Food Grade Stainless Steel Shaft Coupling

Friday 1st June 2018
Food Grade Stainless Steel Shaft Coupling

Shaft Couplings used within determined industries sometime call for customised materials to be compliant with special regulations and requirements of that industry. Examples of this include packaging machines for the food and pharmaceutical industry. For example, many industries require the use of Stainless Steel and ABSSAC can meet this challenge across the majority of its product range.

Within the food-processing industry it is common to see shaft couplings being utilised in many areas of the driven part of the machine and the working axial area available for installation can often be very minimal. Mechanically, the shaft coupling must deliver reliable precision torque transmission, high torsional stiffness, axial shaft displacement and provide an ease of fitting. In this scenario the Schmidt-Kupplung range can offer a Stainless Steel solution called the Semiflex Compact Plus Type C320 with split clamp hubs. By using a split clamp hub solution there is no need to axially shift any bordering components of the machine during installation. Additionally, the specific hygiene requirements can be met by using a high grade 1.4301 stainless steel for its construction.The torsionally stiff coupling, with an outer diameter of 120 mm, has a nominal torque of 316 Nm (maximum torque 330 Nm) and a radial displacement capacity of 3 mm.

What makes the shaft coupling unique is the transmission of the rotary motion and torque takes place in the coupling through two pairs of parallel links arranged at 90° to each other. They connect the driving side and the power take-off with the centre disc. The lateral displacement compensation takes place through a swivelling movement of the needle bearing parallel link rods on the connecting bolts that are located in the internal discs. Innovative, synchronisation between driver and driven ends is therefore guaranteed despite the high displacement. Installation of the coupling, which is already designed to be very compact, is made easy with an overall length of only 88 mm.

To meet the stringent regulations for machines that come into contact with food fit for human consumption, the needle bearings are equipped with food-grade grease. In other cases food legislation compliant slide bearings can be used. Similar coupling solutions are also applicable to packaging machines for the pharmaceutical sector and bottling plants. To some extent it was these industries that pioneered the use of 1.4501 stainless steel. Likewise other Schmidt couplings or indeed coupling components such as coupling links are made out of 1.4541 and 1.4571 premium steel.

Here are some Typical applications where Stainless Steel shaft couplings have been used:

  • Printing machines
  • Packaging machines
  • Test rig units
  • Material handling
  • Machine tools
  • Vacuum environments
  • Critical reliability applications

Some key features of the Semiflex flexible shaft coupling include;

  • No restoring forces The unique function system of the coupling compensates for misalignment without deformation and thus without restoring forces.
  • Compact design - The coupling is characterised by a compact overall axial length that allows the user to realise a space-saving design.
  • High misalignment capacity - In series production, Semiflex offers a radial misalignment capacity of up to 6.6 mm. Misalignment values up to 20 mm are realised for specific application requirements.
  • All-metal coupling - The compact coupling has a high torsional stiffness and has a performance-orientated design for high torque transmission.
  • Combination of different hub versions - The module design system allows the free combination of 6 different shaft mountings.
  • Individual solutions -We welcome the opportunity to adapt the standard design and optimise it for specific applications.

For Example:

  • For torque requirements up to 250,000 Nm
  • For special ambient conditions, such as use within a vacuum

 

  Semiflex 1  Semiflex 2 Semiflex 3

Why not let us help you,choose the right shaft coupling for the application.

Call one of our knowledgeable engineers on 01386 421005

Or visit the product web page for further details here

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