Balancing Machinery: What Is Balancing?

The Burke Porter Group (BPG) specializes in the design and manufacture of intelligent machines, including balancing machines mainly for the automotive and aerospace industries, and a diverse product range continues to allow servicing of all manufacturers of rotating components.

Our balancing machine expertise provides synergy with our automotive assembly and testing solutions, supplying end-of-line equipment, dynamometers, and tire & wheel assembly systems to major OEMs throughout the world. 

BPG’s balancing division is composed of two companies within the Burke Porter Group: Universal Balancing, based in Bristol, U.K., and CIMAT, headquartered in Bydgoszcz, Poland. These innovative manufacturers supply BPG’s cutting-edge, customized balancing solutions to customers within the automotive, aerospace, energy, marine, mining, metallurgical, ventilation, and agricultural industries.

When rotating or reciprocating components such as driveshafts and clutch assemblies that are not completely balanced, vibrations can occur, causing mechanical stress – potentially leading to damage or failure. Balancing is the process of designing or modifying components so this unbalance is reduced or eliminated.

A balancing machine pinpoints the exact location and mass of any unbalance, so that excess material can be removed by drilling, milling, etc., from a “heavy” position on the component, or added to a “light” position by bolting or welding on balance weights. BPG balancing machines are so sensitive that they can identify a mass axis that is only 0.001mm off the running axis.

Unbalance can occur in different forms. If a rotor begins to bow out as it rotates, the mass is unbalanced in a single plane parallel to the rotor, a condition called static unbalance. If a component is unbalanced in a plane that intersects with the central rotation, or the mass axis is not coincidental with the rotational axis, it requires balancing in two planes (dynamic unbalance). Although different machines may be required to measure and correct the different types of unbalance, BPG’s balancing companies have solutions for each unbalance type.

Universal Balancing (UB), specializes in providing advanced, exceedingly accurate balancing machines for high-production automotive OEM and Tier 1 environments and aerospace OEM’s. With some of the fastest cycle times in the industry, maximizing machine utilization, full part-to-part changeover – including tooling – is possible in less than 10 minutes in most applications. 

UB manufactures static and dynamic balancing machines for passenger car, light truck, and heavy-duty applications, including driveshafts, axles, brake rotors, crankshafts, pinions, flywheels, etc. UB also offers high-precision balancing equipment designed specifically for aerospace components, including turbine rotors, turbine discs, turbine assemblies, and turbine rotor assemblies.

UB machines come with the utmost advanced balance measuring system available – the UNI-64 Windows based system – along with the Windows-based Winbal balancing software, a mature and stable platform that is self-teaching and easy to use.

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CIMAT specializes in high-end turnkey projects based on automated balancing solutions as well as manual standalone balancers. By combining their knowledge and experience, they are able to partner with their customers to deliver the best and the most cost-effective balancing solutions in the world.

CIMAT offers turbocharger balancing and calibration machines, built with a technical expertise established from years of experience. The balancing machine is able to dynamically balance all kinds of turbocharger shafts and compressor wheels at operational speed, with high accuracy and efficiency.

In addition to turbochargers, CIMAT manufactures machines for balancing single and dual mass flywheels, alternators, crankshafts of all kinds, clutch assemblies and their components, brake discs and drums, supercharger rotors, and components and assemblies of ECFA and HVAC blowers. These machines are aimed at both automotive manufacturers and the aftermarket vehicle maintenance and engine repair industry, with top-tier component manufacturers such as MAHLE and Eaton as customers.

CIMAT also supplies special drive shaft balancers equipped with the latest software capabilities, even in the most primitive models – including balancing in four correction planes at the same time. 

With 30 years of experience in the balancing industry and university-based research, the CIMAT team provides professional consulting to help with selecting the right equipment, methods and software, and solving any balancing issue.

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The CIMAT service team can upgrade and repair balancing machines of all makes, including Schenck, AM, Hoffman, Elettorava, Reutlinger, CEMB, and Abro – restoring the machine’s ability to measure efficiently and accuracy. The company also offers technical inspections for all types and make of balancing machines, including conformance with the ISO 21940-21:2012 standard.

Both CIMAT and Universal Balancing, as members of the Burke Porter Group family of companies, offer a global support network. For more information about balancing, contact Burke Porter Group at balancing@burkeportergroup.com.