SKF Vibracon self-leveling, height adjustable chocks enable mounting of rotating machinery

April 29, 2015
SKF Vibracon self-leveling and height adjustable chocks enable mounting of rotating machinery to base frames, steel foundations, or plates while eliminating Soft Foot.

SKF Vibracon self-leveling and height adjustable chocks enable mounting of rotating machinery to base frames, steel foundations, or plates while eliminating Soft Foot (improper contact between a machine casing and the baseplate used to support it). Applications for rotating equipment range from industrial and marine to offshore. These mechanical chocks effectively compensate for angular misalignment of up to four degrees between the mounting foundation and bottom of the machine foot. This ultimately eliminates Soft Foot and allows for optimal and economical mounting without requiring expensive machining of skid bases and milled blocks, trial and error guesswork of regular shims, or the extra labor and curing time associated with epoxy resin chocks.

The design of the SKF Vibracon integrates a spherical top plate and mating middle section that is threaded and screws into a threaded bottom ring. The swiveling action of the top plate self-levels the Vibracon, thereby accommodating for the angular differences inherent with mounting surfaces and maximizing the contact surface between the foundation, chock, and machine foot. The vertical adjustment feature offers a wide range of adjustability to compensate for the chocking height of the equipment. These features allow for quick and easy installation with minimal down-time. In combination, the self-leveling and height adjustment capabilities effectively eliminate Soft Foot.

Vibracon chocks can be supplied in a wide range of configurations, standard and extended chocking heights (ranging from 30mm to 250mm), footprint diameters (60mm to 250mm), and materials including carbon steel, treated carbon steel, stainless steel, alloy steel, shock hardened, and K-Monel. Low-profile versions (with chocking heights from 20mm to 45mm and footprint diameters from 80mm to 190mm) can cost-effectively support repair projects or fixed design systems by serving as replacements for milled chocks, shims, or epoxy resins. Custom-made Vibracon chocks are also available for non-typical applications.