Turbo Balancing
Running the assembled cartridge at high speed, measuring the vibration response and then either removing material from the nose or changing the assembly position to achieve acceptable balance can correct the imbalance.
During this process the turbo is run at speeds close to the normal service operating speed, which typically is between 100,000 to 200,000rpm, dependant on wheel size.
Rotor Balancing of Turbos
We are equipped with four-plane Dynamic Balancing technology machines, with which we balance turbos with rotor capacities of up to 20kg and up to a 400mm diameter. These machines are the first step in balancing a turbocharger and are used to ensure the rotor assembly (compressor wheel and turbine wheel) are balanced as a pair when assembled. Tiny amounts of material are removed from the rotor assembly to bring the balance to an acceptable level.
Whilst the exact balance specifications vary between turbos it is worth pointing out that all our balancing specifications call for a smaller level of imbalance than the turbo manufacturers themselves.
High Speed VSR Balancing for Turbos
We are equipped with the latest VSR high speed turbocharger balancing machine, with the machine calibrated up to an impressive 230,000rpm! The VSR balancer looks for and measures vibrations during the acceleration and deceleration of the turbocharger core assembly. Our skilled technicians then remove material to bring these vibration levels down. VSR balancing is usually a second operation carried out after the initial rotor balancing of the turbocharger.
Whilst the VSR balancing machine is predominantly used for turbocharger balancing, we also sometimes use it for fault diagnosis, the machine runs a constant 4 bar of oil pressure which allows us to test turbochargers for oil leakage at various rotor speeds.
In 2013 we were approached by a well-known video games manufacturer to help them record turbo noises for the latest game in the franchise “Need for Speed”. We successfully used one of our VSR balancers to replicate the rotor speeds and sounds most likely to be found on the road.
