I have been working on industrial equipment for 12 years (rubber mixing and processing equip) and I have seen some horific breakdowns, I have never seen anything like this.
This machine has two shafts that turn opposite directions for the sole purpose of taking natural rubber and filler/plasticizer/pigment and turn it into useable compounds. There is a 2500 hp electric motor and a 60K lb 50:1 reducer with dual synchronus output shafts 10''. One of the drive couplings let go and the two rotors (intermeshing) crashed together at about 30rpm.
I had no idea a 2x2'' key 11'' long could be sheared in half. I have seen the coupling break, but never seen a key sheared. Also the coupling hub is .0025-.0035 INTERFERENCE fit. Enjoy
I am hoping one of these young prodigy mech engineers will tell us how much the shear factor is on that key and what type of torque would be needed to do this.
How are you heating the gear? If you are heating it slowly you are transferring the heat through and to the shaft also. There is an art to getting this stuff apart. You need to heat the coupler fast so the shaft does not swell also. If it starts to move and stops then the shaft is swollen back up. You will have to wait till it all cools back down and start the process again. JJ
Three propane bottles equipped with the "weed burners" on them. Hub was 400F in ten minutes and shaft was cool to the touch still.
When a 2.5x2.5 key is sheared imagine the galling and so on that has happened in there! This is all on top of the interference fit.
When I go back to replace the shafts they will be cut off with a slice torch and not even phuked with. I would like to see this from an internal view. If they don't care I will take it back to Topeka and put it in the 600ton press just to see what it looks like. I have personally wrapped the 600ton guage almost around twice. so if it wont do it it should not be done.
I could have split it with a torch to get it off, but we had to have that part to run the machine those large couplings are 12 week delivery.
Can't tell dimensions too well from a picture, but if that is 2.5" wide, it only looks to be about 1" high and there looks like there is a hole in it?? Hard to tell from pic. Normal keyway stock is, by design, soft, so the key will fail before the more expensive parts do.
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