Failure Analysis Made Simple: Shafts and fasteners

One of the advantages of understanding the diagnosis of machine faults is that the faulty part tells you an amazing amount about its causes. In most cases, you can look at the defective parts and, with the right lighting, tell almost immediately what kind of force is responsible. The failure tells you the direction and magnitude of the force, whether it was applied once or several times and whether there was corrosion or wear. With this knowledge of the physical mechanisms, corrective action can be taken almost immediately.