Ludeca Thoughts On Dowel Pins in Machine Feet

Thoughts On Dowel Pins In Machine Feet
BACKGROUND
The practice of dowel pinning machinery was originally conceived within the U.S.
Navy, well over a century ago. This innovation was triggered by the need for a
solution to the extreme conditions faced onboard naval surface vessels and
submarines by directly-coupled rotating machinery with respect to hull and
foundation deflection related to changing temperatures and storms at sea, as well
as the forces generated by firing munitions (shells and depth charges.) The original
concern that resulted in the use of dowel pins was positional security.
Given the fact that on Navy and commercial vessels excess mass is a major
concern, the sound engineering practice of designing a base structure to weigh
three to five times the mass of the machinery mounted upon it is impractical,
resulting in flimsier, more flexible foundations. This is the principal justification for
dowel pinning machines in the Navy, and this practice became almost universally
adopted.
After World War II, the vast majority of the industrial maintenance workforce in
the United States that dealt with rotating machinery was comprised of men who
had served in the Navy, as this was the branch of the armed services with the bulk
of such machinery and maintenance need. As a result of deeply ingrained Navy
tradition and training, the practice of indiscriminately dowel-pinning all rotating
machinery filtered out onto dry land installations, even though in most cases there
was no longer any technical justification for this practice.
POSITIONAL SECURITY: TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Modern engineering design of machinery takes into consideration the normal

positional changes that are anticipated from operational load stresses and thermal
growth, with the assumption that the machines are installed upon a properly
©2012 LUDECA, Inc. • www.ludeca.com

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designed foundation structure, and that the correct grade of anchor bolts (or studs
and nuts) is used, and that these are torqued to the proper values. If these
conditions are met, there is no reason to demand that the machine supports be
dowel pinned since the properly torqued anchor bolts of good quality are sufficient
to do the job of anchoring the machine in place against all operational load stresses
and anticipated positional changes, particularly in the vertical direction. Since the
occurrence of lateral (horizontal) positional change is normal, the requirement for
positional security is mooted. Also, most installations incorporating good quality
flexible couplings permit setting the appropriate axial gap between the coupling
halves to accommodate any anticipated axial growth or dynamic movement that
may occur. When such movement is not desired, a thrust collar, thrust bearings or
other such mechanisms exist to control or prevent this movement.
Therefore, the only concern remaining is positional security in the horizontal

plane. Dowel pins are ill-suited as a solution for this concern for a variety of
reasons. The first of these problems arises from the physics of the dowel pin
mechanism itself:
If a lateral force is applied to the machine foot, this force will be concentrated at
just one point on the circumference of the circular tapered dowel pin inserted within
it. Geometrically speaking, this pin is, in essence, nothing more than a smaller
circle inside of a larger circle (the dowel pin receiving hole.) From plane geometry,
we know that if two circles of different diameters, one within the other, approach
each other, they will first touch at only one point. It can therefore be safely stated
that the pin will not offer great resistive force to the lateral force being exerted
upon it, since this force will be concentrated upon just a very small surface area.
Thus, the pin will readily begin to crush. This crushing distortion will continue until
the pin, now no longer entirely circular, offers up a surface area for resistance
greater than the strength of the pin itself. Then the entire pin begins to bend.
This effect can be easily proven: mount a dial indicator against the side of a
dowel-pinned machine foot and apply a lateral force on the opposite side with a
sturdy jackscrew or hydraulic press. Ten to fifteen thousandths (0.010″ – 0.015″)
of relatively unhindered movement will be observed. This movement represents the
pin (and pin hole) being crushed out-of-round, and the pin’s failure to resist this
lateral movement therefore disqualifies it from serving as a suitable deterrent to
this movement. Thus, the dowel pin is impractical as a mechanism to ensure the
positional security of the machine.

