Top 10 tips Coupling competence 101
Don't choose your coupling based on habit or price alone. Because engineers are creatures of habit, choosing a coupling type is often a matter of having...
Modeling bearing life
Bearings are important in all rotating applications. First priority is to select a bearing type and size that will withstand the magnitude and direction...
Indexer overload protection
In engineering, indexing is the movement from an initial position to a new position, starting and ending in rest. Mechanical cam-driven indexers are motion-control...
Mercury clutch mystery: Partially solved
In the August issue of Motion System Design, we presented the mystery of the centrifugal mercury clutch. The design was patented in 1950 by Automatic...
Peaceful planetaries
Planetary gearing offers distinct advantages over parallel gear arrangements, including lower backlash, higher strength and torque, and greater torsional...
Top 10 tips; Working with brakes and clutches
Consider total system inertia. One of the most important and most overlooked steps in selecting the appropriate brake for a drive system is considering...
Mercury clutch mystery
Here we present you with a bit of a mystery: That of the centrifugal mercury clutch. The design was patented in 1950 by Automatic Steel Products Inc....
Snakes slither using friction, weight redistribution
Researchers at New York University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered that snakes use both friction generated by their scales in addition to weight redistribution to slither along flat surfaces....
Polymers hold promise for self-reporting mechanical stress
Force-sensitive polymers being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois (U. of I.) could one day lead to materials that speak for themselves...
Primer: Considering gear housings and carriers
Drive designers must make accurate life predictions to ensure reliability. Part of the equation is gear and bearing support flexibility — in the gearbox housing, planet carrier, and ring gear....
Save time with gearing components
Locking device quickly fastens rotating components The M-Type Shaftloc rotating-component fastening device is a locking mechanism for rigidly mounting...
Top 10 tips: Working with rack & pinion drives
Choosing the right rack and pinion drive depends on three main considerations — application parameters, required accuracy, and budget. Following are some expert tips and tactics to help you get it right the first time....
Mechanical cam operation and high accuracy
For many applications, mechanical cams are unrivaled by any competitors, electronic or otherwise....
Mechanical vibration damping
Laser and optical systems, whether used in academic labs or industry, are very susceptible to vibrations from the environment, and so these instruments frequently need vibration isolation. They measure a very few angstroms or nanometers of displacement and need an absolutely stable surface upon which to rest. Any vibration, coupled into the mechanical structure of the instrument, causes vertical noise and a fundamental inability to measure these kinds of high-resolution features....
Shaft locker
Now there is a way to lock components onto shafts and spindles where installation perpendicular to the shaft is not possible: Similar to threaded versions,...
Rolling right along
As technology changes and advances, some components and equipment inevitably fall by the wayside, often replaced by shiny new designs that are better,...
A controlled STOP
Fast, powerful and controllable, servomotors are an essential part of many designs. But what happens when power to them shuts down? Without energy to...
Servo couplings
Stainless steel bellows couplings Precision couplings Flex B and Flex K provide excellent kinematic properties with three types that offer different combinations...
Mechanical speed adjustment
In 1959, when Motion System Design made its debut, mechanical systems were the only way to control system speed. Now we ask of one inaugural-issue headline:...
Slip clutch keeps camera on track
To provide a better view of the action on high school and college football fields, Endzone Video Systems (EVS), Sealy, Tex., developed a portable tower system that lifts a video camera 25 to 35 ft. above the action. ...
ASME president emphasizes continuing education
Mechanical engineers take note: To future-proof your career, lifelong learning will be of the utmost importance....
Stretching wire generates current
Researchers have developed a new type of electric power generator able to produce ac current through cyclical stretching and releasing of zinc oxide wires. ...
Friction springs minimize impact, vibration
Friction springs consist of radial rings that deform briefly and convert impact energy into frictional heat...
Using slip clutches in industrial design
Slip clutches are commonly used to protect against overloads, but they serve other functions as well — increasing machine speeds, applying...
Gear microgeometry and performance 2 of 2
No two gears are manufactured the same, but addressing manufacturing variability with optimized gear microgeometry boosts durability and lowers noise...
Plastic bearings excel in contaminated environments
Unlike traditionally used metal bearings, plastic bearings are able to withstand a variety of tough working conditions...
Worm gearhead handles servo demands
Servo applications often impose severe demands on drive components, thereby ruling out the use of many geared speed reducers...
New techniques simplify production-line bearing installation
Installing rolling element bearings on OEM production lines has always depended on the skill and experience of the installer...
How coupling types affect bearing forces
As a coupling flexes, it generates forces at the shaft support bearings...
Spiders are key to jaw coupling performance
An essential component of jaw couplings, flexible elastomeric spiders transmit torque and accept misalignment...
Pitfalls of interchanging U.S. and metric standard V-belts
Specification numbers for V belts manufactured to different international standards (U.S. and metric) and with different units...
