What Are Shaft Couplings?
Poly Flex steel shaft couplings are all CNC machined and designed at our Clontarf facility. They are a steel mating component used between the gearbox and the output shaft. All metal components are plated in SA5 cobalt zinc for maximum corrosion resistance and durability. Poly Flex offers three variations of steel shaft couplings: pilot bored solid shaft coupling, parallel clamp shaft coupling, and taper lock shaft coupling. All Poly Flex shaft couplings are readily available in stock and can be modified to suit customer applications. Poly Flex also offers shaft machining and keyway cutting in-house, allowing customers to order and receive a finished shaft coupling ready for installation, knowing the machining work was done by trusted professionals in the field. It is important that shaft couplings are manufactured precisely as misalignment increases stress on the gearbox and decreases the capacity and life of the driveline components.
How Does Keyway Cutting Improve The Performance Of Shaft Couplings?
Keyway cutting is an important part of the overall performance of a shaft coupling. A key and the keyway make up a keyed joint to secure the shaft coupling to the shaft and prevent relative movement between the power transmitting component and the attached shaft coupling. Keyway cutting ensures the connection transmits the load, power, and rotation without slipping and within the accuracy requirement of the design. A keyway is a recess in the hub to receive the key and thus securely lock the component.
What Machine Does Poly Flex Use For Shaft Machining And Why Is Shaft Size Important:
Quality control in shaft machining is fundamental. Regular inspections ensure the shaft sizing meets specified requirements and ensures the final product is correctly machined and ready for installation. All Poly Flex shaft couplings are manufactured from the beginning in our high-quality CNC lathe and mill to ensure the shaft couplings run true. They are all bored to the correct shaft size using an H7 Morse taper shank reamer, ensuring they are manufactured to the exact size the customer requires, clocked up prior to shaft machining and re-clocked after double check. Boring a shaft using a reamer is used to achieve greater accuracy of the diameter of a hole. Poly Flex uses a JFMT Ji-460 Lathe for all shaft machining and keyway cutting procedures. This lathe is solely for shaft machining and keyway cutting and is constantly checked to ensure all shaft couplings leaving the factory floor are to the highest standard.
Poly Flex is proud of the product we make and ensures everything that leaves our facility is to the highest standard. Our shaft machining and keyway cutting process are no different. Furthermore, the precision shaft machining and keyway cutting offered by Poly Flex allows for the manufacturing of custom shaft couplings more easily and ensures quality products are produced. Contact the team today for more information regarding shaft machining and keyway cutting. For more information on our standard shaft coupling range and our custom manufacturing capability, please click here.