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Moreover, if, as stated before, the external forces being applied to the pin are
great enough, then, after the movement that results in slightly crushing the pin has
taken place, any further movement will cause the entire dowel pin to bend:
This distortion occurs all the more readily in that the dowel pin is supported in
the lateral plane by the interference fit within the machine foot and by the
interference fit within the base; however, in the region where the shims are
supporting the foot there is no lateral support whatsoever for the pin: literally, it is
in the air. Therefore, the pin bends easily in this region, resulting in an S-shaped or
dog-legged dowel pin that is extremely difficult to extract and causes the millwright
no end of trouble.
POSITIONAL SECURITY: ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS
If a particular machine installation requires that additional measures be taken to

ensure positional security in the horizontal plane, the best option, in our opinion, is
to install well-designed horizontal and/or axial jackscrew mechanisms that can be
left snug against the machine feet. However, great care must be taken that no
significant positional change in the machinery under running conditions is expected
to occur, since, if it does, the machine may buckle or twist between the jackscrews,
thereby creating more serious machine frame distortion problems than any
problems that might have arisen from the unrestricted movement of the machines
to begin with. Precisely the same argument can be made against dowel pinning the
machine supports in more than one location, since the same over-constrained
conditions will thereby be created. It must be remembered that the some lateral
and axial growth or movement between the unloaded, stopped “cold” condition, and
the on-line “hot” running condition is normal; the flexing of a well-designed flexible
coupling, and of the machinery itself, allows for this movement to be absorbed. If
the anticipated movement is significant enough, it can easily be compensated for by
deliberately “misaligning” the machines in the cold condition to the exact target
specifications for the positional changes that will occur up to the hot and running
condition. The Rotalign® Ultra LiveTrend feature can help you to derive these
targets, as can the Permalign® laser system for monitoring positional change.

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ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS: POSITIONAL REPEATABILITY
If positional repeatability is the principal concern (rather than positional

security), then dowel pins are not the best mechanism to fulfill this requirement
either. Instead, after a satisfactory final alignment has been achieved, it is
recommended to carefully tack weld two small pieces of key stock to diagonally
opposed corners of the machine; the machine can then be removed and replaced
with excellent repeatability (or correlation) to its initial position. Dowel pins, on the
other hand, almost never fit exactly as they did before they were removed; the
machine will almost always be slightly skewed with respect to its initial position
when it is reinstalled. Moreover, when a dowel pin cannot be gotten to fit readily in
its original hole, rather than fight the situation by attempting to minutely reposition
the machine until it does, experience has taught us that a millwright will instead opt
for drilling a new hole, as this is often less tedious and time consuming. When this
practice is prohibited, the unethical worker under time pressure may instead simply
opt to surreptitiously cut the dowel pin and hammer just the top of the pin into the
hole as a ‘plug’. It is impossible for the supervisor to detect this without actually
removing the altered dowel pin.
Tapered dowel pin
CONCLUSIONS
In view of the considerations presented above, the use of dowel pins to

guarantee positional security of rotating machinery is not recommended. The use of
dowel pins to guarantee positional repeatability is also not recommended. Instead,
more effective alternative solutions should be employed, such as tack-welding
pieces of key stock to opposite corners for positional repeatability, or installing
jackscrews for positional security. In addition, just letting the machines move and
targeting for the movement in the initial alignment may be the best solution of all.

Alan Luedeking is Vice President of Ludeca, Inc., in Doral, FL. He has 28 years
experience in machinery shaft alignment and training and holds an ISO Level I
Vibration Analyst Certificate. Besides his work, Alan enjoys spending time with his
family and pursuing his interest in numismatics. He can be reached at 305-591-
8935 or [email protected]

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Thoughts On Dowel Pins In Machine Feet

POSITIONAL SECURITY: TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Modern engineering design of machinery takes into consideration the normal

©2012 LUDECA, Inc. • www.ludeca.com

Therefore, the only concern remaining is positional security in the horizontal

©2012 LUDECA, Inc. • www.ludeca.com

POSITIONAL SECURITY: ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

If a particular machine installation requires that additional measures be taken to

©2012 LUDECA, Inc. • www.ludeca.com

If positional repeatability is the principal concern (rather than positional

Tapered dowel pin

In view of the considerations presented above, the use of dowel pins to

©2012 LUDECA, Inc. • www.ludeca.com

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