BTI machine designation names a platform and a class. The number is a class, not a part weight limit — it describes the size and load envelope of the base.

Sizing works from the tooling and the part together, not the part alone. Tooling is not specified until the part prints are reviewed and the fixture is concepted, and the heavier the tooling-plus-part assembly is relative to the class, the less repeatable the measurement becomes. A shop that needs one machine to cover a wide range of parts, and does not need tight repeatability, can run a much broader weight range on a given class than a production program can.

Tell BTI the part weight and BTI will name a class the same day. See BTI machine platforms for the full platform and class architecture.

Balance Grade and Tolerance

The standard covers the full range of rotating equipment, and BTI builds machines across it. Balance tolerances are set by ISO 21940-11, which superseded ISO 1940-1. The standard assigns a balance quality grade G, and the permissible residual specific unbalance follows from that grade and the service speed:

e_per = (G × 60) ÷ (2π × n)

where e_per is permissible residual specific unbalance in g·mm/kg, G is the balance quality grade in mm/s, and n is the service speed in rev/min. Permissible residual unbalance is then U = e_per × m, divided across the correction planes.

Work out a specific tolerance with the ISO balance tolerance calculator.

Two Ways to Buy

A production line needs a machine engineered around one part family, integrated into the line, holding a balance tolerance at takt time for years. A repair, remanufacturing or aftermarket shop needs a capable machine that covers a range of parts, quoted from a standard model. The first starts from a part print; the second starts from a model number.

Which one applies is usually clear from the part list and the required production rate. BTI quotes both, and will say which fits rather than quoting the larger option by default.

Where to Start

Send the part print, the part weight, the service speed, the balance tolerance if one is specified, and the required production rate. That is enough for BTI to name a platform and class and to say whether a standard model or an engineer-to-order machine is the right answer. If you do not have all of it, send what you have — the part print and the part weight are usually enough for a first conversation.

If you already have a balancing machine that is not performing, that is a different conversation with a cheaper answer more often than people expect. See rebuilds and retrofits and PC upgrades.

Correction Methods

Standards

BTI certifies machines to ISO 21940, SAE International balancing specifications, and DIN specifications. Where a program carries a measurement system capability requirement, BTI evaluates the part and the process first, then confirms what is achievable and commits to it in the machine specification.

Frequently Asked Questions

My industry is not listed. Can BTI still help?

Almost certainly. The industries listed are where BTI does the most work, not the limit of what BTI builds. The determining factors are the part geometry, the service speed, how the part can be held and where mass can be corrected.

What if I do not know the balance tolerance?

That is common, and it is not a blocker. ISO 21940-11 assigns a grade by component type and derives the tolerance from service speed and rotor mass. BTI works it out from the part print and the duty, and the ISO balance tolerance calculator gives a first figure.

Can one machine cover several different parts?

Yes, within a class. How wide that range can be depends on the tooling and on how much repeatability the application requires. MRO and remanufacturing shops routinely run a broad part range on a single class.

Does BTI rebuild or retrofit existing balancing machines?

Yes, including machines built by other manufacturers. See BTI rebuilds and retrofits, competitor rebuilds and retrofits, and PC upgrades for machines still mechanically sound.

What information does BTI need to quote a machine?

The part print, the part weight, the service speed, the balance tolerance if one is specified, and the required production rate. Lead times are quoted in weeks at the time of quotation and move with current backlog.

Browse BTI balancing machines or request a quote.