Big chill to extend gear life
Future gears may undergo the deep-freeze to increase their strength and wear properties...
Still more about linear rolling-element bearings
When you work for years with rolling-element bearings, you learn those tricks of the trade you cannot find in a textbook or catalog....
Basics of sliding metallic-bearing materials: Part 5
This is the fifth of a series on principles and characteristics of metallic plain bearing materials and how to optimize them in given uses...
Gear efficiency key to lower drive cost
Efficiency of a speed reducer is an important selection factor that is often overlooked. It shouldnít be. In many cases, high-efficiency gearing cuts...
Brakes beat ball screw back drive
Though ball screws provide accurate positioning, they are susceptible to back driving. A spring-set brake is an effective way to stop back driving...
Coaxing V-belts to operate more efficiently
A poorly operating belt drive can easily waste 10% of its input horsepower. Knowing the factors that affect how these belts operate will give you ...
Setting techniques for tapered roller bearings
Here is what manufacturing and plant engineers should know before setting and installing tapered roller bearings in new or repaired products....
Thin-section bearings for sophisticated machines
Designers increasingly choose hardened, thin-section bearings for hi-tech rotating equipment where low weight and small size are essential....
Copasetic couplings: Flexible couplings
Flexible shaft couplings transmit torque from one shaft to another, and redress misalignment between them. The trick is that flexible couplings must act...
Belts and planetary gearboxes add up to reliable parts-handling
Conventional wisdom says that heavy-duty parts handlers need ball screw or rack-and-pinion actuators....
Shaft keys revisited
Dimensions of shaft keys, standardized many years ago, are commonly considered to be the main concern in applying these devices....
Selecting couplings for large loads
Engineering textbooks describe the design basics required in selecting shaft couplings but they often overlook other important factors...
Lubrication tips: The effect of water
To learn the tricks of caring for industrial drives, especially optimum lubrication methods, takes many years of field experience, or learning from ...
Electric-motor rolling-element bearings: lubrication & maintenance
When you work for years with rolling-element bearings, you learn those tricks of the trade you cannot find in a textbook or catalog....
Analysis techniques end gear damage
This tells how engineers use the powerful analysis techniques described in a previous article to solve a variety of gear failure problems....
Precision speed reducers smooth servo motion
Servo motor applications need precision speed reducers to ensure smooth and accurate operation along with high reduction ratios...
Ring gear drives huge grinding mill
By this summer, a grinding mill that is bigger around than a Boeing 747 will turn chunks of copper ore into gravel-sized bits for smelting and refining...
Choosing electic clutches & brakes to meet thermal cpacity needs
Heat is the enemy of friction clutches, brakes, and clutch-brakes. Most often, the enemy is within. You must keep it neutralized....
Lubrication tips
To learn the tricks of caring for industrial drives, especially optimun lubrication methods, takes many years of field experince, or learning form ...
Oil-shear slip clutches give ship a shove or a nudge, as needed
Newer diesel engines with narrow operating speed ranges result in vessel speeds too high at engine idle. To reduce ship speed as in docking...
Tapered-sleeve spherical-roller pillow blocks cut fan maintenance
Intalco Aluminum Corp. reduced fan maintenance costs by 80% at one plant by a combination of a predictive maintenance program...
Sound check: Low-noise gear module
A new low-noise gear module replaces standard stages to turn loud gear whines into low, quiet hums. Increasingly required in medical devices, commercial...
Closed-loop gear manufacturing system speeds design to manufacturing
Precision motion systems in gear manufacturing machines, combined with advanced software, reduce the time it takes to transform a gear design to a working part from days to hours...
Pulling their weight: Timing pulley
A modular gearbox design integrates gearing into a timing pulley for dynamic linear motion systems, including gantry robots, high-speed packaging machinery,...
Limiters without limits: Torque limiters
Q: Torque limiters and proximity sensors: What's the connection? ...
Gearing basics
Here to answer many often-encountered gear questions is a quick reference...
Spherical roller bearing basics
Spherical roller bearings have their own places in the world of bearings...
Basics of sliding metallic-bearing materials: Part 4
This is the fourth of a series on principles and characteristics of metallic plain bearing materials and how to optimize them in given uses...
Selecting elastomeric couplings to halt troublesome vibration
In addition to their customary role of accommodating shaft misalignment, flexible elastomeric couplings also reduce the effects of torsional ...
Floating shafts make long distance connections
Where machinery and motors are separated by large distances, floating shafts make the connection so these drive components can work together...
Caring for bearings
When you work for years with rolling-element bearings, you learn those tricks of the trade you cannot find in a textbook or catalog...
Power transmission’s early contributions to America’s growth
Its beginnings were humble; its future, bright. As power transmission participated in the business of Nation-building, it grew and prospered right up ...
Choosing special-purpose synchronous belts
Though many standard synchronous belts are available, none of them may be exactly right for your application...
