Levelling feet – What to take into consideration

What determines which foot
Levelling feet are a special area whith many factors.
What is normally taken into account are:

• Machine weight?
• Vibration damping or anti-slip only?
• Footplate; galvanized, plastic or stainless steel?
• What looks aesthetically pleasing?
• Be able to address angular errors?
• Level adjustability?
• Forced to be bolted to the foundation?
• Price range?

Smaller adjustable feet
Smaller machines such as scales and printers usually require a small, cheap plastic foot with an anti-slip rubber sole, while machines in the food industry require food-approved rubber and a stainless/acid-proof set screw.

Larger levelling feet
Lathes, cutters, presses, etc. which require horizontal level control often also need a levelling foot with good vibration-damping properties. In the catalog you will find many different levelling feet that meet these requirements. For extreme loads, we recommend our wedgemounts, which are also available with vibration-damping models. These can handle loads up to 60 tons per pc.

Vibration dampers
Machines where components move, such as reciprocating motion or rotating shafts, often require a more or less vibration-damping solution. To select the optimal vibration damper, information is needed on:

• Weight
• Number of installation points
• Possible speed

This is to avoid dampers whose rubber mass is at the same natural frequency as the machine’s. If this is not taken into account, the vibrations can even worsens.

Angle errors
Sometimes machines are mounted on sloping foundations or on chassis that for various reasons cannot keep a horizontal line. Depending on the angle required, we have variants whose leveling screw can handle angles from 4 to 40 degrees.

Advanced vibration problems
When vibration damping boat engines, car engines, ventilation and fan units for outdoor placement, there are several factors to take into account. Rubber ages, normal steel rusts, engines with intermittent/variable operation require special calculation, boat engines must take into account propeller forces, etc. In these extreme cases, expertise is required, which we are happy to contribute with.