An automatic ball balancer is a unique vibration suppression device for rotor systems. Theoretically, two balls in a cylindrical chamber of the rotor are located at the optimal positions on the opposite side to the unbalance and cancel the unbalance automatically in the super-critical speed range. However, this device is not used widely due to two malfunctions. One is the influence of friction. Due to the inevitable friction between the balls and the inside wall of the channel, the balls stop near the optimal positions and do not balance the rotor perfectly. The other is the self-excited oscillation which occurs near and above the major critical speed. The objectives of the present paper are to clarify the fundamental characteristics of a ball balancer and to introduce some simple methods to eliminate these malfunctions.

References

1.
Leblanc
,
M.
, 1916, “
Automatic Balancer for Rotating Bodies
,” U.S. Patent No. 1209730.
2.
Thearle
,
E. L.
, 1950,“
Automatic Dynamic Balancers, Part 1 – The Leblanc Balancer
,”
Mach. Des.
,
22
(
9
), pp.
119
124
.
3.
Thearle
,
E. L.
, 1932, “
A New Type of Dynamic Balancing Machine
,”
Trans. ASME
54
(
12
), pp.
131
141
.
4.
Inoue
,
J.
Araki
,
Y.
, and
Miyaura
,
S.
, 1967, “
Self- Synchronization of a Machine (2nd Report, Rolling Mechanism and an Automatic Ball Balancer)
,”
Trans. JSME
,
33
(
246
), pp.
206
214
(in Japanese).
5.
Inoue
,
J.
Jinnouchi
,
Y.
Araki
,
Y.
, and
Nakahara
,
A.
1979, “
Dynamic Behavior of an Automatic Ball Balancer (Fundamental Characteristics)
,”
Trans. JSME
,
45
(
394
), pp.
646
652
(in Japanese).
6.
Inoue
,
J.
,
Jinnouchi
,
Y.
, and
Kubo
,
S.
, 1983, “
Dynamic Behavior of an Automatic Ball Balancer (Application to Dynamic Unbalance)
,”
Trans. JSME
,
49
(
448
), pp.
2142
2148
(in Japanese).
7.
Thearle
,
E. L.
, 1950, “
Automatic Dynamic Balancers, Part 2 – Ring, Pendulum and Ball Balancers
,”
Mach. Des.
,
22
(
10
), pp.
103
106
.
8.
Lu
,
C. J.
, and
Hung
,
C. H.
, 2008, “
Stability Analysis of a Three-Ball Automatic Balancer
,”
ASME J. Vibr. Acoust.
,
130
(
5
), p.
051008
.
9.
Jinnouchi
,
Y.
,
Araki
,
Y.
,
Inoue
,
J.
,
Ohtsuka
,
Y.
, and
Tan
,
C.
, 1993, “
Automatic Balancer (Static Balancing and Transient Response of a Multiball Balancer)
,”
Trans. JSME
,
59
(
557
), pp.
79
84
(in Japanese).
10.
Green
,
K.
,
Champneys
,
A. R.
,
Friswell
,
M. I.
, and
Munoz
,
A. M.
, 2008, “
Investigation of a Multi-Ball, Automatic Dynamic Balancing Mechanism for Eccentric Rotors
,”
Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London
,
366
, pp.
705
728
.
11.
Lindell
,
H.
, 1996, “
Vibration Reduction on Hand-Held Grinders by Automatic Balancing
,”
Cent. Eur. J. Public Health
,
4
, pp.
43
45
.
12.
Van de Wouw
,
N.
,
Van den Heuvel
,
M. N.
,
Nijmeijer
,
H.
, and
Van Rooij
,
J. A.
, 2005, “
Performance of an Automatic Ball Balancer With Dry Friction
,”
Int. J. Bifurcation Chaos
,
15
(
1
), pp.
65
82
.
13.
Yang
,
Q.
,
Ong
,
E.-H.
,
Sun
,
J.
,
Guo
,
G.
, and
Lim
,
S.-P.
, 2005, “
Study on the Influence of Friction in an Automatic Ball Balancing System
,”
J. Sound Vib.
,
285
, pp.
73
99
.
14.
Chao
,
P.C. -P
,
Sung
,
C.-K.
, and
Leu
,
H.-C.
2005, “
Effects of Rolling Friction of the Balancing Balls on the Automatic Ball Balancer for Optical Disk Drives
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
127
, pp.
845
856
.
15.
Tadeusz
,
M.
, 1988, “
Position Error Occurrence in Self Balancers Used on Rigid Rotors of Rotating Machinery
,”
Mech. Mach. Theory
,
23
(
1
), pp.
71
78
.
16.
Horvath
,
R.
,
Flowers
,
G. T.
, and
Fausz
,
J.
, 2008, “
Passive Balancing of Rotor Systems Using Pendulum Balancers
,”
ASME J. Vibr. Acoust.
,
130
(
4
), p.
041011
.
17.
Inoue
,
T.
,
Niimi
,
H.
, and
Ishida
,
Y.
, 2009, “
Vibration Analysis of the Self-Excited Vibration in the Rotor System Due to Ball Balancer
,” ASME IDETC/CIE 2009, CD-ROM, DETC2009-86896.
18.
Wettergren
,
H. L.
, 2002, “
Using Guided Balls to Auto-Balance Rotors
,”
ASME J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power
,
124
(
4
), pp.
971
975
.
19.
Liu
,
J.
, and
Ishida
,
Y.
, 2009, “
Vibration Suppression of Rotating Machinery Utilizing an Automatic Ball Balancer
,”
ASME J. Vibr. Acoust.
,
131
, p.
041004
.
20.
Bikerman
,
J. J.
, 1949, “
Effect of Surface Roughness on Rolling Friction
,”
J. Appl. Phys.
,
20
, pp.
971
975
.
21.
Snare
,
B.
, 1968, “
Rolling Resistance in Loaded Ball Contacts
,”
The Ball Bearing Journal
,
154
, pp.
3
14
.
22.
Hisada
,
T.
, “
Study on Rolling Friction
,”
Precision Machinery
,
17
(
2
), pp.
9
16
(in Japanese).
23.
Hwang
,
C. H.
, and
Chung
,
J.
, 1999, “
Dynamic Analysis of an Automatic Ball Balancer With Double Races
,”
JSME Int. J.
,
12
(
2
), pp.
265
272
.
You do not currently have access to this content.