Basics of sliding metallic-bearing materials: Part 3
This is the third of a series on principles and characteristics of metallic plain bearing materials and how to optimize them in given uses...
Lubrication tips for plastic gears and more
To learn the tricks of caring for industrial drives, especially optimum lubrication methods...
Basics of sliding metallic-bearing materials: Part 2
This is the second of a series on principles and characteristics of metallic plain bearing materials...
Basics of sliding metallic-bearing materials: Part 1
This is the first of a series on principles and characteristics of metallic plain bearing materials...
Composite bearings live nearly unnoticed in Florida citrus plant
Citric acid seeps from the hundreds of oranges and grapefruit moving along the conveyor-like washers...
Needle roller bearings: what they are; where they go; why you may need them
They have been active a long while, these lightweight friction fighters, and on some tough heavyweight cards, too...
Plastic bearings beat clutch contamination on farm equipment
The lubricated clutch sometimes seized after ingesting grit and dirt. Plastic bearings allowed a switch...
Special brakes for ship and shore
After engineers at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard placed their third order for replacement parts...
Lubrication tips
To learn the tricks of caring for industrial drives, especially optimum lubrication methods...
Couplings meet rigorous requirements of precision positioning systems
Light-duty positioning applications often call for shaft couplings that ensure accuracy in the motion control feedback loop...
Caring for bearings
When you work for years with rolling-element bearings, you learn those "tricks of the trade" you can't find in a textbook or catalog...
Compliant couplings give robotic manipulators gentle touch and muscle
A coupling developed by NASA uses flexible cables to adjust the stiffness of robotic manipulators...
Chain drive powers large load in oil extractor
Machines that extract oil from large quantities of beans ...
How to install bevel gears for peak performance
You can’t put bevel gears together in the same way as spur and helical types and get them to work well...
EDM speeds cutting of precision gears
The EDM process produces small quantities of precision gears with unique shapes...
Cooling for speed reducer life
Because today’s speed reducers must handle higher loads, their gears generate more heat, which reduces service life...
How to analyze gear failures
By following a step-by-step procedure, engineers can diagnose gear failures and develop solutions...
Lubrication tips
To learn the tricks of caring for industrial drives, especially optimum lubrication methods...
Bearing restoration: whole-life production-line assurance policy
Morning again at the Rust & Bendit Steel Co....
Sprag clutch shortens grinding maintenance
Because a paper company engineer knew there had to be a better way, an overrunning sprag clutch now works like a ratchet wrench...
Interior brake for servomotor builder
Recently, engineers for a clutch and brake supplier were challenged by a prominent motor manufacturer to pack a lot of performance into a small envelope...
High-accuracy linear positioning systems: Part 1
Part 2 of series appears in April 1994 issue of PT Design. Electronic, optic, computer, inspection, automation, and laser industries require diverse...
Elastomeric couplings to reduce noise and vibration
The effects of noise and vibration in power transmission systems range from human discomfort to catastrophic system failure...
Correct couplings for pumps
Most pump applications require special care in coupling selection: either because of the way the pump loads the coupling...
Primer: Chain lubrication reduces downtime
When it comes to roller chain drives, lubrication is the key to long life. But, you need to know the right type of lubricant and how to apply it too. ...
One big bearing design allows maintenance
Large-diameter bearings and slewing rings like those in round-the-clock mining or excavating equipment have a lot riding on them....
Worm gears remove drive backlash
To get the highest possible accuracy from a welding positioner for large parts...
Rigid chain eases fuel removal
Westinghouse wanted to develop a faster way to remove spent nuclear fuel rods...
Pneumatic or electric actuartors: When and why
Clear-cut advantages can be shown for pneumatic and electric linear actuators...
Caring for bearings
When you work for years with rolling-element bearings, you learn those "tricks of the trade" you can't find in a textbook or catalog...
Redundant load paths in ballscrews
Reliability often requires ballscrew assemblies with internal redundant load paths that can support design loads...
Flexible shafts eliminate obstacles
The path of the drive shaft is blocked and you need a way around the obstruction. Don’t despair. ...
Selecting roller bearing housings
Ordinarily, you’d choose the housing in conjunction with selecting the bearing itself. There are plenty of guides for bearing selection, but how do you choose a housing?...
Lowdown on sealed-bearing speed limits
The mission of seals and shields for common rolling-element bearings is to prevent grease leakage and protect the bearing rolling elements and raceways from liquid and solid contaminants. Some set no speed limits on the bearings; others do....
Ten ways to ruin an electric clutch or brake
Mostly, electric clutches and brakes run for hundreds of thousands of cycles with little watching. Overlook a few of their basic needs, however, and these normally unassuming devices can suddenly protest....
Understanding bearing internal clearance
For best rolling-element bearing life and machine reliability, internal clearance at running conditions must be close to zero. However, it takes knowledge and effort to get next to nothing....
